Investing in Property

When I won a large sum of money when playing the lottery a few years ago, I decided to invest some of it in real estate. My dad used to always tell me that bricks and mortar where a great way of protecting a large sum of money. Unfortunately, my father wasn't a real estate expert so his advice did not go beyond this very simple statement. I didn't know what to do for the best so I contacted a real estate agency. They were really great and they helped me to plan my property investments wisely. I started this blog so I could offer advice to others.

How to Make Sure That Rental Properties Are a Good Investment for You

Real Estate Blog

The world is a very uncertain place, and it's even more important than ever to try and safeguard your financial future for those ever-increasing "rainy days." You need to look at a number of different areas to diversify your investment portfolio so that you're not overexposed in the stock market. Consequently, you may be looking at buying some property so that you can enter the home rental market. What do you need to think about as you move forward with purchasing rental properties?

How to Pick the Best Properties

In the property market, location is everything, but you need to avoid one big mistake—don't look at any particular location as if you're going to move in there yourself. While a room with a view is definitely an advantage, people who are choosing to rent will typically want to look at their new home from a variety of more pressing perspectives. Consider how near your prospective property is to the school system, the major commuting routes and the places of employment.

If you can find somewhere that is within a short distance of public transportation, this is always a good choice, but try and make sure that it's not too close to a major (and noisy) highway.  Have a look at how well the community is serviced and if it's close to commercial centres, restaurants or supermarkets. Most importantly, satisfy yourself that the neighbourhood is a good one and take some time to walk around and get a feel for it all.

Realistic Yield

You may have already started to crunch the numbers and be thinking about how much rent you could charge for the spot. You need to see what else is available close by to see what other landlords are charging. While you're doing that, do some additional research to uncover any building projects that may be underway or planned nearby. If a large development may appear, this could affect the rental yield, so you may have to pitch your pricing accordingly.

Rainy-Day Fund

Remember, the property purchase price is only a part of the bigger financial picture. You need to be able to furnish the property nicely, but you also have to have money set aside for repairs as and when they happen. Make sure that you can get liability insurance cover to protect yourself from any claims that may materialise.

Why You Shouldn't Go It Alone

Finally, get in touch with property management companies to help you with the overall operation of the project. They'll be experienced and will be able to anticipate any issues while also taking on the vital task of screening any prospective new tenants.

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27 October 2017