Buyers should have a strong investor focused lender and updated pre-qualification letter dated within 90 days and a team on the ground that can facilitate short term (sometimes virtual) showings and responsive/creative dealmaking ability.

Even before getting to that thought I can say without a doubt that it is more risky than buying at home because presumably you've got the following working against you.Lower than average market knowledge.Lower than average number of contacts.Lower than average ability to do things yourself if need be.Whenever you are buying a property out of state you should do a few things to ensure it's as smooth as possible.Don't buy in the roughest neighborhood in the urban core.

The “Best” way to get leads is always going to depend on a multiple of factors, some of those being your local market, your skills and abilities, your resources, etc.

This way, it is unambiguously notated in the contract at what point we have the ability to inspect and back out of a contract for repair issues.If the short sale has taken 24 months (which some of ours have), then the inspection in that first month would be worthless.

We are new to the idea of a rental and trying to gauge our ability to execute on it.  

Buying at a discount gives you equity AND the ability to sell the property if you decide that rental properties are not for you.Having said that, CASH FLOW IS KING with rentals.

You'll then have the ability to edit all of your details, your avatar, and your forum signature with all of the various tabs of information.Thanks in advance,John Corey

I use a Treo phone, and having the ability to send faxes through my phone would help me out significantly.

So from a “cash flow” standpoint, CA is less favorable over other options, but if you buy right, time it right, and have a long term outlook, CA can provide some of the highest appreciation rates in the country and when you apply leverage responsibly, your total returns can be quite large.One needs to decide their goals and then have the abilities and desires to get there.

I’m in Virginia, and I’m in both the hair and house business.