Buy and Hold Out of State

[Anna Z.]

I haven't started investing yet since I am still saving up to start. I want to use this time to learn as much as I could. I live in San Francisco and the market here is crazy. I was looking into homes to buy and hold in Sacramento but investors usually get to them first with cash offers. Would investing in an out of state property be too risky? I won't be able to afford anything in California for a while. What cities/states around CA would you guys recommend?

[Account Closed]

Anna Z.

As Michael Lauther said, personal contact is essential. It starts with the source of your inventory. Knowing who rehabbed the home and to what standard it was rehabbed is important. Before my first purchase I visited and met the people who were rehabbing and selling and looked at the rehabs and talked with them. Then I had to get a reputable inspector because being remote, they are your eyes on the property before the purchase. I asked the inspector to take a lot of pictures and asked him a lot of questions. Then there is the property manager. Thats the most important piece. Again, I believe in personal contact so I met a couple in person. Again, ask a LOT of questions. Other pieces of the puzzle was a mortgage broker. I got one through a referral that has worked great. Now this is lot of work. Not worth it for one or two homes. But my plan is for multiple properties so now the network is set up, I leverage for more purchases. There is a lot more to this than I can post here but if you want, I can talk to you in more detail about what questions to ask, how to do the diligence etc. You can connect with me as a colleague and we can discuss it offline. Hope that helps.