Red flags are not being able to meet at the property in person (usually they say they’re on a business trip or currently living overseas and they’re usually “really busy”, no time to chat small talk about the property or FaceTime with you or anything like that, etc.), not allowing access to the property (these are often vacant land deals or sometimes vacant houses), wanting to close remotely/ use a mobile notary or their own title company that is also out of state, wanting only cash offers with few contingencies, no “for sale” sign at the property, willing to sell the property for less than fair market value for a quick sale (often there’s a story that they need money quickly for their husbands surgery or some other emergency), they often have a foreign accent, and only want to communicate over the phone or electronically (for some reason they always use an outlook email and many prefer to communicate through WhatsApp). 

If this works, you can minimize your vacancy and make a short trip to Scottsdale to inspect the unit when the current tenant moves out and to do a walk-through inspection when the new tenant moves in.There are many companies that offer screening services. 

Positive landlord references No evictions Cash available for security deposit and first month’s rentNo Pets allowedSublease and sharing, airbnb not allowed,Reusable tenant screening not allowedEvidence of responsible character … i.e. reference letters, follows instructions, no lying, shows up on time, no major criminal record.

I keep feeling that I am tripping myself up by doing this.

Landlord friendly, low property taxes, no state income tax, and can be a day trip from CA.  

Plus in a recession people who might otherwise fly far just do a cheaper driving trip.

Out of all the things that trip me up in real estate, I think this is the main culprit.

However, where I find most investors and property owners trip up is in the contract management of GC to sub contract relationships.

Is easy to trip up and lose your tax deferment.Amy, I hope this helped.

Worth the trip for sure!