Are you ready to add a new rental property to your investment portfolio? You might want to consider buying in a market at a distance where you live. There are a lot of reasons to do so, especially if you know a certain market is ideal for owning a rental home in Burlington. You may even want to try purchasing your new rental property sight unseen. After all, many rental property investors do that without any trouble. Buying rental properties sight unseen, however, has some potential pitfalls that you definitely want to avoid. Here are a few tips from real estate experts that can help you acquire your next profitable rental property sight unseen.
Get a good real estate agent.
The most critical part to successfully buying a property sight unseen is hiring the right real estate agent. It is important to find someone who knows the local market, has expertise in the type of property you want to buy, and is willing to send you detailed information about each listing. To make sure you will be hiring the right person, ask for references, check their experience, and conduct interviews. As you will be working closely with this person, it is important that you find a good fit.
Ask the right questions.
Regardless of whether you plan to tour the listed property or not, you need to ask a lot of questions and collect as much information as you can. This is important especially if you can’t be on-site to see things for yourself. For instance, you should ask your real estate agent to send you a floor plan, or the dimensions and rough layout of the property. Also, ask about the visible condition of the property and other things like sounds and smells. These are things a photo cannot tell you.
Research the area.
Aside from learning the details about the property itself, it is also good to know as much as you can about the potential neighborhood. A great place to start is by using Google Earth and Google Maps to see the property’s street. Request a walking tour of the area from your real estate agent as part of the video tour of the house so you can get a better idea of the surroundings.
Request video tours at different times of the day.
A good way to learn a lot about a potential property is to look at it several times at different times of the day. A property that appears to be on a serene neighborhood lot in the morning can have rowdy 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 and after dark.
Enlist friends and family to help.
If you happen to have friends living near the rental property you want to buy, consider asking them to tour the property or drive around the neighborhood in your place. The second set of eyes never hurts, and they could also reveal details that your real estate agent missed (or didn’t want to report). As a resident, they also have a better sense of the characteristics of the different parts of town and the property’s neighborhood.
Get an appraisal and a home inspection.
Finally, you should require a professional appraisal and home inspection. While many lenders require both as part of the financing process, you should still schedule a professional inspection even if it isn’t required. An inspection and appraisal can bring to the surface a number of issues, from serious structural problems with the property itself to elements that could greatly impact your property’s value. These are things you need to know before deciding to purchase the property.
Of course, one of the best ways to buy a property sight unseen is to purchase one that Real Property Management Teyata manages. Our Burlington 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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