Due Diligence – Driving the ‘Burbs

I have been writing a lot of content lately for our upcoming online course on flipping houses in the US and thought I would give a little bit here. One of the important topics is Due Diligence. Now, we hear the term used in property and/or investing all the time but really what does it mean?

If you looked it up in the English Dictionary, you would get something like: “Reasonable steps one takes to ensure the safety of themselves or others and their property”. From an investing viewpoint it is probably more along the lines of: “Research done prior to entering into an agreement or contract to ensure the safety/profitability of the deal”

In Real Estate, there is a number of different types of due diligence you can do. Generally it would be specifically related to a particular house purchase or deal but often i find its worthwhile doing “due diligence” long before you start looking at a specific properties.

One of the best things you can do to set yourself up first, particularly when looking to invest from afar, is to get to know the area you want to invest in. I like to be in control of my investing from the first moment. I will always look at the regions I’m investing in and pick the particular areas or suburbs I want. Then, I will look through deals as they come up, and only investigate the ones in my areas of choice. This way, I am choosing my investing areas carefully, not allowing the deals to decide by simply offering good numbers.

Using Google maps can be a great tool to look through areas and streets you would like to invest in, but one of the best ways is to “drive the ‘burbs” yourself, so to speak. Now I know that we all can’t do that from afar, and often don’t want to spend the funds to fly overseas to drive streets to purchase a house (depending of course how much you are looking to invest!). In these occasions, it may be possible to get someone to do it for you? You may be looking in an area that you have friends or relatives there, possibly a work colleague, or even Realtors will often have, or be able to do this for you (even at a fee, it’s a worthwhile investment!).

Or alternatively, have us do it for you! 🙂

Here is a video that one of our best contacts in the US have done for one of my favourite areas of Detroit – East English Village. We have a number of properties in this ZIP code including a number of client properties. It is a real up and coming area with the city of Detroit spending millions in this and nearby regions to revitalise the region! It is neighboured by some of the most expensive areas of Michigan in Grosse Pointe, Harper Woods etc.

Have a watch and please “like” or leave a comment if you found it helpful, Emilio would appreciate it I am sure.