Sell Your Home Online in a Down Market

Posted on June 4, 2009 by realestateinvestordotcom

In today’s market you are missing out on many potential sales if you opt not to sell your home online. Recent market research has found that homebuyers are actively seeking out properties through the internet. They use the internet to seek out available homes in their areas and then follow through in visiting those homes they are interested in. This process has been shown to occur time and time again. If you want to reach as many new homebuyers as possible then you will have to make use of the internet in marketing your property.

Whether you are a real estate investor or just a homeowner selling their property this is the number one reason to sell your home online. List it and they will come!

If you actually need more reasons to make use of internet marketing for your real estate then we can provide that too.

• Ability To Reach The Broadest Range Of People

As they say, the internet is working for you twenty four hours a day and 365 days a year. By marketing online you can make use of this tool to reach hundreds of thousands of people, maybe even millions of people in your area. Out of all of these people you’ll only need the one buyer too.

The internet, along with proper marketing techniques like articles, social networking sites and of course placing your properties in free online classifieds will draw in the maximum number of interested buyers.

• Buyers Can Get Information Instantly

Many people today are used to getting the information they want quickly. Television, cell phones and most especially the internet have gotten us used to fast dissemination of our information. When a homebuyer has to call up a realtor or wait for the newspaper to start looking for property they can get frustrated and move on. This can cause you to lose a lot potential business.

When you sell your home online you’ll be offering the homebuyer more information than can be found in a newspaper classified or calling an automated phone message system. The new web 2.0 experience allows investors the chance to place photos online, detailed information about the homes and even virtual tours of the property. This literally gives the instant access to the most detailed information possible and also gives them a chance to fall in love with the property before they call.

• Marketing Online Is Super Cheap

Compared to other methods of real estate marketing, selling your home online is a great way to maximize the number of buyers you reach with a minimum of costs. There are many free classifieds sites online where you can place your property information. Plus, you can also market your real estate for free through blogs, articles and social networking.

• Saves You Time

When you decide to sell your home online you’ll find that you can easily save large amounts of time. Another golden rule in business is ‘time is money’. You’ve always got to make the most of your time, whether that means outsourcing your less valuable work or upgrading to more efficient methods.

By using the internet to reach those homebuyers you may find that you won’t rely as heavily on other marketing methods like making up flyers or putting up dozens of bandit signs. This frees up your time for other more valuable money making chores like closing deals and finding more property to invest in.

Don’t miss out on the fantastic opportunity that’s before you in the internet. You can easily sell your home online with a minimum of money, time and effort. In exchange you’ll get a maximum amount of exposure and potential home sales.

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Web 2.0 Real Estate Investing Ideas that are Easy

Posted on June 2, 2009 by realestateinvestordotcom

You don’t need to be a computer savvy market guru to successfully sell your property through the internet. Web 2.0 real estate investing is a cinch once you’ve mastered a few basic steps and are familiar with a few essential websites. Online marketing of your real estate becomes just like marketing any other product once you change those pesky keywords and gear your content towards the interested buyer.

So, if this online marketing is as easy as I say it is…why don’t I offer you a few of my great ideas? I tell you what…I’ll give you a couple of great sites and steps to get your property online fast and start getting folks interested in your real estate. As long as you are willing to try these ideas out, you’ll be rewarded with interest, a larger network and more potential buyers.

The business of web 2.0 real estate investing is more involved than simply building a static website these days. It’s the next level of internet marketing. What is that next level? Social Networking!

For years all those experts were complaining that technology has been tearing people apart, causing them to ‘lose touch’ with each other. Web 2.0. is doing the complete opposite. People are more in touch with each other than ever before through the use of the internet and social networking websites.

Social Networking To Sell Real Estate
More people are going online to search for homes and real estate investors are following their buyers to the internet in droves. While marketing to their potential buyers, they are also marketing and making connections with each other. You can greatly increase your real estate network and potential buyer’s list by networking with other investors through these sites.

1.   Go online and create profiles at sites like; Facebook and LinkedIn. Be sure to use lots of real estate investing related keywords in your descriptions so other investors can find you. Once you’ve created your profiles feel free to search through these sites to find other investors yourself. Each social networking site allows users to ‘befriend’ each other online and create a kind of virtual black book of business connections through that site.

This is a great way for new investors to take advantage of real estate through the web 2.0. investing experience. They can start developing their real estate contacts online and not worry too much about the problems of meeting other investors through conventions or common activities like sheriff’s sales. These are also great places to network.

Building An Online Presence Through A Website Or Blog
It naturally goes with the social networking territory to have your own little website or webpage. In fact, the more websites you have the better because you are increasing your exposure. Just make sure you are managing your sites to their maximum effectiveness.

If you are new to web 2.0. real estate investing its easier to create your first webpages and blogs with sites like Myspace, Blogger.com and our site at Realestateinvestor.com.

2.   Sign up for a free online membership at Myspace or Blogger and fill in the personalized information to create a quick webpage. If you want to personalize your page with different backgrounds and layouts you’ll find that there are websites offering free code to change plug right into these pages too.

Theses sites also provide you with a personal url link so you can direct other people to your webpage to find out further information about you and your real estate business.

Even better you can develop yourself as a real estate expert and keep your site current through regular blog posts. These posts, when filled with unique keywords and helpful content will get picked up by the search engines and drive plenty of interested traffic to your webpages. These pages become both useful sites to offer information about your real estate services and also tools to drive traffic to your business.

As you can see one of the biggest tools in your arsenal is content! Next, try building your network and buyer’s list through content in the form of real estate articles.

Selling Yourself Through Real Estate Articles
If you’ve started a blog and are making regular blog posts for your visitors, then this next idea should be easy. Many real estate investors are creating a name for themselves online through the distribution of articles. Information is king when it comes to the internet. Mass distribution of content with the careful use of marketing can really drive a lot of potential buyers your way.

3. Research topics geared towards your buyers and keywords to include in the articles. Write the articles as well as and an author’s bio that includes a link to your webpage. Many article directories allow authors to include short biographies that include any kind of marketing information they want to push. Distribute these articles to many article directories. Sit back and watch your reputation develop.

It may seem like a lot of work for nothing, but this is the new cost of marketing for the web 2.0 real estate investing business. You’ll either spend your time writing fresh content to drive visitors to your site or you’ll spend your money on a writer to do it for you.

By the way, there is nothing wrong with hiring a freelancer to write content for you. This is a quick and easy way to solve your content needs problem. It doesn’t mean you don’t know the information about real estate or buying a home. It’s just another aspect of your business that’s been outsourced to save time for other work that brings in more money.

So these are the three simplest ideas you can use to start building your online network of buyers. It’s deceptively simple isn’t it? Yet, time and time again, these web 2.0 ideas bring interest to your real estate investing business. We all know, the more interest you generate the more buyers you’ll get!

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Tips for Success in a Slow Real Estate Investing Market

Posted on May 31, 2009 by realestateinvestordotcom

The real estate investing market does have it’s ups and downs. While you may be existing in a down period right now, you can bet that eventually a bad market will turn around. The key to success then, is to find success now!

Everywhere you turn these days you may find yourself wondering just where that success lies. In fact, it may seem like all the money has simply dried up. This is only because your traditional methods of making money in real estate aren’t feasible in a troubled economy. If you are having trouble making deals with your old methods it’s time to switch things up!

To help you in the transition to a new kind of real estate investing in the market here are a few new methods for the troubled market.

1. Go Online to Market Real Estate

Any investor who isn’t using the internet to market their real estate and build their network is really losing out these days. You must develop an online presence in order to take full advantage of the numbers of homebuyers who are currently looking online for homes.

To reach the maximum number of homebuyers, start maximizing your online marketing. There are plenty of free online classified sites where you can place listings of your property. This is a simple way for you to start developing that online presence.

2. Hold Property with Renting

During a poor market it can be difficult to secure buyers for your deals. The economic climate makes it hard for homebuyers to get approved for loans in order to purchase property. This goes for other investors as well as traditional homebuyers. You just won’t be making as many sales of property during a down market as you would during the upswing.

To make sure you keep that income stream flowing look to renting out property. Since more people are losing homes and having trouble securing home mortgages that means more people will be renting. You’ll have plenty of interest from potential tenants looking to live in a home even if they can’t yet secure the mortgage for one.

3. Bring in Buyers with Rent to Own

Another way to improve your sales in the real estate investing market during a difficult economy is to become your own mortgage company. Rent to Own or Lease to Own options are a great way to get potential homebuyers into your property now, even if they can’t secure a full mortgage. Plus, you can arrange your rent to own contracts anyway you please to suit your method of investment.

If you want to set up a contract to get the buyer moved in now with monthly payments towards owning the house and a balloon payment in three to five years. You can. If you want to earn passive income on that property without worrying if the homebuyer will be able to secure a loan in a few years. You can. Simply let the buyer continue to pay for the home in monthly payments with interest for the next decade or fifteen years. It’s not like the property will be going anywhere any time soon.

That’s the beauty of the rent to own or lease to own formula in the real estate investing market. It keeps your property from sitting empty by getting a buyer in now, and allows you to start earning money. If the homeowner should stop making payments and won’t make contact you still have the option of eviction. Just make sure you create an investor friendly lease to own contract!

4. Think about Increasing Your Portfolio

Now that the market is down you can always add more property to your portfolio as the gurus always say, ‘Buy Low, Sell High’. Should you have any liquid assets to purchase you’ll find that now is definitely a buyer’s market. Property prices are falling and the real estate investing market is glutted with homes.

This investment strategy isn’t so much for your financial benefit now as it is for the future. When the market turns around you’ll be in a prime position to sell marketable homes for a high profit. The key here of course is to have cash on hand to make those purchases and not to overextend yourself. You don’t want to invest so much in the future that you don’t have enough for the here and now.

The real estate investing market is an ever changing beast and in order to consistently make profits you’ll need to keep changing your strategies. This doesn’t mean you’ve lost those old strategies forever. In time, the market will turn again and you’ll need to bring out the old tricks to maximize your profits. It simply means you have the opportunity to learn a new way of taking advantage of the real estate market.

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Rent to Own Investment is the New Go to Real Estate Strategy

Posted on May 28, 2009 by realestateinvestordotcom

As any real estate investor can tell you, today’s market is drastically different from what it was years ago.  Simultaneous closings have been shut down by title companies and lenders.  House flipping is more difficult with the problems in securing new loans from mortgage companies and more.  There are even more changes occurring in the market as we speak.  Now, one of the best ways for you to remain solvent and successful is through rent to own investment strategies. 

This method of real estate investment is a great option for investors who are suddenly coming up with a lack of buyers and even a lack of cash assets to purchase new homes. 

Rent to own investment offers many benefits for the investor and can keep a property from falling into disrepair.  By getting a tenant into the property, you are keeping your own investment in good repair and also keeping a neighborhood from falling into disrepair.

However, if you need more convincing to realize that rent to own is the new go to strategy for real estate here are some more reasons!

·        No commissions to pay to a realtor. 

By selling the property yourself on a rent to own investment basis you can save yourself the 7-8% commission that a realtor would take.  This also means more money for yourself over the term of the deal because you’ll be adding interest to the monthly payments for the property. 

·        Greater Chance of Success on a Deal

In a difficult economy you’ll find that there is a greater chance of closing a deal in a difficult economy when you go with lease to own and rent to own investment strategies.  These strategies make it much easier for homebuyers to invest in property and easier for you to make a sale!  Which means you’ll have an easier time not just staying in business but also being successful.

·        Gives You a Passive Income

It’s always good to have a regular income stream coming into your business, especially during a difficult economic period.  Those monthly payments are going to look better than nothing on a property that homebuyers can’t secure full loans on.  Plus, you’ll be able to use that money in your other rent to own investment plans or daily financial needs related to the business.

·        Fewer Maintenance Issues than with Landlording

In offering rent to own on property instead of simply renting it out you can also save yourself the hassle of maintenance and regular upkeep of a property.  It’s not uncommon for the rent to own contract to assign the responsibility of maintaining the property to the homebuyer.  They are after all buying the home from you, just on a very slow basis. 

So instead of having to hire a lawn company and a snow removal guy to come out every week, you can let the homebuyer take care of those issues themselves.  If an appliance breaks or the house needs repairing that can also become the buyer’s responsibility.  It saves you a lot in unexpected expenses over the years. 

The rent to own investment strategy does have a few draw backs.  Homeowners don’t always follow through in purchasing the property, so it becomes essential that you are figuring your profits into those monthly payments while the buyers living in the property.  Also, they may not be maintaining the house properly and on moving out leave you with a big headache to repair.  This can be mitigated with careful screening of applicants and a non-refundable down payment should the applicant decide to leave. 

Yet, every investment strategy including rent to own can have its drawbacks.  In a bad market when homebuyers are having difficulty securing loans, this strategy becomes one of the easier ways to stay in business and be successful. 

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Tips for that Rent to Own House Contract

Posted on May 28, 2009 by realestateinvestordotcom

While it’s a great idea to rent to own when homebuyers have trouble securing loans, it’s not such a great idea to pay little attention to the actual rent to own contract.  This contract is the basis of your entire deal with the homebuyer and the basic on which all future decisions concerning the property will be made.  To that end you’ll want to do your best to develop a really strong and favorable rent to own contract for all of your deals. 

This becomes even more important should you have to go to court against a homebuyer that stopped making payments on their rent to own property.  There are all kinds of defenses a homebuyer can claim and potentially win on if you don’t go through the effort to protect yourself in the contract.  For example, they can claim that they’ve got real equity invested in that house through the payments they’ve made up to the point they stopped making payments to you.  In court this can lead to a judge redefining your arrangement as an ‘installment land contract’ and require you to actually initiate a foreclosure process against your tenant instead of an eviction.

To ensure that you protect your investment in that property with the best possible rent to own contracts or lease options here are a few tips to follow:

 

  • Keep the Lease Term to a short period of time

The goal of a rent to own strategy is for the homebuyer to eventually secure that balloon payment and pay for the remaining cost of the home in one lump sum.  It’s easy to become lazy once one get into a property and stop working towards that goal.  This can lead to an eventual lack of initiative on the tenant’s part causing them to opt out of the lease option. 

Keep your lease terms to one to three years if possible.  Some investors may feel comfortable going up to five years with a good tenant before requiring that balloon payment on a property. 

 

  • Record Your Meeting with the Homebuyer 

When it comes time to sign the rent to own contract with the homeowner you might consider using a video or audio recorder to keep an objective record of the event.  Always tell the homebuyer what you are doing and let them know that if they are uncomfortable with being recorded they are free to end the deal.  However, you are simply recording the session for both parties protection. 

This gives you something physical to provide the courts with should you have to go to court against that homebuyer at a later date.

 

  • Get the paperwork notarized 

This is another way to certify that the rent to own contract you present to the courts is exactly what the tenants signed and that they had a chance to read through the paperwork before entering the deal. 

To this end always make sure the tenants get a copy of all the documentation they sign for their own records.  This includes copies of all disclosures you are required to give on your property by the state and federal government.

These three simple steps can go a long way towards protecting your investment in that rent to own property.  Contracts alone won’t protect you if they aren’t handled or applied correctly so know what you are doing.  Make sure all information is clear.  Make sure the tenants are on record agreeing to your deal and make sure you disclose everything.

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Real Estate Investing Strategies for a New Economy

Posted on May 25, 2009 by realestateinvestordotcom

There are plenty of ways to make money in a difficult economy, especially in real estate investing. Education is the key to success in bad times as well as good. Should you find yourself wondering were to go next with your investing strategies now that homebuyers are finding it difficult to secure traditional loans, it may be time to learn some new tactics.

You’ll find that savvy investors in today’s market are trading in several specific areas of real estate. These are the guys who keep on making money in a rough economy and almost always seem two steps ahead when the market improves.

So, what are they doing right?

These investors have gotten an education in real estate investing strategies for the tough economy. Alternative strategies like rent to own investing and marketing online are really bringing in the consistent buyers that an investor needs to survive.

We have plenty of information on the best real estate investing strategies to today’s market at Realestateinvestor.com. Though if you want a quick overview of the most popular investing strategies for today read on.

Shortsale Investing in a Flooded Market
Shortsale investing is a big business right now. Anyone watching the news is aware that there are a ton of homeowners going into foreclosure and desperate for some kind of solution. We’d love it if everyone could work out deals with the banks and keep their homes. That’s just not always possible. Sometimes the homeowner needs to move and can’t sell. Maybe the market value of their home just dropped so much that there is no way they can make back enough to pay off the mortgage if they tried to sell.

If you have the patience to work with the homeowners and the banks you can potentially close a lot of deals on property at a dramatic discount below the mortgage value.

This not only helps fill your portfolio of real estate it gives you something to sell when the market turns back around.

Rent to Own Your Property
Once you have properties in your portfolio you’ll need to sell them or get some cash income flowing in from them. Many potential homebuyers are having problems getting home loans. An education in real estate investing strategies can help you survive the mortgage crunch with rent to own properties.

Rent to own allows you to get potential homebuyers into your properties now, without those mortgages. The tenant moves into a property and begins making payments to purchase the home from you directly, then after a year or three years the homeowner purchases the home with a balloon payment on the remaining cost.

Ideally, within this time frame the homeowner has been working on their credit and building up their income and actually qualifies for a mortgage with a reputable company by the time the balloon payment is due.

Marketing Your Real Estate Online
Now, you can go about marketing those properties in your portfolio the same old, same old way. In fact, setting up bandit signs and putting out flyers has been a core part of the curriculum in many real estate education courses. Investing also requires that you market the property you’ve purchased. Now, instead of going door to door you can always place listings advertising your property online.

More and more potential homebuyers are going online to search for their properties. You can take advantage of this by creating your own web sites, placing ads online and developing your online presence as an expert in real estate investing. An education in online marketing can go a long way towards helping to develop your real estate business in this new market.

These three new strategies in real estate investing have developed directly from the changes in our current economy. Get an education in short sales investing, offering rent to own property and going online to reach a greater number of homebuyers. It’s going to help you thrive in lean times and succeed in the future.

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Tips for Lease to Own Real Estate Investing

Posted on May 23, 2009 by realestateinvestordotcom

Lease to own real estate investing is a great niche in the market. This rarely explored and previously underutilized strategy involves getting tenants to start making payments towards purchase of the property that are currently leasing from you. Ideally, a tenant moves into a property on lease to own basis and starts making monthly payments to you. Within a year or a few years that same tenant manages to secure a mortgage with a lender and makes a balloon payment to you for the remaining purchase value of the property.

In theory, lease to own real estate investing is simple. Yet, there are some problems that can prohibit your financial success unless you are aware of them. Let’s take a look shall we?

• Not all tenants end up buying their rent to own house

In reality, it’s only a small percentage of tenants who actually follow through with the balloon payment on a property. Most often they move into a rent to own home because they want the benefits of owning a home, but can’t yet afford or qualify for a mortgage. By the time they do qualify for the loan, tenants are usually in the mood for something new or different and will look for a different home to actually purchase. If you are looking forward to that balloon payment for your profits this can leave you in the lurch when your tenants turn in moving notice when the lease is up.

Insure that you start getting a return on that property as soon as the tenants move in by adding interest to their payments until the balloon payment is made on the property. This interest is your profits. In addition, you’ll want to increase the asking price of the property by 3 to 5% from your current market value. This is to account for inflation over the next few years that can cause house prices to rise. Of course, this isn’t always the case, especially now in the housing market, so don’t go overboard in your estimates.

• Create Two Contracts; one to lease the property and one for the option to buy

Having the tenants sign two separate lease to own real estate contracts helps to protect you in court. This is just in case the tenants don’t want to leave, but also don’t want to make that balloon payment. If you are fine with the tenants continuing to pay you directly for the property until it’s paid off some decades in the future, that’s alright.

However, if you want to get someone in there who will actually make a balloon payment to you within the terms of the lease your case is stronger for eviction. This is especially if the relationship between you looks as much like a rental arrangement as possible. Create a separate contract with the tenant agreeing to ‘lease’ the property from you for a certain number of years. Then, create a second contract that offers them the option of purchasing the house with a balloon payment at the end of the lease terms. It’s just like leasing a car from the dealership.

• Check out State and Federal Laws

It’s easy to forget that you’ll be legally required to disclose on the property just as if you were selling it traditionally. When you lease to own real estate you still have to disclose a lot of items such as earthquake dangers, lead poisoning problems, and any known defects in the property.

Your legal responsibility extends to other areas too. That real estate contract needs to be in compliance with state, local and federal laws, especially when it comes to lease options. So, check out your government’s websites for detailed information on what you need to be legal when leasing to own.

Realize when you start offering the lease option that a majority of your tenants won’t close, but the option is there for those who do want the property. Plus, you’ll want two separate lease to own real estate contracts; one for the lease and one for the option to buy. This way you’ll have a good strong case should you have to go to court someday. Speaking of court it’s doubly important to ensure that you are compliant with all local, state and federal laws or you’ll find all kinds of problems popping up with your investing process.

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Rent to Own Real Estate Investing Starts with Finding Buyers

Posted on May 21, 2009 by realestateinvestordotcom

The alternative option for many in a tough market is rent to own real estate investing.  Rent to own is the slow and steady way of purchasing a home.  There’s no need for homebuyers to jump through hoops just to qualify for a home loan with the bank just yet.  Plus, it allows you to bring in more potential homebuyers, including those who would like a home, but don’t quite qualify for a mortgage.  These almost but not quite buyers are a perfect fit for the rent to own option.  You may also find that a lot of investors are interested in purchasing property from you on a rent to own basis, so they have more property in their portfolios at once. 

It can be just as daunting to bring in the potential homebuyers with this strategy as it is other real estate investments.  However, the process of marketing your business for rent to own real estate investing is often very similar to that of other strategies. 

Common Real Estate Marketing Methods

You can follow many of the same real estate marketing ideas with rent to own as you do with shortsales or wholesales and even other strategies.  Investors can still bring in a large number of buyers with classics like bandit signs and ads in the local papers.

Bandit signs are just ‘for sale’ signs that you’d place in the front yard and on the surrounding streets of your property.  When trying to create interest in your rent to own property state ‘Rent to Own’ in large letters on your signs or ‘No Mortgage Needed’ to really bring in a lot of interested potential buyers. 

The same goes for classified ads in the paper.  Simply let the readers know that you have rent to own properties for sale and that they are ‘Easy to Qualify For’.  They may not be super easy to qualify for, you will have some income minimums and other requirements, but rent to own property is much easier to get into these days than qualifying for a mortgage!

 

Don’t forget to have any interested homebuyers leave their names and numbers or emails with you.  This information can be added to your buyer’s list to send out regular updates of your rent to own real estate investing business and property.

Real Estate Web 2.0 Methods

Modern technology also makes it possible to reach an incredible number of potential buyers through the internet.  You are really doing yourself a favor in going online to find a buyer for your rent to own property. 

If you are uncertain where to start there are plenty of basic internet marketing methods you can develop.  Start by creating a simple website or just a free blog about your rent to own real estate.  Investing 2.0. style can be easy with regular updates and descriptions of property you have available.  

This website or blog will get you a home base to work from and a URL to send folks to for more information. 

You will also want to set up an email address through Google or yahoo.com for your business so people can send you email inquiries.

To help bring interested buyers to your blog or email create accounts with online forums in real estate investing, rent to own, lease to own and other topic areas.  You can also create free online classifieds at real estate websites and classifieds sites like Craigslist.com.  Just three simple steps can go a long way towards developing your online presence and driving potential homebuyers to your business.

Like many other strategies rent to own real estate investing makes use of classic marketing methods and some newer internet marketing to help you find a buyer for your property.  Bringing them in is easy once you learn the process.

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Tips for Investing in Rental Property

Posted on May 21, 2009 by realestateinvestordotcom

When you find that potential homebuyers have all but dried up in a tough economy, try your hand at investing in rental property.  Many investors will already have a portfolio filled with affordable property from investing in shortsales and wholesales or just going to sheriff’s auctions.  Rather than letting that property sit empty, you can do something with it by renting it out to quality tenants. 

This is an especially good option for investors looking to keep some form of income coming in during a slow period.  Plus, the more rental property you have the more income you can bring in.  Even though homebuyers are having trouble qualifying for mortgages, there are still plenty of renters looking to move into your property.

To help you make the most of your business investing in rental property I’ve gathered a few tips for landlording:

Don’t Skip the Credit Check and Ask for References!

It’s worth the $25 the tenant has to pay to make sure you’re not getting the worst apple in the bunch. If the tenant can’t afford the $25 credit check, how can they afford the rent?

Also check references and background. You won’t get the kind of information you really need in a credit check about those potential tenants which is basically;

 

  • Do they have a way to pay the rent?  Job, family, inheritance, etc.
  • Do past landlords have any problems with them?
  • Do they pay rent on time and consistently?

You’ll find that many bad tenants actually won’t have a reference to give you, unless of course, they’ve always owned a house or lived with family up to that point. 

Just remember, don’t skip the credit check and be sure to ask for references. 

Advertise Online!

You can do all of your advertising for practically free these days.  Even if you spent money on a simple website, this would just be money saved from taking out classified ads in the local papers. 

Tenants are going online just like potential homebuyers these days in the search for apartments and homes for rent.  Try setting up an account with the popular apartment and home listing sites; Rent.com and Apartment.com.  You can place your house listings here very affordably.  In addition you can place ads for free on Craigslist.com.

Your website will allow interested tenants to find more in-depth information about your rental properties, maybe even some pictures, addresses and of course your contact information if they’d like to see the property.

Minimize Effort and Expectations

When investing in rental property it’s important to realize that you probably won’t be raking in tremendous amounts of cash.  Monthly rents must be divided up into different expenses, from recuperating your investment in the property or paying your own mortgage on that property, to upkeep and maintenance and finally your own little cut of profits. 

You can only raise rents so much before tenants start balking too.  So, keep in mind that investing in rental property works better with multiple properties for a higher profit stream.  Of course, once you make back your investment on a property nearly all of the rent coming in are profits.

It may also be a good idea to look into a property management company if you have a large portfolio of property.  This way you can let someone else handle the day to day side of investing in rental property while you bring in a regular income stream.  Of course, you’ll have to pay them a fee for handling that property too.

Becoming a landlord is a great way to keep your property from sitting empty during difficult economic times and keeping an income stream coming in.  Just look for good references, realize that you won’t get rich quick and consider advertising online.

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Benefits of Rental Property Investing

Posted on May 19, 2009 by realestateinvestordotcom

You may consider rental property investing a great way to create long term passive income through your business.  It is and there are many benefits to being a landlord.  Although, you may be familiar with some of the drawbacks too.  However, the occasional bad tenant can be a small price to pay compared to the many benefits you can gain.

Stable Investment for Your Money

To start with rental property investing is a stable way to invest your money, preserve it and grow it.  Despite down periods in the real estate market, investing in property is still a relatively safe investment.  People always need someplace to stay.   

This also means that your investment will grow over time.  Inflation, especially if you purchase your rental property when its price is very low, can bring you bring returns in the future should you opt to sell the property.  At the very least standard inflation will cause your rental rates to rise increasing your monthly returns on that rental investment.

Plus, those monthly rent payments become pure profit when you do get all of your investment monies back from the purchase of your rental property.  The day you realize a property is completely in the black is a good day indeed!

Makes You Look More Solvent

The sheer fact that you are a landlord with a rental property investing business will make you look all the more solvent to any lender.  Owning a portfolio of property should you apply for a loan makes you look better on paper and also gives you some collateral to offer. 

This is also great for other areas of your life.  You’ll be respected as an experienced investor and seen as something of an expert over time.  Rental property investing can lead you into other areas of real estate investment like foreclosures, wholesales, rent to own and rehabs of property.

Gives Ready Cash for Day-to-Day Expenses

Those monthly rents from your rental properties also give you the spending cash you need to deal with daily business expenses.  Rental property investing usually means you’ll need cash on hand to deal with property maintenance, fees and other expenses related to the business. 

It’s required by law that you keep a rental property up to code. That means you have to fix the heater should it go out and make sure that roof doesn’t leak!  These monthly rents can give you the means to keep up with expenses in between other larger projects. 

You might find that it’s also a good idea to set up a savings account to store your first few monthly rents from those properties.  This gives you an emergency fund to cover unexpected expenses related to those properties.

There are plenty of benefits to rental property investing.  You’ll get a consistent passive flow of income, giving you ready cash for other related expenses.  Plus, your portfolio of properties makes you solvent and gives you a reputation in the area as a real estate investor.

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