Deciding on your financial goals for your real estate investments is your first step in starting a good business. Do you need steady monthly income? Are you preparing your nest egg for retirement? Are you building up a portfolio to use for your children’s education in upcoming years? To meet your goals, you need to choose the proper method of real estate investment.
One method to make some fast cash, even if you don’t have any money, is locating great deals and selling them to other investors. Real estate investors are always looking for profitable deals, and if you can help them find them, they will either buy the contract from you, or may pay you a finders fee. Check into local real estate investment clubs and organizations for possible partners.
If you are wanting to establish a steady monthly income, the most common investment strategy is buying rental properties. You will need to put on your accountant’s hat, and figure the price of the property and the rental income very carefully. Factor in all of your costs for the mortgage, insurance, taxes, and set aside a repair budget. You want to buy properties which will return more in monthly rental payments than the cost of owning the property. Many times buying less than prime properties and doing minor repairs and cosmetic touch-ups can make a single family home a great rental property. Your own local neighborhood may not be the hottest area for rental properties, so you may need to step into other neighborhoods, and communities to find the right mix of rental prices, and low cost properties.
Rental properties do come with one additional cost, which many investors overlook on their first purchase, their time. Some tenants can be demanding, others are slow to pay, and even others quit paying entirely and must be evicted. Choosing tenants wisely helps to reduce these issues, but you will always have some challenges. If you prefer not dealing with tenants, you may want to explore other options in real estate investing.
Another popular investment strategy is flipping properties. In this strategy you buy properties under market value, possibly because of the quality of the property, and you make the necessary repairs and renovations before selling for a profit. You’ll need a good calculator and a sharp pencil for your budget planning on these deals. You need to take into account all parts of your planned renovations, and all possible costs to make sure the investment is likely to return a sizable profit.
Some real estate investors are in for the long haul, and buy properties to hold onto for a longer period of time, counting on rising prices to increase the value of the property before selling for a higher profit.
Your choice of what real estate investment strategy is best for you can be based upon your available financial resources, income needs, and interests. You may even decide to work with a combination of these methods to fill your real estate investment portfolio. Combining buying rental property, with a long term strategy of selling for a higher price is a common combination investment. Welcome to the exciting world of real estate investment.
There are many ways to make a fortune investing in real estate. For more information about real estate investing visit my website at InvestInRealEstate101.com.
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