When we bring a new market into Agents Invest, I get on a call with the local team and interview them for an hour. Same structure every time. Over dozens of these calls, I have learned that the questions you ask, and the way the local expert answers them, tell you more about whether to invest than any spreadsheet will. Here is the interview I run, so you can run it yourself before you buy in a market you have never lived in.
This assumes you have already cleared a market on the numbers using my 6-filter market checklist. This call is where you confirm the data with someone who actually works the streets you are about to buy on.
Questions about the market itself
The point of this call is to learn what you cannot easily pull up online, so do not waste it asking for population stats you can look up in two minutes. Ask the local expert the things only they know:
- Are people actually relocating here, and what is the real draw of the area?
- Where do you see most investors having success right now?
- Are there major developments in the works: a new employer, a hospital, an infrastructure project?
- Is this a pro-business, landlord-friendly area or not?
You are trying to learn whether you are buying into durable demand a local can see coming, not just demand that already showed up in last year's data.
Then get specific about where the money is actually made. What price point works here, and what does it rent for? Which specific neighborhoods are the path of progress, and which should you avoid entirely? What asset type performs best, single-family or small multifamily, and why? Push for real neighborhood names. A local expert who cannot or will not name specific areas is not local enough to help you.
Questions about the tenant and the numbers
You are going to own the operations, so underwrite them now, on the call, before you own anything.
Tenant quality and turnover. What is the tenant class by area, and where is turnover and eviction risk highest? What finish level do you need to hit the top of the rent range? How long do tenants typically stay, and how long does it take to lease a unit in and out of season?
The costs that quietly kill deals.
| Line item | What to ask |
|---|---|
| Insurance | How high is it here, and why? Wind, hail, flood risk all move the number. |
| Property taxes | How high are they, and does the sale trigger a reassessment that spikes them? |
| Utilities | Who pays water, sewer, and trash, and is the unit separately metered? |
These are the line items out-of-state investors underestimate most, and any one of them can flip a deal from positive to negative cash flow. Once you have a rent number to test these costs against, cross-check it using the triangulation method in how to determine fair market rent.
If you are considering a voucher or Section 8 strategy, dig in specifically: how does it work in this market, what is the payment turnaround, and how hard is the inspection and eviction process here? The rules and the friction vary a lot by city.
Questions about the team itself
Finally, interview the team, because you are hiring them as much as buying a house. Do you have property management on the ground here, what does it cost, and can they handle this asset type? Will you physically walk a property and send me video before I write an offer?
And the most revealing question of all: what is NOT working in this market right now, and what would you caution an out-of-state investor against?
That last one is the tell. The local experts I trust answer it immediately and honestly. One told me flat out she would not sugarcoat a property because she is the one who has to rent it. Another said he would give me all the good, bad, and ugly of everything he walked. The ones worth working with are not afraid to talk you out of a deal. The ones who only ever have good news are trying to sell you something, which is exactly the pattern behind the trap that burns most out-of-state buyers.
The green flags to listen for
As you run this interview, listen for a few specific signals:
- Does the person invest in this market themselves?
- Do they stay in the relationship after the sale instead of disappearing at closing?
- Do they know their lane and admit what is outside it?
- Do they already have backup vendors lined up, especially a second property manager?
Those are the signals of a team that will still be useful to you two years from now, not just on closing day. Once a team clears this interview, the property manager relationship deserves its own vetting pass, which I cover in how to find and vet a great property manager.
Ask these questions before you fall in love with a listing. The answers are your real due diligence.
If you would rather be introduced to a local team that has already been vetted this way, that is exactly what Agents Invest exists to do.
FAQ
Q: What should I ask a real estate agent before investing out of state? A: Ask about the local economy and job growth, the price points and neighborhoods that work, tenant class and lease-up times, and the cost line items that surprise people, like insurance and property taxes. Then ask what is not working in the market right now. The honesty of that answer tells you whether to trust them.
Q: How do I vet a market I have never lived in? A: Interview a local agent and property manager with a consistent set of questions, get specific neighborhood names and real rent numbers, underwrite the local insurance and tax costs, and pay attention to whether the experts will honestly tell you what to avoid. Confirm the data with a walk-through video before you write an offer.
Q: What is a red flag when interviewing a local team? A: An agent who only ever has good news, cannot name specific neighborhoods, or will not walk a property on video for you. The best local partners are willing to talk you out of a bad deal.
Q: Should I interview a market before or after I find a deal? A: Before. Run this interview during market selection, not after you have already fallen for a specific listing, so the answers surface real problems instead of confirming what you already want to hear.
This article reflects my own process and is for educational purposes. It isn't financial or legal advice. Confirm any market-specific rule, tax, or regulation with a licensed professional in that state before you act.
