Investing in a rental house can single-handedly secure money for a college or retirement, but do you have what it takes to be a landlord?
Success in real estate investing and life is all about point of view. Investing in a rental home will require you to adopt the effort as a small business to succeed.
Too many people who decide to buy an investment property take the approach that real estate is a way to turn a quick dollar. If you look at the investment property as a long-term endeavor, there is a very rewarding financial gain. You need to invest not only money, but also time and energy.
The upside of the housing market drop is the creation of a more affordable segment of homes. Couple that with today’s insanely low interest rates, and you’ve got a recipe for success in making the move to be a landlord. Not to mention the increased demand for rentals.
There is a good, free online resource to analyze potential investments at www.ownamerica.com. Supply purchase details, annual rents and operating expenses, and the calculator will provide investor equity, cash flow and rate of return.
If you are considering becoming a landlord, or already have rental property, here are a few tips: z Treat tenants as clients. They provide the return on your investment. z Minimize vacant days; always keep an urgency to refill a vacancy. Don’t use the current economy as an excuse to let the property sit vacant for more than a week. z Work to get rent in an automatic way, such as automatic debit. This will save time, money and headaches on the collection side and is well worth any fee or setup investment. z If you do not have the time to oversee crucial elements such as rent collections, maintenance or selecting tenants, consider hiring a property management company.
5 comments:
Lauren Bunting not Lisa
Lot of work! To be profitable stay in it for the long haul.
I bet landlords here in the 'bury don't agree with that since the university has been building it's own student housing. Lots and lots of empty homes in this city. Businesses too!
I can see it in Ocean City until that once in a lifetime Katrina hits.
I've been a landlord before, but would rent to those that are active military. I wouldn't say "I only rent to military", but I would offer a discounted monthly rate for those in the military. To me, it was a very easy safeguard against a bad renter. If the guy skipped out on a payment(or something similar), I make one phone call and boom, his pay is docked. Plus, I found that military members are usually great with upkeep and keep a place much cleaner. It is a good deal of work, but I plan on continuing it in the future. I hope to own multiple properties in the future, and it helps having more than a few years of home renovation experience under my belt. I think I'll stick with active military, as most people in the military will tell you, they can't stand base housing lol.
4:15 good luck finding a slew of active duty renters in the salisbury area. Is there a secret navy base on the river that we don't know about?
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