From Making an Offer to Closing: Paperwork

[Blake Carlile]

Hey folks! I had a Self Storage facility in Missouri under contract in 2020, but had to back out of the deal right before closing because of bad survey issues. I was new to real estate investing at the time and spent about a year leading up to my offer educating myself about the industry and RE investing in general. At first, I thought SS was what I wanted to focus on rather than other asset types (because of no toilets, less maintenance / capex), but now I'm starting to consider the long distance SFR BRRRR investment strategy. I've read some books on the subject, and I really love the idea of the perfect BRRRR (or close to it) in order to refinance and get all or most my initial investment back to reinvest again fairly quickly.  

On my SS deal, neither party had real estate agents involved.  I worked with a RE attorney who provided the boilerplate purchase and sell agreement and he also kept us on schedule with all other necessary documents that needed signatures via DocuSign.  Looking back though, I can't say that I was happy with how the events progressed.  I liked my attorney, but the purchase contract he provided was VERY lengthy, and at the end of it all I had no deal and a bunch of legal fees.  On my next deal, if I were to provide my own purchase contract, I'd definitely have an attorney read it over to ensure it meet's the legal standards of the state.  I don't mind adding to it a little bit, but I'd like for things to be more manageable next time.  

Also, after the contract is signed, my education on what to do next feels lacking.  What if I wanted to buy a rental property without a realtor or attorney?  Are there any resources for learning how to do that?  From electronic signatures, to the step-by-step processes?  Most educational resources out there seem to go from Step A: Make an offer to Step B: Inspections to Step C: Close on Property and start managing.  Leaving out lots of details in the middle.  Ultimately, I'd like to be very knowledgeable about every step of the process so I don't drop the ball on something.  Even if I do become more knowledgeable, do I still need an attorney?  Do I need a Realtor?  Can I do this myself if I know the steps?  I realize all of this probably varies state by state, but if anyone can't point me in the direction of some really good material about this stage in the process I'd be very grateful!  Any other advice is welcome too!  Thank you!