Off Market Deals Out of State

[Jarrod B.]

Hey there all,

I have a quick question in regards to buying off-market deals from out of state.  

I'm actually switching hats from acting as an investor to purchasing a house for my family and there's a certain area that we are zeroing in on.  The only problem is there is limited inventory and the inventory on the market is less than stellar, so I was going to organize a direct marketing campaign to target off-market properties fitting my criteria.  Which poses my next dilemma in that we live out of state and any response that we get from prospective properties we wouldn't personally be able to drive out to the properties to inspect them.

We have a real estate agent that I used to purchase a handful of investment properties and he's been great finding deals, but when purchasing off market deals I think we'll be dealing with sellers that aren't interested in paying the buyers commission (for the most part).  My question is, how do you actually go about inspecting a property with off-market properties from out of state if you can't rely on a buyer's agent inspecting the property due to the fact that the buyers commission is off the table.  I think what I'm really looking for are some ideas to get eyes on the property initially.

My thoughts are, 1.  you can try to get a seller to pay the buyer's commission, that would get an agent out there and willing to look at the property.  

2.  Maybe pay a flat fee to an agent per visit to a house 

3.  Just have the seller Facetime a walk through.  

But that's all I could come up with.  Do you all have any other suggestions or recommendations on how I could get eyes on a property from out of state?  What do you think about my thoughts on the issue?  

Thanks in advance for your help...

[Elizabeth Wilson]

@Jarrod B. -

We either have someone we hired go look at properties and pay them per property and mileage  or we have our agent to look for us and pay her when we flip the house.  

Depending on where you are looking, you might find someone on BP who is willing to meet with sellers and take a property inventory for you.  

Honestly, your best bet is going to be paying an agent to go look because they should know what they are looking for and know the areas well enough to advise you.  You may also think about paying their commission instead of a per site deal.  

Best of luck!  Finding good off-market deals is a challenge for sure!