Consulting for out of state investors

[Vince Lucas]

I was wondering if any oos/out of state investors hire a real estate expert/consultant in the area they are looking to investor or do they spend months trying to learn the market by themselves or do they work with a real estate agent that might be just trying to sell them a property? Seems to me that a small amount of money up front could save $1,000s and make sure they know the values for that asset type in the area they want to invest in (A,B,C or D areas). I have not seen many people offer this service (at least in the cleveland area),