Buying a rental property is a great way to earn passive income on the side. We understand that purchasing and making a house a rental can be a stressful ordeal. So, we have a few helpful tips that can make purchasing a rental property easier.
Often millennials prefer renting out a property instead of buying one. Also, with the high home values in today’s market, a lot of people are choosing to rent instead of buy. Therefore, it’s the perfect time to become a rental property owner. Real estate is a safe long-term investment idea if you know how to analyze market trends. It’s one of the top investments you can make according to Bankrate.
However, buyers need to know the most efficient ways to invest in real estate to make a well-informed decision.
The following are some tips that people looking for a rental property should consider.
You may think investing in real estate is simple and all you need to do is buy a house and find a tenant, right? Unfortunately, that’s not true. For starters, you need to have a long-term idea of the rent costs and how you should increase them over time.
For starters, you should evaluate the current market trends and do some research on the area. It’s important to base your rates on other neighboring rental properties.
Also, you need to think about whether or not you’ll take on the responsibility of screening tenants and making sure they pay their rent on time. Oftentimes people end up hiring a management company to handle this task for them.
Being a landlord requires a lot of professionalism and responsibility. Therefore, you’ll need to evaluate whether or not you can handle potential tenant issues, property upkeep, and maintenance.
Becoming a landlord also means that you will need to pay for sudden costs and unforeseen damages. The best way to deal with this is to save 30% to 40% of your income for these expenses. Otherwise, you may not have enough to cover the costs of repairs.
In addition, you want to make sure your rental income isn’t your sole source of money. For example, if something big happened, you may not have enough money to cover the costs. Most of the time, big repairs require immediate cash on hand to fix the problem.
Oftentimes people can underestimate the unforeseen costs that go along with owning a rental property.
The location you pick for your rental property can greatly influence your income. Homes in the best locations will appreciate over time, which will drive up the costs of rent. Also, highly desirable areas cause demand to increase, which will in turn cause prices to rise.
Purchasing a rental property for income is a great idea but requires you to consider many things. You will need to do background checks on tenants, follow rental laws, and make necessary repairs to the property. Therefore, ensure following our tips to earn maximum ROI.
Sources