I live in Northern Virginia and thinking about investing in real estate. I would like to get information and tips about where to invest. Should I stick to Virginia, Maryland, and DC or may be somewhere else. My main strategy is buying properties and renting them out, so I intend to keep purchased properties for a long time if rental is good. I also would like to know if this is the right time for real estate? If yes, then, what kind of properties, condos, single family, commercial..etc.? Any other tips or insights will be really appreciated.
This website may help you
If you plan to allocate some of your investment dollars to real estate, you’ll find several options in the marketplace. There can be a major advantage to investing in real estate if you find property at a price low enough to result in a significant profit. For example, some investors buy real estate they intend to flip. Flipping can result in huge profits for investors. The property may be in foreclosure, in danger of foreclosure or needs little or no repair. You may purchase the property for much less than its value, repair or update it, and resell or flip it at a much higher selling price. Exercise extreme caution in this kind of venture.
Here is how it is done. You should deal in cash. Your attitude should be If I can't steal it, I don't want it My Rules 1. Buy single family homes that your can sell quickly if needed. I you buy investment property, only investor will buy and drive down the price. 2. When you buy it should be worth more then when you bought it. Steal it. 3. CAP RATE. cap rate is determined by how much you bring in for rent - expenses divided by value of home. Looks like this. 800 a month rent = 9600 a year taxes and repairs = 800 bought the home for 65,000 incl repairs to get it rent able. 9600-800= 8800/65000 = 13.5% That is a OK cap rate. I like it in the 15% range. 4. If you buy in the middle of mo-town you will never get your rent. Plus your home will not increase in price. 5. You can wait on someone needing to get out of town and sell quickly. Have cash ready. They will thank you for the quick sale. You should get a bargain. 6. Have the skill to look at a home and see through the bad carpet and paint. It will save you tons. 7. Do not fix up the home to perfect conditions where you would like to stay. It is a rental. Find a real estate agent who does rentals and understands your needs. Make them find you something great, not good or adequate. Remember your cap rate Get your real estate license if needed.
Stay local so you rely on others less. You usually can't rent out condos, so those are a bad idea. Commercial property can remain vacant for very long periods of time but the profit is good when it is rented. Single family home and multiple units 4 or less is a good place to start. Personally I would not buy in DC, the tenants there are almost all on programs and those programs are very socialist in nature. It would be hard to break even as a landlord there.
