When you’re a green real estate investor, it’s not always obvious what is and isn’t a good investment opportunity. In fact, even experienced investors can be bamboozled by a bad property or a shady deal. With inflation the highest it’s been in decades, you have more to lose by taking on the wrong investment.

According to the National Association of Realtors, 99% of tracked metro areas experienced year-over-year price gains in the first quarter of 2021. Of those markets, 89% experienced double-digit growth.

Property hunting can give any real estate investor a headache. It’s especially challenging when you’re looking for a property that is out-of-area.

If you’re outside of your local market, the first tool most of us go to nowadays is the Internet: we grab our laptops or smartphones and head online to scour property listings on the platforms we’ve come to know and trust.