OOS Invest, who is more important? Realtor or Property Manager?

[Brian Erickson]

Straight to the point:  who do you feel is the most important team member to first establish a relationship with in an out of state investing venture?  Realtor or property manager?

Unfortunately most of the markets I'm interested in (and that I can afford) aren't near by and I also don't have a whole lot of personal experience or a ton of 'feet on the ground' already so to speak regarding the markets of interest.  Obtaining as much knowledge as I can about the markets that I'm interested in but also want to limit the amount of time wasting I'm doing with potential team members.

I can see arguments for both having a realtor first or a property manager first and I'm curious to hear from OOS investors how they began initiating their out of state teams and who was more beneficial to begin working with first when you have little expertise in the market you're about to enter.

Thanks in advance!

[Cody L.]

Originally posted by @Brian Erickson:

Straight to the point:  who do you feel is the most important team member to first establish a relationship with in an out of state investing venture?  Realtor or property manager?

Unfortunately most of the markets I'm interested in (and that I can afford) aren't near by and I also don't have a whole lot of personal experience or a ton of 'feet on the ground' already so to speak regarding the markets of interest.  Obtaining as much knowledge as I can about the markets that I'm interested in but also want to limit the amount of time wasting I'm doing with potential team members.

I can see arguments for both having a realtor first or a property manager first and I'm curious to hear from OOS investors how they began initiating their out of state teams and who was more beneficial to begin working with first when you have little expertise in the market you're about to enter.

Thanks in advance!

 Property manager BY FAR. There is nothing an agent can do that I can’t. Unless they have a ton of great off market deals. 

The person managing your properties will make or break you. My ops person who runs my stuff gets 6 figures as a base and her commission / bonuses will be equal to her base this year. Money well spent. 

But agents? pfffft. A dime a dozen. And this coming from someone who is licensed.