All Forum Posts by: Randall Degges

Thanks for the responses!

I'm going to do a bit more research before diving in. Going to check out the Indianapolis market a bit, get comfortable with prices and cap rates, etc.

Thank you all for the advice! And Sheri -- I'm going to send you a message! Would love to meetup sometime and hear more about your experiences.

Hi there!

I'm a first-time real estate investor. I've read all the books, listened to most of the BP podcasts, and have spent considerable time doing research online.

2 years ago I purchased my primary residence where I live in California and now I'm trying to purchase my first rental. I have family in Indianapolis, so I'm trying to purchase there. My understanding of the market there is that it is strong for the midwest: reasonable population growth, good jobs, solid neighborhoods, good cap rates, etc.

Because I'm quite busy, I don't have the time (or willpower, to be honest) to hunt for deals myself, find contractors to renovate, and do all that work myself. Instead, I figured that due to my time constraints I think going with a turnkey provider is my best best. Purchase something already renovated with a renter and property management setup, and aim for a little bit of cash flow.

I found a neat turn key provider called Pinnacle (http://www.investwithpinnacle.com), spoke to the owner, and also read through some of their BP posts. They seem really great.

Here's my question: for those of you living out of state who purchase turnkey rentals, what do you look for, exactly? I can view stats about cost of the place, how much it rents for, etc., but I can't see inside the place, what it looks like, what the renovation quality is like, etc.

I'm a bit afraid of just committing to a purchase without seeing it myself, and from what I understand many of these turnkey units sell immediately after being listed, so timing is sort of important.

Initially, I thought I'd ask my family who lives in the area to go check the places out for me, then make a purchasing decision, do inspections, etc. I'm beginning to feel like that likely won't be possible, however.

I'd love to hear stores or talk to those of you from out of state who've gone this route and purchased turnkey units. What was your experience like? Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks @Jay Dean, will get those and start reading =)

So far I've been doing mainly youtube research, watching the biggerpodcasts episodes, etc. I'm still 100% new ^^

Appreciate the advice.

Hi everyone, pleased to be here.

I'm a software developer living in the bay area (Concord, specifically), who's interested in purchasing rental property, and eventually doing more real estate investing.

Some stats about me:

- I'm 28 (I turn 29 tomorrow)

- Married (for 6 years)

- My wife is also a software developer

- I own a home in the bay area as my primary residence (600k)

- My wife and I are currently maxing out my tax-beneficial accounts (401ks, IRAs)

- Outside of tax-beneficial accounts, my wife and I invest in ETFs, etc.

- I'm a novice to real estate investing, so am currently in the learning/discovery phase.

A few of the things I'm currently thinking about:

- Should I even consider the option of purchasing rental properties near where I live? The market here is incredibly expensive compared to the rest of the country. It seems like a "nice" idea because I'd be able to keep an eye on things myself, and potentially even manage the property myself to get a hang of things, but the downside is cost.

- How hard is it to perform rehab work on homes? The house I own now (my first purchase) is pretty new (2007), and doesn't require much work, so I've got 0 experience dealing with contractors, etc.

- Is it still possible to cashflow on properties if I'm buying them out of state, handing property management off to a third party company, and leaving all the rehab work to contractors? I'm sure it IS possible, but is that realistic?

- Do any of you pay off your primary residence before dabbling in real estate investing?