Why Invest in Rental Properties?
BUY AND HOLD
Seattle and the surrounding area is currently one of the hottest real estate markets in the US. This means that more people than ever are investing in rental properties. Buy and hold is an investment strategy where an investor will hold onto a property for a period of time. While they may sell the property down the line, it is usually rented out for income. It is important to have a plan going into buying an investment property and we can help with this. We will use a calculator to help you figure out the potential income and expenses for a rental property.
Finding the Right Property
When investing in rental properties, you need to find the right deal. Keep the potential cash flow in mind when searching. It is dependent on the expenses of the property, based on the sale price. Additionally, at the start of your search, you want to keep in mind what areas have demand for tenants. Focus on places that are on the rise, even if it means paying a higher price for you buy and hold property.
Financing Your Project
When investing in rental properties, you can use the same types of funding as fix and flip properties. This includes hard money, which is structured a little differently. After buying property, there is a minimum waiting period before refinancing the loan for the new appraised amount. This can vary based on the lender and program type. We can help you connect with our preferred hard money lender, Intrust Funding.
Adding Value to the Property
Once you have the property, you will need to add some value. While you don’t need to do a full fix up of the property, you will want to make sure the property appealing to live in. Paint the wall and update the flooring. A small facelift to the kitchen and bathroom will also help. Factor these expenses into your budget before making an offer on the property. Some upgrades can increase your rental amount by 25-30 percent. Check out our blog for some ideas on how to increase value when investing in rental properties.
Managing the Property
When the property is ready to be rented, you have several options for managing buy and hold real estate. You can manage it yourself or work with a property manager. If managing the unit yourself, you will need to make sure you have a system in place before buying. In this case, you will need to put in a good amount of time and effort to keep the property running and in working order. A property manager can ease some of the time spent leasing and repairs of the property. This allows you to have more time to handle the management of the rental.