Investing is one of the most sensible things that anyone can do with their spare money, but it is fraught with difficulties. Regular readers of this very blog will be aware of the huge number of potential pitfalls and issues which can arise with any kind of investment. If you want your investments to go as smoothly as possible – and who doesn’t – then it helps to know the entire investing process as well as possible. Depending on what kind of investment you are getting into, this can take a long time. However, certain investment types are easier to learn than others. In this post, we are going to discuss one of the less complex areas of investing – property investments. Namely, we will be looking at how to make the most of the entire process without sacrificing anything. We will do that by looking at the main areas which you need to get right. If you are wondering what to research first and foremost, this article has the answer for you.
Finding The Right Property
When it comes to investing in property, there is probably no decision more important than choosing the right property. This much probably goes without saying, but it is always worth bearing in mind. As long as you get this part of the process right, the rest should follow fairly easily. However, it is one thing just saying that choosing the right property is necessary – we all know that. The question is: how can we tell which is the right property? The answer to that often depends largely on your individual needs, and no two investors are exactly alike in this regard. Nonetheless, there are certain factors which all investors should consider if they want to find the ideal property for their portfolio. Let’s take a look at those factors in turn.
You are no doubt already aware of the old saying in real estate regarding location. The truth is, it is the most important decision of all, as the location of the property affects every other part of the process. As long as you find a decent location, you can be sure that your investment will go relatively well, even if other aspects do not quite go to plan in the same way. But what kind of location should you look for? Even in this respect there are several things to consider. You probably don’t want to go for anywhere that is too far away from your own home, for a start. You might need to visit and make repairs, for example, and it helps to live relatively nearby. But you also need to think about the market for the area that you do choose, as this will have a significant effect on the kind of return you can expect to see. Paying attention to the local market is hugely important, and you need to make sure you are doing that right from the very start. As long as you are doing that, it is much more likely that you will be able to make the most of the whole investment experience. This is why location is so important to take into consideration from the beginning. For an idea of different property types in certain locations, take a look at TempeApartments.net.
As well as the location of the property, it goes without saying that you also want to ensure that the interior is everything you want. You might decide to renovate anyway (as we will discuss in the next section), but you probably want to be sure that the space you are starting with is decent enough in the first place. If it is falling apart, it might not be worth the kind of money it might cost you to do up. Therefore, make sure that you check the details of every property you view, particularly before actually settling on one to buy.
As long as you choose the property with diligence and care, you are on the right track straight away. But there is much more to the process of investing in property, so let’s carry on and take a look at the role that renovation plays in the investment of properties.
Renovating & Repairing
When you buy a home to live in, you might well just accept it how it is. However, when you are trying to build an investment portfolio, you often need to make some changes to the homes that you buy. Before you rent them out to third parties, you want to make sure that they are as polished and well-presented as possible. Otherwise, you might not be able to get the kind of rent for them that you really want. What’s more, you might have trouble getting as many people to be interested in your property.
One of the most difficult aspects to renovating is balancing the costs against the expected profits. Any large renovations that you make on the home will add to the value of the property, so they are often likely to be worthwhile. However, some are much more worthwhile than others, and it is useful to know what they are. As a rule, renovating the bathroom, kitchen and main bedroom are the best places to start, as they add the most value to the home. It is also a good idea to take care in choosing your materials, as you want to make as much of a profit as possible in the long run. To that same end, you should consider carrying out the work yourself, as this is much cheaper than paying the labour for someone to do it for you. All of these small decisions add up to make a big difference to the overall cost-effectiveness of the investment. As ever, a golden rule with investments of this kind is to always think long term. It is often a long time before you see any kind of return, so you need to play the long game for it to be worthwhile. Take a look at this guide on renovating a house: https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/complete-guide-to-renovating-a-house/.
As long as you renovate properly, you should find that you gain much more interest in your property. Keep colours neutral, furniture inoffensive and artwork tasteful – this way, you are much more likely to end up with a tenant who can then help to pay off the mortgage. Speaking of mortgages, that is another area where it really pays to know what you are doing.
Finding A Mortgage
When you go to buy your first property, one of the biggest decisions you will need to make is what mortgage to get. If you have never looked into it before, you might be surprised at just how many different kinds of mortgage there are. It really pays to pay attention to these various kinds, as they can affect dramatically how much you end up paying back in the long run. As we have seen previously, you need to think long-term if you are to make the most of this kind of investment, and this is especially true when it comes to comparing mortgages.
In order to successfully compare mortgages, of course, you need to know what the main differences are. The first type of difference you should know about are in relation to the interest repayment. All mortgages have their own interest rate, and it is worth paying close attention to this, as it affects dramatically what kind of repayments you are likely to make. There are two basic kinds of interest rates on mortgages: fixed and variable. Each does what it sounds like: fixed remains the same, no matter what, for as long as you are repaying it. While variable rates can change, but tend to start off lower than fixed ones. It is not true to say that one is always better than the other, but you need to compare them closely before you make any final decisions. This will dramatically affect how successful your investment is in the long run.
