One of the most challenging parts of investing in income-generating real estate is finding rental income properties for sale.
One can employ a real estate agent in the search. In fact, realtors can be a very valuable resource when searching for income properties. They can bring insight beyond what a data-driven listing can provide. However, a realtor is just one of many available resources at one’s disposal when searching for profit-generating income property for sale. Realtors are also generally focused on a specific geography. Their first-hand knowledge of properties and neighborhoods only goes so far in a wide-ranging search.
One’s real estate network is also a key to finding off-listing income property for sale. Some of the best property deals can happen outside of the formal sales process. However, this is more akin to hitting the lottery than it is to a formal business plan. Still, putting the word out to one’s network that they are interested in hearing about property coming to the market is always a great idea. And best of all, it doesn’t require any payment or any active searching time on the part of the investor.
Related: Real Estate Investment for Beginners: Neighborhood Analysis
How to Find Rental Income Properties for Sale: A Step-by-Step Guide
Many resources are available to real estate investment professionals looking to find income properties for sale. So many, in fact, that figuring out how to find an income property can become a bit confusing. Whether you are buying your first income property, or already own multiple income properties, Mashvisor can help. The site offers valuable tools to make your search more efficient. Here is a step-by-step guide to how Mashvisor can help any real estate investor find the best income property for sale.
Step 1: Conducting an Investment Property Search
Mashvisor’s original mission was to help make life easier for real estate investors looking for income property for sale. Finding investment property is more difficult in some ways than finding a personal residential income property for sale. The criteria used to evaluate one’s own home purchase are not the same as those for rental property.
One smart way to start a search for the best income property for sale is to use a heatmap. Heatmaps help an investor searching for a new condo, townhouse, single family home, or multi-family home sort the available options in a given area.
You’ve seen heatmaps in action during elections. Rather than showing many small hard-to-understand numbers across a large screen, a heatmap simplifies searches with colors. Mashvisor includes heatmaps that will allow you to quickly glance at where the best values for income property for sale are located. Areas with the best rates of a selected metric are shown in green. Areas with poor rates are shown in red.
Related: Finding Income Properties By Using a Heatmap
Mashvisor’s Heatmap Tool
Using Mashvisor’s Real Estate Heatmap
Mashvisor’s heatmaps will help you to narrow down geographical areas with income property for sale that likely have the best return on investment. Once you have found the locations with income property for sale that look promising, find information on the neighborhoods in which these properties are located. You simply click on a given neighborhood, and the platform will then display a summary of the real estate analytics in that neighborhood.
The information shown is very helpful. It includes the median home price, traditional and Airbnb rental incomes and cash on cash returns, and occupancy rates. Mashvisor can even suggest whether a neighborhood would be better for long-term rentals or the neighborhood favors Airbnb properties for sale.
Step 2: Narrowing Down the Options During Search
After you have found which area offers the best selection of income property for sale, it is time to begin using real estate data to compare properties. Your goal will be to create a list of promising income properties for sale and to filter out those that are not as promising.
For example, Mashvisor can help you to sort properties based on top-down metrics. They may include your budget, square footage, and the number of bedrooms and bathrooms. This type of search will work for you regardless of whether you are searching for an Airbnb or traditional income property for sale.
How much data you want to evaluate when searching for income property for sale is really up to you. One can pull together a list of just a few properties for more scrutiny in person at this point or evaluate many at once. Mashvisor will help you either way.
Investors who opt to consider multiple properties can even export Airbnb, traditional, and MLS data if they so choose. It puts much of the same industry data into your hands that realtors have access to. Using data this way can be demonstrated by one of Mashvisor’s associates. It’s free to try.
Step 3: Conducting an Investment Property Analysis
Whether you have created a list of two income properties for sale to compare or a list of many to evaluate further, conducting a property analysis is your next step. Using a rental property calculator can be very helpful at this point to determine which property will give you the best result long term.
Rental property calculators are tools that will factor in many different variables. For example, the cash invested, interest rate, depreciation, and other costs to help you find the most profitable income property for sale. Mashvisor has rental property calculators you can use in your search. To get started using Mashvisor’s real estate analytics, click here.
Related: What Are the Most Important Metrics in Real Estate?
Tips on Finding Rental Income Properties for Sale
Here are several tips to consider when looking for rental income properties for sale. Take note of each one to ensure success in your real estate investments.
1. Choose your rental property investment wisely.
Investing in real estate should not be taken lightly. It entails a lot of research, taking several factors in mind, and weighing the pros and cons to ensure success in this endeavor. Some real estate investors do not bother researching the properties they are eyeing, leading to impulsive decisions that may result in failure later on.
When choosing a rental property investment, make sure to physically visit the property that you’re planning to buy. You also need to do a real estate market analysis so you will get an idea of the potential return on investment. Also, don’t forget to review the tax history and the condition of the property.
2. Look beyond your local area.
You can find an investment property for sale not only in your local area but in other towns or states, as well. Broaden your search. Look at areas with high occupancy rental opportunities, high per-capita incomes, low unemployment rates, and healthy local economies.
3. Look for rental income properties for sale with high cash flow potential.
If the property is located in an area with good security and public amenities, it will have fewer risks, which means that you will most likely get a stable income from it. However, if the property has a potential for high returns, it can also come with more risks and, therefore, may not be as profitable as you hope it would be.
4. Create a home inspection checklist before buying the property.
Make sure you’re getting your money’s worth by inspecting the property before buying it. This is an important step because keep in mind that most sellers will focus only on the best features of the property. You need to have it inspected so you don’t miss the ones that the sellers may not tell you.
It will be helpful to have a home inspection checklist just to make sure that everything is inspected. Some of the things that you may want to include in your checklist are the foundation, roof, pest control, plumbing fixtures, electrical panel and power outlets, paint, and rain gutters.
5. Decide if you need to hire a professional.
Once you have your rental property, it’s time to manage it. You can be the property manager if you are available 24/7, can screen potential tenants, and are knowledgeable about the different landlord-tenant laws. Otherwise, hire a professional to manage your investment property.
How Predictive Analytics Can Help You
Predictive analytics can also be a very valuable tool. Predictive analytics uses big data from the past to help predict future outcomes. It enables investors to obtain objective information to help guide investment decisions.
Mashvisor offers predictive analytics tools to help you in your search for the best income property for sale in your search area. To learn more about how the platform’s predictive analytics can help guide your decision, please watch our YouTube video on the subject.
For your real estate investing needs, you can use Mashvisor, which is a leading resource in finding rental income properties for sale. We can help investors in every step of the process.
To find out more about how Mashvisor can help you, sign up for a free 7-day trial, followed by 15% off for life.
