Have you reached a point in your life where you know you have to do something to increase your retirement income or you want to find a way to increase your spending cash? Do you want to start investing in real estate, but don’t know where to find investment properties for sale? This article will provide the necessary background to help you find profitable investment properties. As most real estate investors know, you make the profit when you buy not when you sell. So the road begins by developing a list of potential properties using the profile that you developed. Let us first take a look at what investors need to consider before buying an investment property.
Related: Buying an Investment Property: Get Ready For It to Be a Buyer’s Market
1. You have to be financially ready
Can your finances handle this type of commitment? In other words, do you have a steady income and a well-stocked emergency fund? Do you have any high-interest debts? And are they paid off? Are you on track to meet your retirement-savings goals? Does your financial planner support a decision to put your hard-earned money into this type of investment? These are questions you have to ask yourself before you think about looking for investment properties.
2. Calculate your return on investment (ROI) before you buy
Just the way you likely wouldn’t put money into a mutual fund without first checking its performance, neither should you jump on an investment property without checking what your potential return might be. You must always remember that rental property is not a low-risk investment, so investors should look for something with returns much higher than what a diversified portfolio would return. That’s why it is recommended to look for properties with a potential return on investment of at least 14% to start.
3. Find the right real estate agent
Many agents may view you simply as potential commission, so it helps to find someone who’ll be on your side. Such as a real estate agent who’s interested in establishing a relationship, owns rental property themselves and specializes in investment properties. Make sure to look for a real estate agent that has your best interest in mind.
Related: How to Find a Real Estate Agent for Investment Properties
4. Look for the right location
Look for property in a location that you feel comfortable spending time in and will attract high-quality tenants. Also think about what would appeal to the demographic of the renter you’re trying to attract. What may appeal to grad school students in a college town, for example may not be right for a young family starting out.
5. Expect a flow of taxes
Depending on the type of rental property purchased and how long it is kept, investors could discover a big increase in property taxes. Investors have to be prepared for all the scenarios that might come your way.
6. Start small
Buying a larger property than you’re ready to handle can become a major challenge. Starting small like purchasing a single apartment, condo or duplex, for example can help you get grounded in the idea of investing in real estate and decide whether it’s really the right step for you. Take small steps at a time.
Owning a real estate investment property is not easy, let alone finding one. Investors need to understand how to find investment properties for sale and must understand exactly where to find them. Mashvisor helps investors find investment properties through its website by easily providing them with all the information they need.
Related: 5 Ways to Find an Investment Property
Key points on how Mashvisor can help investors find investment properties for sale:
- Allows you to pick the city you want: Mashvisor will analyze any city you choose and will provide for you all the different key factors in that area.
- Provides the data: Mashvisor provides for you the required data that will help you make the proper decision for your investment property. The list of data consist of these options in which you can choose from:
- Listing price
- Airbnb cash on cash return
- Traditional cash on cash return
- Airbnb rental income
- Traditional rental income
- Airbnb occupancy rate
- Helps you evaluate markets: this will help you find opportunities that you were not aware of. When you understand and analyze the market it becomes easier for investors to find the right property for investment.
- Provides an overview of neighborhoods: once you choose a specific neighborhood, Mashvisor will provide for you details such as:
- Medium home price
- Cash on cash return
- Average rental income
How you can filter your properties using Mashvisor
Mashvisor allows you to filter out properties based on your own preference. Investors who are interested in investing in mortgage can easily re-calculate their returns by entering their down payment amount. Investors can also select the areas and neighborhood areas that they are interested in investing. Mashvisor also has more detailed filters to set criteria for each property that you choose and the properties that remain after filtering are the ones that match your criteria. Be sure to check out Mashvisor’s videos on searching for investment properties for sale, so you can get a more detailed and precise explanation about the process.
One final word
An important factor that real estate investors need to keep in mind when they begin to search for investment properties for sale is to always know what their criteria’s are to help narrow down their choices. This will make life so much easier when you know what exactly it is you are looking for. Investors’ criteria list should include the following:
- Town
- Neighborhood
- Property Size
- Lot Size
- Property Conditions
- Number of Units
- Cap Rate
- Cash Flow
- Appreciation Potential
