One of the most beautiful things about the internet is that you are not limited by geography. Regardless of where you live in the world, you can still invest in U.S. real estate. Without the ability to easily visit properties, your team of real estate professionals are especially important.From helping you make informed decisions before buying a rental property to managing your investment, there are three core team members that every foreign investor needs to have.
So how do you find real estate professionals you can trust and rely on?
This guide will walk you through the process of building a team while living abroad, covering everything from finding the right team members to conducting interviews.
Finding the right real estate professionals for your team can be challenging, especially when you're doing so remotely. The two most effective ways to connect with trusted experts from afar are leveraging online platforms and tapping into local networks. These strategies can help you build a reliable team, even when you're managing everything from a distance.
1. Online reviews: Most decisions start with a Google search. Platforms like Google, Zillow, and Realtor.com offer quick insight into a professional’s reputation. You can also use testimonials to help you narrow your options based on their overall experience.
2. Referrals: Trusted recommendations from friends, family, local investors, or team members offer valuable firsthand insight. They help you identify professionals with a proven track record who are more likely to be a strong fit for your team.
Together, these referral sources create a strong foundation for finding the right team members and ensuring quality collaborations.
Once you’ve selected a market to invest in, your next priority should be finding a foreign national-friendly real estate agent. Making a real estate agent the first member of your team will allow you to begin house-hunting and learning the ins-and-outs of the market.
In addition, a great real estate agent will facilitate conversations between all parties involved, including your other team members. Needless to say, a real estate agent can make or break your remote investing experience– here’s how to choose wisely.
There are commonalities that all high-performing real estate agents share. Be sure to look for these qualities when searching for a real estate agent to work with:
Not all real estate agents are equal in ability, experience, or knowledge. These questions will help you filter your search to find the best ones:
1. Have you ever worked with international clients before? This question helps determine whether the agent has experience navigating the complexities of international transactions, such as legal considerations and cultural differences, which can be crucial for foreign investors to know.
2. Do you invest in real estate? Asking this question can be beneficial because they may better understand the mindset and strategies of an investor, providing more tailored advice.
3. What trends are you seeing in the market? The level of detail in this response will reveal their expertise.4. How do you find deals? You can gauge the agent's resourcefulness and strategies for locating good opportunities, which can be essential in a competitive market.
5. What’s an example of when you successfully worked with a client from start to finish? This helps you evaluate the agent's track record and ability to manage the entire process.
6. What’s your fee structure? In 2024, real estate agent fee structures changed. The short explanation is fees are now negotiable between the buyer and their agent. While in practice this may vary from state to state, you need to understand fee structures so that you know what to expect when you purchase a property.
Just as a real estate agent is crucial to get the property search process underway, your lender is responsible for getting deals closed. As you prepare to make offers on properties, you’ll want to have a great lender on your team. Follow the instructions below to find a top-tier lender.
As you compare your lending options, be sure to consider these traits:
There are hundreds of mortgage lenders across the U.S. Yet, all of them vary greatly from one another. These questions will help you distinguish between them:
1. Do you work with international clients? Some lenders make it hard for internationals to get loans with stricter criteria or simply because they are inexperienced in this area. You want a lender who understands how to navigate the process to ensure that you can get a loan on your investment property.
2. What types of loans do you offer? A knowledgeable lender should be able to clearly explain the types of loans that might be suitable for your situation. This question is important for understanding the range of financing options available to you such as DSCR loans, conventional loans, and more.
3. What does the loan application process look like? Asking about the loan application process helps you prepare for the steps you’ll need to take, from pre-qualification and gathering documents to underwriting and final approval. That way, there are no surprises when you go to apply or throughout the process.
4. What documentation is required? It’s important to know what you need to gather for the loan application process, such as proof of income, credit history, tax returns, and employment verification. Not all lenders are the same–Waltz helps foreign nationals qualify without U.S. credit.
5. What’s the required down payment amount? This can significantly affect your budget and purchasing power. Different lenders and loan types require varying down payment amounts.
6. How long does it typically take to close? You want a lender who you can count on– that means proving you can get deals done. An experienced and transparent lender will provide an accurate timeline based on past experience. Equally important, they’ll help you understand any potential delays or factors that could affect the closing process.
Typically, you want to start looking for a property management company once you’re in the process of closing on a property. Property managers are responsible for overseeing all aspects of running your rental property as a business (with your supervision, of course). That's why it's important to invest time in selecting a property management company you can rely on.
A property manager needs to be a well-rounded professional with knowledge spanning across many topics. As you complete your search, make sure to check off these five traits as criteria:
Before working with a property manager, you need to get a strong understanding of how they operate. Here are six questions that you should ask during the interview process:
1. What is your fee structure and how are fees calculated? Property managers typically charge 10% of total rent along with fees for additional offerings. It’s important to factor this cost in to ensure that your rental will still be profitable and to know what to expect as your bottom line.
2. How do you screen tenants? Tenant screening is critical to ensure that the property manager selects reliable, responsible tenants who will pay rent on time, respect the property, and minimize the likelihood of future legal or financial problems.
3. Have you ever dealt with an eviction? Evictions are a challenging and costly process. Thus will help you assess the property manager's experience in handling difficult situations while ensuring legal compliance and protecting your investment.
4. How do you handle tenant communication and complaints? Effective communication is key to maintaining a positive landlord-tenant relationship and resolving issues before they escalate.
5. What systems do you have in place for different components of your job? Having clear, organized systems for maintenance requests, rent collection, and other aspects of property management shows that they are experienced and highly professional.
6. How do you handle bookkeeping and money management? This question assesses the property manager’s organizational skills and ethics. If they are managing your budget and finances, you need to make sure that everything is transparent.
Finding the right people to have on your team is one of the most important choices you can make as a real estate investor. It can be time-consuming, but it’s time well-spent to protect your investment.
Now, it’s time to put what you’ve learned to good use. Take the tactics to find and interview real estate professionals from this article to start building your team today!
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