Lost In California!
Newbie here,
I am in California and wish to do some Out-Of-State investing, I am somewhat unsure of how to find a good realtor.
I am looking to buy a Single Family home for my first rental property, and I want to find a realtor that could possibly make this long distance gap less nervewracking.
Any suggestions on ways to find one would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks all 
Don't limit yourself to Realtors. Some are very good, most I've dealt with are terrible and will tell you that the deals you are looking for don't exist. They do exist!.
I heard a statistic recently that the average Realtor in the US makes an average ot $20K a year after 2 years (and to think that includes Realtors from CA who can easily make that much in two months!).
Try the following:
1. Use the Internet to query the classfieds newspapers in the city you wish to invest in.
2. Call the adds and track the number of properties you find with a given Realtor. This won't show you how well they sell property, but it will at least tell you how well they sell themselves.
3. Call Real Estate offices in the city you are investigating and ask to speak to the owner. Then ask the owner who is the best person on their staff to help you find investment properties.
4. Next when talking to the agent, ask them how many positive cash flow properties they own? If they don't have any, then they won't understand your needs either.
5. Ask the agent to show you their top 3 best cash flow producing properties they have listed or can find on the MLS and to ask them why they believe these are good investments. Use this to find out if the agent understands investing vs. speculation, cash flow, or if they are simply trying to get your business.
HTH,
Robert