Startled by the couple wandering around the yard, and looking in windows she decided to yell over to them and ask what they were doing. “Excuse me, are you looking for something?” she called as she watched the couple peak into the basement window. My parents replied, “Um, our daughter is considering buying this house, and she told us it was vacant and asked us to look around. She lives in Toronto, and needs to be sure this is a good investment”. Thankfully the neighbour believed my parents, and was kind enough to tell them more about the area, but it could have ended a little differently had the neighbour just called the police on my peeping parents!

Unable to find anything that met our goals in Toronto, we began searching for a property in Vancouver or Nanaimo to invest in.

Vancouver turned out to be a bigger financial commitment than we were prepared to make at that time, so we eventually focused on Nanaimo. We found a place, put in an offer, negotiated the deal and closed on our purchase from Toronto. I did not see the property before we bought it. In fact, we’ve owned that property for over three years now, and I have yet to see inside of the property.

How did we do this? First of all, Nanaimo is very familiar territory for us. My husband Dave grew up in Nanaimo and knows it very well. This particular property in Nanaimo is actually our fourth investment in Nanaimo together. We also have built a relationship with our property manager and real estate agent. He is an excellent resource for us – and always keeps his eyes open for new and appealing opportunities.

Second, the internet has made property shopping so easy. Realtor.ca and for sale by owner websites are full of property listings. Even resources like Twitter and Facebook will provide new property leads and means for researching.

Third, we both have family in and around Nanaimo. And, we utilized our trusted family members to make sure this was a good purchase. Dave’s Mom did the initial walk through with our agent when the opportunity arose. She sent us photos and described it to us in detail. My parents went over on a different day, and walked around the block and peaked in the windows.

There is not much you can’t do over fax, phone and email these days. All our negotiations were done via our agent over the fax and phone. We had our lawyer here notarize our signatures on the purchase, with another lawyer in BC acting on our behalf for the purchase. We used the same mortgage broker in BC who has convinced many lenders to loan us money at great rates. Finally, we had our property manager rent it out and manage it for us.

It helps to have the right resources, and to have some knowledge of an area to make a purchase. It definitely makes it more comfortable. And, if you don’t need to see your investment on a regular basis then it’s definitely worth looking in other locations to find your investments. It gives you more flexibility, and may diversify your risk of market crashes because those are often very geographically focused.

Get Julie’s free tips and information on investing in Real Estate Investing at http://www.revnyou.com. Sign up for Rev N You’s free monthly newsletter and get a free starter tips guide where you’ll learn:

* Three easy ways to make money in real estate (so easy you’ll be making money while you sleep!),
* How to buy properties in Canada with limited cash,
* Your property type
* The easiest way to get financing,
* How to select a location and begin the search for your next (or first) property purchase.

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