You may have noticed that the real estate market in central Florida continues to be pretty hot. While prices peak and sales cool elsewhere across the country, we’re still competitive in Florida. People are buying, and investors from all over the world are taking advantage of our desirable inventory, our attractive prices, and our incredible rental opportunities.
If you’re thinking about investing in this area, but you don’t think you can get out here any time soon – don’t let that stop you.
With remote and out-of-state investing easier than ever, it’s quite possible to invest in a rental property without seeing it first.
Investing in a rental home sight unseen is easier than ever, especially in our local market. Here’s what you need to know, and how to prepare if this is an idea that has crossed your mind.
Risk and Unknowns: Is It a Good Idea to Invest Without Seeing a Property?
Investments always come with risks, even if you see a property in person and walk through it yourself. Investing without seeing it really doesn’t carry enough additional risks that you should ignore the option. Remote investing is not a big deal anymore, thanks to great technology and online platforms that allow you to view listings, negotiate deals, and transfer funds without being in the same room or even the same state as the seller.
Orlando, Celebration, and the surrounding areas are ideal markets for this type of investment. You have some great properties available to you. There’s a growing pool of well-qualified tenants. And, you will find yourself enjoying both cash flow and appreciation soon after you close.
Investing sight unseen does not have to be risky. Here’s how you can mitigate some of your risk:
- Invest in the best technology to help you feel like you’re there.
- Work with the best local experts so you have the support you need.
- Make sure to have a strong understanding of your own investment goals. Know why you’re choosing a particular market. Understand how a specific property fits into your portfolio and your goals. Don’t buy something just because it’s priced well. If you’re going to invest in a property without seeing it, you have to know it’s the right property at the right time.
Local Property Management is Required
The best first step you can take, when buying an investment property sight unseen, is to partner with a local expert.
You can rely on a real estate agent to help you identify a property and negotiate a deal. Your local agent can also help with closing details. They’ll provide you with all the information you need about the property throughout the process.
But, when you’re specifically looking for an investment property, what you really need is a company or a professional who can help you buy the property and then take care of managing, leasing, and maintaining it once it’s yours.
A professional property manager can take you through the entire investment cycle, from identifying an opportunity to finding and placing a tenant and signing a lease agreement.
What should you look for?
- As a remote real estate investor, you’ll need local property managers who have invested heavily in technology. This will allow you to stay connected to your management company and your rental property.
- Work with a team that can provide you with access to an online platform where you can check in on how your property is performing physically and financially. Work with a company that has invested in the best programs and platforms available in the real estate and property management industry. It will help you to see the home electronically from wherever you are. There can be video tours. Hundreds of photos. Inspection reports. You’ll quickly review and sign any legal and financial documents electronically.
Your real estate and property management partners can represent you in central Florida or wherever you’re buying your property sight unseen.
We work with non-local investors all the time, and our technology helps you feel good about what you’re investing in, even if you can’t see it.
With an experienced and proactive property management team, you can expect more than assistance when it comes to finding and buying a new investment property. You can also expect a continuity of the entire process, ensuring there isn’t a huge gap between the point in which you buy the property and the point in which you’re ready to rent it out. When you have a property management partner in place from the very beginning, you can count on:
- An efficient leasing period that does not extend your vacancy period unnecessarily.
- Thorough tenant screening, resulting in a well-qualified resident.
- An immediate response to emergency maintenance issues and routine repairs.
- On-time rent collection.
- Lease enforcement and tenant accountability.
- Lower turnovers and higher tenant retention.
A local property management partner will understand the requirements of your portfolio and develop a good relationship with your tenants. You won’t have to worry about investing sight unseen – we’ll see it for you.
Understanding the Local Rental Market
Spend some time educating yourself on the local market. And make sure you’re working with a property manager who is physically present in that market. You don’t have to be in Orlando physically, but if you’re planning to invest here, you need to understand the property values, the available properties, and the tenant pool. This is part of the due diligence you would conduct on an investment property even in your own neighborhood.
As property managers, we are evaluating rental values every day. We’re looking at the properties coming onto the market, we’re considering the updates and improvements that owners are making, and we’re measuring the competition.
Your best property management partner will share all of that knowledge with you before you buy.
If you’re ready to invest in a piece of real estate but you have no plans to come and see it yourself, get in touch with us, because we’re ready to help. Contact our team at Park Avenue Property Management. We work in Lake Buena Vista, Orlando, Kissimmee, Celebration, Maitland, Altamonte Springs, West Palm Beach, Tampa Bay, and throughout central Florida.