Right now, the housing market is one area where you can really make money. With housing prices right now at historic lows, you can buy properties inexpensively and earn a profit as the market rebounds. The reality is that this type of investment is a good way to increase your cash flow.
Even if you have other investments, investing in real estate is a great way to diversify your investment portfolio. Adding real estate to an investment package that includes stocks and bonds is very wise, especially if you are nearing retirement age.
Keep in mind that investing in property and housing is different than other types of investments. For example, when you purchase bonds, your work is done after you complete the transaction.
Yes, you probably will check to see how much interest your bond is earning, but that is about it. With real estate, you will need to maintain the property in order to rent it out or to sell it.
This will take work. Of course, if you keep the property and rent it out, then you will have ongoing expenses and maintenance. However, you will also have an ongoing source of income.
As with anything in life, there are good and bad things about any decision. If you do not mind home maintenance tasks or if you are handy enough to fix things yourself, you may not mind this process at all.
If you do, you may want to consider selling a property once you have remodeled it. Then again, you may want to hold on to the property for a little while until the prices of real estate rebound.
Of course, before you purchase a home for investment purposes, you should definitely get the opinion of someone who has experience with construction.
Some homes will need so much work that there is no way you could ever re-coup the cost of your investment. It is best to avoid these types of properties.
Before buying a property, make a list of the repairs that will be necessary to either sell or rent the home. Then, create a budget which you will need in order to properly finish the repairs.
After you have done that, estimate the amount of rent you would need to charge in order to get back your investment in the property. Then, check the area to see how much rent you could possibly ask for in your area. This will tell you if the investment is a good idea or not.
If you want to sell the home, you will need to calculate what the selling price will be in order to recover your initial investment. Then, check the prices of homes in your area. If home prices are extremely low for comparable homes, it may not be a good idea to invest in a property in that particular area.
Even if it takes a little bit of time to recover the money that you put into renovating the property, it still may be worth it. Of course, everyone has different needs and expectations.
Carefully evaluate your options as well as the reality of your financial situation before taking the plunge into the real estate market.