Purchasing an investment property is a complicated business decision.  Make sure that you study this subject in detail prior to taking action, don’t hesitate to consult with a professional i.e. your attorney, accountant, or real estate agent on this matter.  That said, it is always prudent and well advised to have a plan in mind before you start looking for help.

Tips and strategies to bear in mind when searching for property investing.
Investment Type:  Unoccupied land, rental houses, condos, apartment buildings, commercial properties, industrial properties, mobile homes etcetera. Each has different level of risk and reward associated with it.  For beginners, a rental house or small apartment building is ultimately the finest choice.
They offer the chance for income on a regular basis, have shorter vacancies on average than commercial or industrial property, are less regulated than condos and mobile homes in most areas, and there are many places that you can get information and education on becoming a successful landlord in small residential properties.  It is a good place to start, and it is the investment type we will be concentrating on in this article.

Area Selection:  Buy property in an area that has a varied economic base offering many employment opportunities.  After all, the tenants will need an income in order to reliably pay rent.  The area should offer good schools, shopping, and transportation.  Idyllically, it should be an easy drive from your residence so that you can keep an eye on your investment.  And, the area should be safe. Profits and money are not worth risking your life for, and the quality tenants that you want to attract do not want to risk their lives either.

Research property values and rents: This information readily is available from real estate agents, as well as from a variety of other services in most areas.  You will want to call rental ads in the paper and talk to local landlords about what they are offering, how much they are charging, and what their experience is with the market.  Some of them may be open to selling their property and may even be willing to finance it, so don’t hesitate to ask.

Property Investing can be fun, just be sure you conduct your research first.

Love life, not just the weekends. You only have one life, Live It! @ www.NicciAndLee.com

Rental real estate property ownership seems to be gaining popularity as investor’s grow weary of the dives and swoops of the stock market. What is evident though is the fact that not everyone has what it takes to be a landlord. Those that do may find rental real estate an ideal way to build wealth.
Once you decide to invest in rental property, your real work begins. Locating a lucrative rental real estate property typically takes time, connections and a lot of research.

Tips to get you started:
Recognize your time horizon
Similar to most other investments, you need to have a good idea of how long you plan to own a rental property before you purchase it. The longer you plan to own the property, the more you’ll probably need to invest in maintenance, repairs and improvements.
If you intend to keep it for 20 or more years, then at some point you may be going to be putting a new roof on that property. You’ll definitely put in new appliances and doing some major repairs. Therefore, if you’re only planning to own a property for 5 years, by contrast, you’ll probably want to avoid making any major improvements unless you’re sure you can recover the cost with a higher resale price.
Shorter time horizon may also expose you to more investment risk. Though your rental will almost certainly appreciate over twenty years, it may as well easily lose value in the next five years, chiefly if you’re buying in a worked up market. You may need a bigger potential yearly return to cover up for that risk.
For most small investors, longer-term rental ownership makes the most sense, you’ll have plenty of time to ride out any market swings, and rental income can make a nice supplement to your day job. Find enough rental properties, and being a landlord may become your day job.
If you intent to get a loan to finance your rental property ventures, then ensure that your credit is low, since this gives you better prospects of getting a decent loan, higher consumer credit is highly discouraged.

Love life, not just the weekends. You only have one life, Live It! @ www.NicciAndLee.com

Written by www.housestoimpress.com.au

There are two ways to increase the profitability of your investment property - Capital Growth and Increased Yield.

You can fast track both of these methods with a cost effective makeover. As a landlord, you are a “service provider” and therefore your success will be determined by the level of service you offer your clients (tenants). I recommend that as a landlord budget for a face-lift to their property approximately every five years to keep it up to standard. Tenants respect a pleasant environment and are more likely to keep up standards if high standards have been set from the start of the tenancy.

When preparing for an upgrade to your property, I recommend that you not only see where you can add value (for capital growth) but where you can give value to your tenants. Tenants are willing to pay higher rent for a more appealing property with added extras. So when planning your makeover, put yourself in the tenants shoes and imagine if you were going to move into your property, what things would be high on your priority list?

WHAT IMPROVEMENTS ADD THE MOST VALUE?

Repairs and maintenance
• Replace leaky taps
• Have the property professionally cleaned throughout
• Fix or replace all broken items
• Repair and improve faults in the kitchen and bathroom areas
• Paint the property inside and out (if you clean the walls thoroughly, you may only need one coat of paint to freshen up)

Gardens
Give the garden a tidy up. If you make the garden as low maintenance and easy to look after as possible it will be easy for the tenant to maintain that standard for you. Remove all dead and ugly plants, shrubs etc and weeds. Invest in good quality weedmat for your garden beds, plant hardy plants that need little water and then mulch the garden beds to finish off. In these days of water restrictions, having vast areas of dead and dying lawn is not appealing and lets face it your new tenant will have no incentive to keep the lawn watered, weeded, fertilised, mowed etc because 1. they have to pay for water use and 2. they usually do not have the garden equipment necessary to keep up the maintenance. Think about reducing lawn with a combination of garden beds (mulched), pebbles, paving and maybe even some artificial lawn. Once artificial lawn is down it never has to be watered, weeded, fertilised or mowed ever again and it will always look fabulous.

Flooring
Dirty stained carpets really devalue your property. You can get them steam cleaned, but usually the stains reappear very quickly. I advise pulling up old, worn carpets and replacing them with a combination of tiles and floating floors. If you are lucky enough to have floorboards under the carpet, get them sanded and polished. These types of flooring are easy to maintain and once again add huge value to your property. Spills to floors are an everyday occurrence which can’t be prevented but if the flooring is easy for the tenant to care for and maintain, then your flooring will stay in good condition.

Window Treatments
Get rid of old and daggy curtains and replace with Venetian blinds. They are very cost effective and immediately give a property a feeling of being modern and spacious.

Lighting
I recently arranged new light fittings for a client’s investment property that only had bare light bulbs. I purchased domed oyster lights for under $10 each for the whole house which gave the house an immediate lift and cost less than $200.

General
Make your property work on a practical level by putting in some finishing touches like mirrors, hooks on the back of doors, shelves, and storage solutions.

Added Extras
Heating and cooling. Tenants are always willing to pay higher rent for a property that has air conditioning and heating.
Update appliances – replace old stoves, and old hot water systems. Tenants are just like you – they want to start their day with a strong, hot shower. I helped an interstate client with a property makeover last year and the one thing we didn’t check was the hot water system. The tenants were in the property for less than a week before they complained about the lack of pressure and heat in the shower. Turned out it was the old style drip storage water heater in the ceiling. The Landlord had no choice but to replace the system because the tenants threatened to move straight out if it wasn’t fixed.

Those that treat tenants with respect and give value and add value at every turn will be the last Landlord standing!

Houses to Impress has a range of services that we provide to investors designed to not only increase the equity of a property but also to maximise the returns. We specialise in assessing rental properties for a makeover/renovation that will enhance the overall appeal, value and rental yield of your Investment Property.

Love life, not just the weekends. You only have one life, Live It! @ www.NicciAndLee.com