She is unable to drive to NC to sign paper work, is there a way to do this w/o having the seller present at closing?

Meanwhile, study the listings in your area intently, check out what is popping up on Craigs List, look for real estate companies with web sites and study how they pitch their properties, go visit some apartment properties, drive around and survey your area, etc. etc.I also like having partners.

Yes Tony a TRUE Triple Net the landlord will not pay those costs.Lately net lease companies especially credit rated tenants have been more demanding in trying to get the landlord to cover some costs.It is very important to look at the length of the lease and terms and escalations.With inflation if the rent increases every 5 years is marginal and they want you to take care of certain items with the property it can drastically reduce your returns.It's all about what returns you are seeking versus the security and consistency of the payment.Generally triple net will hover around the 6 to 9 CAP range but will not approach the teens in most situations.For those kind of returns you have to usually chase after value add deals but they are much more work than mail box money from a credit tenant.Credit tenants have risk which is why you also research heavily the health of the tenant today you are acquiring the lease and their growth plans for the future along with reserves.

It's simple really if they don't get paid until funded at closing and you pay the appraiser directly for upfront fees keeping the so called lender from PADDING anything then they most likely are real.If they ask for money upfront they can call it whatever fee they want.They keep changing names so people do not think it is a scam and then never fund the deal.Really think about this if a lender gets a bunch of money upfront they have low motivation to close your deal.It's like mailing someone a 1,000 that is 100 miles away from a building and saying drive here and paint this unit today.Versus having a 1,000 but not paying a dime until the work is completed.For every real lender I see about 8 out of 10 that are scammers and are just churning due diligence fees.This is rampant in commercial real estate.First question I ask a lender who calls is do you have to put up ANY money before closing other than direct payment to the appraiser??

Also, are you a cash flow investor or do you prefer equity growth through appreciation?

You just need to take the drive.

I still think Schiff raises a good point though that drives home even more the importance of not leveraging yourself too much.

He's sacrificing capital growth as a result.

This site is amazing and will benefit your RE growth.

One thing that comes to mind--what if there's an energy crunch in the future that drives up utilities costs and larger houses become less desirable?