If you’re excited to add a new rental property to your investment portfolio, you may be taking into account buying in a market at a distance from where you live. There are quite a lot of valid reasons in this regard, definitely, if you figure out a certain market is ideal for owning a rental home in McKinney. You may even be tempted to purchase your new rental property sight unseen. Because really, several rental property investors do, and it can work out without a problem. Although, buying a rental property sight-unseen does have a few potential pitfalls that you’ll absolutely hope to avoid. To help you get your next profitable rental property sight unseen, here are just a few of the top tips generously shared by real estate experts.
Get a good real estate agent.
The most important thing you can bring about to successfully buy a property sight unseen is hiring the right real estate agent. For sure, there simply is no substitute for working with someone who completely understands the local market, has expertise in the type of property you want to buy and is agreeable and willing to send you detailed information about each listing. To make sure you hire the right person, ask for references, find out their experience, and do in-depth interviews. You’ll be working closely with this person, so successfully finding a good fit is substantially vital!
Ask the right questions.
Whether you plan to tour a listed property or not, you need to ask a lot of questions and gather as much information as you definitely can. This is actually the correct thing to do if you can’t be on-site to see certain things for yourself. For example, you should have your real estate agent send you a floor plan or, if one isn’t available, the dimensions and rough layout of the property. Indeed, make it a point to ask about the true state of the property and things like sounds and smells. These are things that the photo definitely will not convey.
Research the area.
Not only do you need to ask for details about the property, but you’ll, in like manner, want to find out as much as you can about the potential new neighborhood. One suitable way to easily get started is by just using Google Earth and Google Maps to view the property’s street. You might likewise ask your real estate agent to include a walking tour of the area in a video tour of the house so that you can get a better sense of the surroundings.
Request video tours at different times of the day.
Typically, one of the best approaches to learn a lot about a potential property is to look at it several times, at different times of the day. A property may look like it’s on a serene neighborhood lot in the morning, only to discover that there are undisciplined neighbors, late-night train sounds, or other nuisances occurring after dark that your daytime tour would have missed. Things can look very different in the daylight than they do once the sun goes down.
Enlist friends and family to help.
If you happen to be familiar with anyone staying near the rental property you want to buy, take into consideration asking them to tour the property and drive the neighborhood in your place. A second set of eyes never hurts, and they may give you info that your real estate agent missed (or didn’t want to report). As a resident, they can similarly give you a better grasp of the characteristics of different parts of town and the property’s neighborhood.
Get an appraisal and a home inspection.
Lastly, you obviously should have a professional appraisal and home inspection done. Despite that plenty of lenders require both as part of the financing process, you should still set up a professional inspection even if it isn’t required. The inspection and appraisal can tip you to any number of troubles, from serious structural problems with the property itself to parts that may exceedingly impact your property’s value. These are things you need to determine just prior to committing to the purchase.
Of course, one of the best ways to buy a property sight unseen is to purchase one that Real Property Management Focus manages. Our McKinney property management experts know every detail of the property and can often help you find off-market deals before they’re even listed. To learn more, contact us online.
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