Mission Impossible?

[P15]

Hi,

I have a few questions I would like to ask you guys. Hopefully you will be able to help me. To begin with I am not from the States and I live in Europe.
I have some experience with real estate, but not too substancial. Lately I have been researching online and it looks like a great time to invest in the U.S. real estate market if you have cash. Well, me and my partners do.
A lot of people are making money of flipping houses because there is a vast amount of great deals you can find out there right now. Even if the prices go down further, it is easier to find an investment with great cashflow than ever before.
This all sounds great, but how can I get a peace of the action, is there a way or am I just dreaming? Is the distance too much of a barrier? Is this a "Mission Impossible".
Obviously I could find a real estate agent to help me out. But I would have to be lucky to find a good and honest one.
Let

[gstone]

I can pass on some personal experiences that might give you a little insight. I have been investing in real estate since 1996 and have bought and held, bought and sold (flipped), rehabbed properties for other investors and have (do now as well) brokered private/hard money for other real estate investors needing financing. I have traveled to other areas of the country from where I reside to do deals, as well as deals close to home. First, define your strategy (Is it buy, fix sell; or buy and hold; or negotiate short sales and flip (wholesale). Then define the geographic area of the country that best suits what your strategy and goals are (some geographic areas have larger amounts of inventory than others). When I have done deals outside of the area where I live, I have done massive amounts of research (homework) about the area first, traveled there to gain contacts (realtors, contractors, builders, wholesalers, lenders, etc.) and spent time on the projects as needed to feel comfortable that things were going as I wanted them to. Trusting someone from a distance is difficult, especially someone you do not know or have a track record with. While I have located and rehabbed properties for other investors that I know and introduced them to realtors that listed their finished property without them ever seeing the property, it is not something that I would recommend, nor do myself if I were ther property purchaser. So in my opinion you will need to locate local contacts and spend time/money visiting the areas/properties that you want to invest in as many times as is necessary to get that comfortable feeling. Hope this helped.
Rob Beeman
Grindstone Financial
Hard Money Mortgages

[Codythebest]

If you are not living in the US, forget it, you'll lose money.
I can write a book about that as Belgian myself having bought apartments buildings in the Miami Beach area in the 90s'...
You're not on site, they will steal your money smartly. I know what I'm talking about...

[VAInvestor]

Generally, I would be very careful about investing far from home, especially if it's something management-intensive like real estate. I've been tempted to invest in other states, but have always stopped myself because of all the unknowns in having someone else manage your property, screen your tenants, deal with evictions, etc. Sometimes it's better to just stick to your backyard unless you have someone very trustworthy and competent to handle matters for you.

[stallan54]

There are people called Property Managers. It is imperative to interview them carefully and get to know them very well to the point where you would trust them with your children. If you don't have a good PM, then yes, you are vulnerable to massive headaches.

[thomas12]

Generally, I would be very careful about investing far from home, especially if it's something management-intensive like real estate. I've been tempted to invest in other states, but have always stopped myself because of all the unknowns in having someone else manage your property, screen your tenants, deal with evictions, etc. Sometimes it's better to just stick to your backyard unless you have someone very trustworthy and competent to handle matters for you.

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I think its really very good to invest far from home. You can invest in such real estate but when something like dependable you have that can grip over this.