Dipping your toes into real estate investment can be equal parts exciting and stressful. Given how much capital is tied up in most investment properties, it’s easy to see why so many fledgling investors would get cold feet. After all, a single bad real estate investment stands to cause tremendous damage to one’s finances. So, if you’re new to real estate, it’s in your best interest to get educated before proceeding to purchase your first investment property.
To help ensure that you don’t wind up making a large purchase that you regret, take care to equip yourself with the following pointers.
Get Input from Seasoned Investors
Input from experienced investors can prove tremendously beneficial to your chances of success. So, if there’s anyone in your life who’s seen success with real estate investments, don’t hesitate to contact them in advance of purchasing your first property. Investors with ample experience will be able to walk you through the basics of location research, market trends and various other tenets of successful investing.
If you don’t have any family members, friends or general acquaintances with relevant experience, reach out to a highly-rated real estate investment company. The right company will be able to educate on how to make successful investments, the best areas for investing and the best times to invest. So, if you’re eager to start your real estate journey off on the right foot, get in touch with a knowledgeable investment company posthaste.
Research Profitable Locales
As any seasoned investor will tell you, location counts for quite a bit when it comes to real estate. In fact, many renters and homebuyers are surprisingly amenable to overlooking a lack of spaciousness or modern amenities with properties that are located in areas with ample demand for housing.
When looking for the best suburbs to invest in, there are numerous criteria you’ll need to consider. For example, if a locale has a booming population, strong local economy, high property values and healthy rental rates, it’s generally a safe assumption that there’s abundant demand for housing. On the flipside, areas with waning populations, weak economies and low property values don’t typically have very much demand, meaning that any real estate you invest in is unlikely to generate the desired returns.
Don’t Let Yourself Be Taken Advantage Of
No matter how much you love a potential investment property, you should never allow yourself to be taken advantage of. To help ensure that you don’t wind up overpaying for your first property, have a look at what similar properties in the area are selling for. If you find that the property that’s piqued your interest is being sold for a considerably higher price, you’ll have a solid reason for amending any offers you were thinking about making. At the very least, you should make a point of asking the seller what they think sets their property apart from others like it.
Always Insist on an Inspection
Purchasing an investment property that hasn’t undergone a professional inspection is always ill-advised. Even if the owner is adamant in their assurances and you’ve done a detailed personal walkthrough of the property, you should never forgo a professional inspection.
For one thing, having the property insured without a proper inspection is liable to prove impossible. Furthermore, a thorough inspection from a knowledgeable professional is essential for determining a property’s true condition – and therefore its true worth. Even properties that appear to be problem-free can be plagued by a host of issues that don’t become readily apparent until long after they’ve been sold. An inspection may even turn up problems that even the seller was unaware of.
Once you have the results of the inspection, you’ll know exactly how much work – if any – a property requires. This will enable you to seek out contractor estimates and, if need be, amend your offer accordingly.
While it can certainly prove financially beneficial, investing in real estate isn’t something to take lightly. Considering how much money you stand to lose if an investment doesn’t pan out, it’s in every fledgling investor’s best interest to proceed with caution and do their homework in advance of purchasing their first investment property. Taking the time to learn about the tenets of smart real estate investing can significantly diminish your chances of making an investment you come to regret.
