The economy is changing, and everyone’s felt the tremors.
If you’re younger, you likely don’t think about retirement, but if you’re 50 or over, you’ve seen how shaky the stock market has been, even if it is ‘blue skies’ now, you know there’s a storm coming, and you know you need a safe option for stable income as you seek to replace your day-job income, or prepare for retirement.
Times Have Changed
According to Experience.com it takes 3 to 9 Months for College Graduates to land their first job. It’s commonplace for employees to be given someone else’s job in addition to their own, without getting a raise. With constant changes in healthcare, taxes, and the economy, investors are searching for a safe place to build their nest egg.
Today, many jobs are being cut down or cut off – in exchange for short term contracts with no benefits, and outsourced roles. Even worse, some have watch their job role become extinct and morphed into automated functions.
People need a dependable way to make money that can’t be shipped to Mexico, India, China, or some other country where the labor force is dirt cheap. If you’re looking for an income and retirement source that can’t be innovated or outsourced away, then search no more.
Real estate investing is one of the best opportunities in America for the average person to build a dependable, stable income and relatively good lifestyle. The challenge is that most people don’t know the right way to get into it and investors have much to learn regarding strategies that maximize profits and minimize headaches.
Most so-called ‘gurus’ and experts don’t give you everything you need, they’re overpriced and they lead people down rabbit-trails with no carrot at the end of the tunnel.
As a licensed real estate broker, property manager, and fellow local real estate investor, it’s safe to say that I know a thing or two about the dos and don’ts of successful investing in the Carrol County market.
As the famous saying goes…
“You Make Money When You Buy, Not Sell”
The number one secret to successful investing that can’t be overstated is, only buy ‘cash-cow’ properties. If you buy the right investment properties – ones with plenty of ‘meat on the bones,’ then it’s tougher to lose money – which means it’s easier to make more money!
But you may scratch your head wondering, “How do I ensure I’m looking at a cash-cow instead of a mad-cow property?”
As a realtor who specializes in finding diamond-in-the-rough deals for real estate investors – including my own investment properties – I have developed an air-tight checklist of criteria that helps me hit the jackpot every time. And what’s really cool is that there are a TON of such deals to be had, if you know how to find them and what to look for.
Top 3 Criteria of a Winning Investment Property:
- Location Check – In this local market, you should be looking at homes that are in middle to upper middle-class neighborhoods. Particularly, you should be looking for homes in with great schools. Avoid slum neighborhoods and super-ritzy ones.
- Do Your Math – If the property is in good condition and can easily be rented, the value is higher than if you need to rehab the property. As an investor, you should have those costs factored into your purchase price. You should also create a “just in case” buffer fund for the unknown repairs. In addition, you need to look at the return on investment. Ask yourself, “What does the rental income look like along with the long-term expenses?”
- Look for Motivated Sellers – When searching for great deals, the motivation for selling the property is important to consider. Seller motivation alone can be the difference in landing a winner or a loser.
Yes, real estate investment has been a cornerstone of wealth creation for hundreds of centuries. More exciting, it’s a good time to buy. There’s a lot of bad investments around here but there are some real diamonds in our local market. Try using the criteria listed here to select winners for your portfolio.
Want help in selecting the best cash-flow rental properties in Carrol County?
Why not choose the expert! Contact the UTZ Real Estate team today.
Call us at 410-848-6999 (UTZ RE) Email us at info@utzrealestate.com or visit www.utzrealestate.com.
Discover how we can help you build your real estate investment empire, faster, more profitable and with far less headaches.
