Purchasing and Managing Out-of-state Property

[Kevin Chen]

Hello BP!

I am new to the site, so apologies if my initial questions seem basic. I was wondering if any of you have enjoyed sourcing properties in states you do not live in and managing those properties remotely? I was thinking during this economic downturn it would be prudent to investigate vacation/second home cities (please let me know if my approach here is way off), but everyone I know has never bought or managed out-of-state and is advising me to forget about it. They say I should start with something easier, since I have never purchased property before, but I figured lack of experience is not an excuse to close my eyes!

So what were your favorite methods of sourcing opportunities in cities/neighborhoods you could not physically visit often, and did you find managing property remotely to be actually quite easy?

Eager to learn,

Kevin

[Aaron K.]

Well start by determining if you even want/ need to go out of state. I don't know where you are but it is tough to say, if you live in Kansas City for example there probably isn't a need to venture too far. To an extent your friends are right, in the beginning you will make mistakes, and knowing the area can minimize SOME of those mistakes. As much as people on BP rag on the MLS when you are just learning a new area a good RE agent can be invaluable. I'm also a fan of internet shopping the MLS to death and extracting all the data I can.