Seek real estate agent for purchase of rental property outside Ca

My wife and I own two single family houses in Oakland which we rent and use the funds for retirement living expenses. We are concerned about the possible destruction a large earthquake might cause and so are thinking strongly about selling them and purchasing other income property in a state (or states) outside California. The issue is that we do not know any real estate agents who specialize in out if state listings or transactions (or have connections with those who do) so we would appreciate very much any recommendations of highly qualified persons who have such experience. Many thanks.

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We just bought a vacation place in another state. We approached it as we would any home purchase: researched agents in that area, phone/zoom interviewed them, then chose one. I'm not sure there are agents who sell in multiple states, but maybe you could find one here that sells in a state you're considering. Otherwise, it is a tradition real estate search, but via zoom, text, phone calls, and emails.

To find income properties outside of CA, you might check the National Association of Realtors website for agents in the specific area(s) in which you might be interested.

Here in CA, we have a certificate program called "Graduate Realtor Institute" ("GRI designation").  We needed to sell inherited properties in Los Angeles, searched for GRI agents in the specific area, and found an excellent person. There may be similar programs in other states.

FYI - if owning an income property in another location is in your future, you should certainly inquire about property management services.  That way it will be someone else who gets yto 4a.m. call from the tenant about the malfunctioning water heater.

Hi there, I'd love to recommend my realtor, Jennie Lok (https://yelp.to/DiMmJvn0Hsb). We haven't personally done any real estate investing with her but she and her partner actually run courses to educate others on how to do this, so I'm fairly certain either they'd be able to help you, and if not, I'm sure they would have contacts out of state who would be able to. Even though most of her reviews are about Bay Area transactions, I definitely think she's still worth a reach out (she's very responsive). She was the first realtor I met and worked with in the Bay Area who genuinely seemed to have my best interests in mind. Feel free to mention my name (Joyce) if you reach out.

Howdy.  I don't know how much you know about doing a preliminary search for potential rental property, but here's a very simple formula that allows you to determine if a particular property has income potential.  Take the purchase price of the home, add to that all the fix up costs to make it "tenant ready," that is, fully fixed up and ready for tenants to move In.  Now find out the reasonable potantial monthly rent for that home, in that neighborhood, at this time.  IF THE POTENTIAL MONTHLY RENT EQUALS 1% OF THE TOTAL PURCHASE + FIX-UP COSTS, you have a potential money-maker.  That 1%, multiplied by 12 months, gives you a potential annual return.  Plan on one month of rent to pay property taxes, one month of rent to pay for insurance, one month of rent for local management, and possibly one month of rent for repairs, upkeep, etc.  That still leaves you with a potential net income of 8%.  

Unfortunately, it's difficult to find areas where this formula will work.  Yes, you can drop that 1% figure down to 0.75% and still get a positive cash flow return, but start by aiming at a full 1% figure.  So if and when you locate an area you want to explore, and find a reliable, knowledgable realtor, run this formula by him/her to see how viable that market really is.  And of course be sure to ask any potential realtor how much of their business involves purchasing single family homes to be turned into rental property.  Fully 85% of my realtor's work is doing this very thing.  He has 6-8 clients from California, because the numbers don't work here, that is, you can't find that 1% return.  Good luck.