There are many options available for property managers, but it can be a challenge to sift for the one excellent manager for your high-value investment.  What are 3 important qualities you should look for in a professional property manager? 1)      Your manager, whether an individual or a company, must have demonstrated that they are available for emergencies 24 hours every day, 365 days per year.  If the heating goes out in a unit on Christmas Day with the tenant and visiting relatives in residence, the manager must be able to get a qualified professional on site for repairs within hours, Read more…

Once you have done the search, the research, the analysis, gathered the down payment and gone to considerable effort to negotiate the deal … you don’t want to lose it all with a mistake on your loan application.  What are 3 mistakes you can avoid in a loan application for a multi-family investment property? 1)      Failing to produce all the required documentation, especially copies of the rental contracts for all occupied units.  Lenders discount the rental income to allow for future vacancies.  You don’t want to jeopardize the required ratio of income to expenses due to a lack of documentation. Read more…

Researching multi-family property investment opportunities in your area will be an intense and time-consuming project.  But it can also be profoundly educational for both new and experienced investors.  How can you find good multi-family investment prospects in your local area? Don’t just look at ads for apartment properties for sale; also educate yourself about the economy and demographics of the area.  The local business and employment growth or retraction; the ratio of renters to homeowners; and the ratio of available rentals against the demand – all these statistics and more need to be understood.  This information will help you narrow Read more…

Real estate investments in multi-family properties have a number of important differences with investments in single-family rental homes.  What are you getting into when investing in a multi-family property? Rental cash flow is more dependable from multi-family properties.  You continue receiving income from occupied units even while others are vacant.  A vacancy can be a chance to improve that unit without forgoing all of your rental income. Maintenance separates the investors who are up for multi-family from those who aren’t.  That’s because frequency of maintenance needs is much higher in multi-family units.  In addition, Tenant management goes alongside physical property Read more…

Investing in multi-family properties can be an extremely rewarding and lucrative strategy.  But be forewarned: property management is much more challenging and crucial when dealing with multiple units. Before you purchase, plan carefully how you will handle property management for your multi-family investment project.  The property manager – you or a professional –  not only keeps the physical property from falling apart, but also keeps the tenants happy enough to want to stay. If you are new to multi-unit property management, even with a professional manager helping you it will be easier to learn with a limited number of tenant Read more…

If you’re looking to get into multi-family investing, you might be concerned that it’s trickier to finance a multi-family property than a single-family property. Actually, it’s just different — and sometimes it’s even easier!  What are some of the options for financing your investment in a multi-family property? A bank-financed mortgage loan will have you gathering increased documentation for multi-family properties, compared with a single-family unit, including signed rental contracts verifying the rental income reported.  Institutional lending is certainly an option, but also consider the alternatives below, for possible cost savings and a more simple financing process. Be prepared for Read more…

So, you are seriously researching your first real estate investment in a multi-family property.  Where can you start? First and foremost, as you evaluate any property, stand firm on your established ratios for cash flow and profitability.   This includes thoroughly understanding the condition of each property and what costs will be in order to attract the rental income achieving the desired profitability.  If you think a currently under-performing property could meet your criteria with an investment in some upscale improvements and subsequently higher rents, carefully assess the local economy and rental market, as well as the cost estimate from your Read more…

Have you been focusing on single-family housing for your investment projects?  Why are multi-family properties worth a look for experienced real estate investors? Cash flow is more consistent with multi-family rentals than for single-family rentals.  When one unit is vacant, you continue receiving rentals from the other units.  In fact, hiring a property manager may be justified by the cash flow, relieving demands on you as the owner. Financing for multi-family properties focuses more on the cash flow from the property, less on your income and credit.  You may find it easier to obtain financing on one 50-unit apartment building Read more…

In today’s economic climate, buy-and-hold is a solid real estate investing strategy. Here are 3 reasons why: 1)      Return on investment. For the right property, well-managed and with a stable tenant, rental income is frequently 8% to 9% of market value.  After expenses, an annual return of 5% or more is reasonable — even in a still-uncertain economy!  Keep in mind this is if you own the property for cash. If you had even just 50% leverage on the property your cash on cash return along with your ROI go up substantially. That’s what makes this strategy so attractive right Read more…

At different times, different investing strategies work better than others. Changing market dynamics mean that a strategy that might work today won’t work tomorrow – and vice versa. What’s working today? A buy-and-hold real estate investing strategy. Why is now such a good time to buy and hold?  Here are a few key factors… 1)      It’s a buyer’s market.Right now in most places across North America it’s a buyer’s market.  You can get rock-bottom prices on high-value properties that are sure to increase in value in the mid- to long-term. Prices in many areas of the USA are below replacement Read more…