
30/09/2024
Someone asked me what kind of things I look into when I buy real estate assets. To start with, I have never purchased real estate assets for a quick flip. I don't believe in that, as it would be considered gambling in my book and not investing. That said, there have been times when my situation changed and there was a better deal around, and I did end up selling to buy the next property, but when I was buying at that time, it was never with the intention to buy and sell quickly.
One thing I always do when purchasing a real estate investment is that I rarely buy when everyone else is buying. I always try to buy real estate when I know or see that nobody else is interested in purchasing it. When people are fed up with real estate, that is usually the best time to buy. That does not mean you cannot get good deals at other times; if the numbers make sense, I will consider it. But you have to be looking and looking, as the deals usually don't come to you.
The best way to make money in real estate is to be patient and focus on the cash flow income it will create for you, rather than expecting capital gains growth or the value of the property going up. Lots of profits are lost in carrying costs, real estate commissions, and taxes. Furthermore, what will you do with the leftover profits? Likely reinvest in another property and pay land transfer taxes all over again? It's not worth it. When buying real estate, the monthly cost to carry the property needs to be below the rental income it will generate. If the rental income is more than the cost, you can take on the headaches of managing the property. As a result, your tenant will pay your costs, and you'll get paid for the headache. Over time, your rental income will increase with inflation, and your cash flow will continue to increase.
When you're expecting the real estate price to increase because the market will go up, you're gambling, and that's not investment. The second way to make money in real estate is to buy when the market is down, when nobody is interested, and the cash flow is at its highest point. Or, you can buy real estate and fix it up, which will increase the property's value, regardless of whether the market goes up or not.
You should always try to rent your property slightly below the market value so it's consistently rented out. If you try to maximize every single rental penny, you'll end up getting tenants who can't get properties to rent because their credit is not good or they have a bad history.
Whenever you're buying real estate, you must compare all options. Look at condos, townhouses, houses, semi-detached, and detached homes. Semi-detached and detached homes tend to have better rental income because you can rent the main floor to one tenant and the basement to another.
It's also very important to do a proper credit check on potential tenants, check their history with previous landlords, and connect with their employer to ensure they have stable employment. Avoid shortcuts, as you don't want to end up with a non-paying or troublesome tenant.
If you keep all these things in mind, you'll do very well in real estate investment over the long term. Real estate can be one of the better investments due to inflation-proof rental income increases and the potential for value appreciation, but it comes with the headache of managing tenants and the property itself. If you're not a handy person and you're not willing to do your proper due diligence on your tenants or you're not a good judge of people, then it's probably not your type of investment.
Please talk to your competent financial advisor before making any financial decision. And that, my friends, is Karma.