If you’re inclined to add a new rental property to your investment portfolio, you may be thinking about buying in a market at a distance from where you live. There are various reasons for this, especially if you perceive a certain market is ideal for owning a rental home in Hoffman Estates. You may even be tempted to purchase your new rental property sight unseen. Well, after all, a lot of rental property investors do, and it can work out great. Though beware, buying a rental property sight-unseen does have a few potential pitfalls that you’ll definitely want to avoid. To help you procure your next profitable rental property sight unseen, here are just a few of the top guidelines shared by real estate experts.
Get a good real estate agent.
The most important thing you can carry out to successfully buy a property sight unseen is hiring the right real estate agent. There simply is no substitute for working closely with someone who appreciates and totally understands the local market, has expertise in the type of property you want to buy, and is amenable to sending you detailed information about each listing. To always make certain you hire the right person, ask for references, check their experience, and do comprehensive interviews. You’ll be working closely with this person, so making sure of a good fit is essential!
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 can. This is absolutely true if you can’t be on-site to see certain things for yourself. As an 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. Still, always remember to ask about the actual status of the property and things like sounds and smells. These are things that a photo will not convey.
Research the area.
Not only do you need to have details about the property, but you’ll additionally want to determine as much as you can about the potential new neighborhood. One appropriate place to begin is by simply using Google Earth and Google Maps to view the property’s street. You might further 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.
Indeed, one of the best ways to learn a lot about a potential property is to look at it several times, at different times of the day. A property may give the impression of being on a serene neighborhood lot in the morning, only to find out later on that there are wild neighbors, late-night train sounds, or other nuisances occurring after dark that your daytime tour would have missed. Things can appear to be very different in the daylight than they do once the sun goes down.
Enlist friends and family to help.
If you happen to actually know anyone living near the rental property you want to buy, take into account asking them to tour the property and drive the neighborhood in your place. A second set of eyes never hurts, and they may perceive details that your real estate agent missed (or didn’t want to report). As a resident, they can, in like manner, impart a better image of the characteristics of different parts of town and the property’s neighborhood.
Get an appraisal and a home inspection.
The last point, you undoubtedly should have a professional appraisal and home inspection done. Even though quite a lot of lenders require both as part of the financing process, you should still do a professional inspection even if it isn’t required. The inspection and appraisal can effectively warn you of any number of problems, from serious structural problems with the property itself to issues that may highly impact your property’s value. These are things you need to find out in preparation for 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 Northwest Chicago Suburbs manages. Our Hoffman Estates 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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