How to Buy Your First Out-of-State Real Estate Investment (Step-by-Step)

Out-of-state real estate investing is making a comeback, becoming one of the best investing strategies of 2025. Why? Home prices in most coastal markets have exploded, forcing investors in pricey areas to look elsewhere for real estate deals that work. Thankfully, America is a big country with plenty of profitable real estate markets, so even if you’re priced out of your own area, you can still invest elsewhere. So, how do you start? What should you do going into a new market as a new investor? Kathy Fettke is returning to the show as our resident long-distance real estate expert, showing you how to buy out-of-state investment properties in just a few simple steps. Anyone (and we mean ANYONE) can follow these steps to purchase a profitable property from a distance, even if it’s your first rental. We’re giving you an exact roadmap of everything you need to know: how to choose markets, find deals, analyze them, get property management, and start renting them out even if you live thousands of miles away.

Episode 1080 of the BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast podcast, hosted by BiggerPockets, titled "How to Buy Your First Out-of-State Real Estate Investment (Step-by-Step)" was published on February 7, 2025 and runs 38 minutes.

February 7, 2025 ·38m · BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast

Summary

Out-of-state real estate investing is making a comeback, becoming one of the best investing strategies of 2025. Why? Home prices in most coastal markets have exploded, forcing investors in pricey areas to look elsewhere for real estate deals that work. Thankfully, America is a big country with plenty of profitable real estate markets, so even if you’re priced out of your own area, you can still invest elsewhere. So, how do you start? What should you do going into a new market as a new investor? Kathy Fettke is returning to the show as our resident long-distance real estate expert, showing you how to buy out-of-state investment properties in just a few simple steps. Anyone (and we mean ANYONE) can follow these steps to purchase a profitable property from a distance, even if it’s your first rental. We’re giving you an exact roadmap of everything you need to know: how to choose markets, find deals, analyze them, get property management, and start renting them out even if you live thousands of miles away. In This Episode We Cover: How to pick an out-of-state investing market and whether you need to visit it first Analyzing deals from a distance and key factors to get right (insurance, property taxes, and more) How to buy a house sight unseen, EVEN as a beginner investor The one type of rental property Kathy says you should buy for your first rental What to tell a property manager as soon as you close on your first long-distance rental And So Much More! Links from the Show Join BiggerPockets for FREE Let Us Know What You Thought of the Show! Ask Your Question on the BiggerPockets Forums BiggerPockets YouTube BiggerPockets Market Finder Try REsimpli, The Only All-In-One Real Estate Investor CRM Software That Helps You Manage Data, Marketing, Sales, and Operations Sign Up for BiggerPockets Momentum 2025 to Supercharge Your Investing This Year Grab the Book on “Long-Distance Real Estate Investing” Find an Investor-Friendly Agent in Your Area Should You Invest Locally or Long Distance? Connect with Kathy Connect with Dave (00:00) Intro (01:31) Why Invest Out of State? (05:51) 1. Pick (and Visit!) Markets (11:00) Meet with Agents/Property Managers (15:17) 2. Define a "Good" Deal (17:16) Buy New/Turnkey? (20:45) Know Your "Advantage" (23:43) 3. Make an Offer (27:47) How to Buy Sight Unseen (30:18) 4. Close and Manage the Rental (33:22) Reviewing the Steps Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-1080 Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode Description