First tenants - Investing from abroad and out of state..

[Paul Hector]

Hello BP Investors,

Just wanted to say a HUGE "thank you" to the BP community! I had dabbled in real estate many years ago and have a vacation rental, buy and hold vacant land...but after finding out about BP, reading and connecting with other BP members I decided to step up my game and build up a portfolio of rental property. I am currently overseas so the experiences of many out of state investors was very helpful.

In December I purchased a 3 bedroom, 2 garage, 1.5 bath property in Michigan for $55,000. The bank's appraiser appraised it well above the purchase price. I then spent an additional $5,000 mainly for upgrades to the electrical system and a few minor things. The Christmas and New Year plus record snowfalls - most snow since 1886 I think - delayed both the work and the city inspections. It also reduced the amount of visits to the apartment and made showings difficult.

Anyway its now rented to a lovely couple - I took on-board the advice from the podcasts and forums about tenant screening and training - so hopefully this will eliminate some problems that could have arisen otherwise.

Looking forward to increase my portfolio, and so now considering whether to purchase in the same area, same state or another state. Also interested in buy and hold manufactured/mobile homes. Any advice appreciated!

Thank you BP!
Paul