Become a successful real estate investor and take opportunities to make money in real estate sector is endless. So, if you are a real
estate agent or broker, you can increase your short-term and long-term earnings significantly by starting to invest in real estate as well.
“Success in real estate comes down to two factors: taking care of and valuing the customer.”
MICHAEL MIEDLER
As an expert on real estate, you benefit from major advantages compared to other first-time investors. In this article we show how to capitalize on your competitive advantage and become a successful real estate investor.Step 1: Analyze the Local Housing Market for Investment Opportunities
The first step to investing in rental properties – regardless of whether you are an agent or not is conducting thorough real estate market analysis. The idea is to look at property price values and trends, available listings, and property types for sale. Therefore, it is important to establish if the local market is a buyer’s market or a seller’s market to know what competition you should expect from other property buyers. However, as an agent, you have a major
advantage in this regard compared to other investors.
You know the answers to most or all of these questions, which minimizes the time you need to spend on market analysis. Furthermore, agents can buy
investment properties even in hot seller’s markets much more successfully
than other investors as they are expert property finders and negotiators.
Step 2: Evaluate the Rental Market as a Real Estate Investor
Once you decide that buying a property in your area is a good opportunity at the moment, you should perform rental market analysis. Most importantly, the goal is to identify what return on investment you can expect as a result of the prevailing rental rates and occupancy rates. You should assure that the local market can bring you a positive cash flow investment in order to increase the amount of money you make from real estate. Furthermore, analyzing the rental demand and supply in the area will tell you whether traditional, long term rentals or Airbnb, short term rental properties bring a higher rate of return. This will help you choose the optimal rental strategy and focus your property search on the best property type for this strategy. Selecting the best rental strategy is crucially important for the success of a rental property business.Step 3: Get Pre-Approved for a Mortgage
The next step in starting investing in real estate is getting pre-approved for a mortgage. As an agent, you know how important this is. Buyers who have been pre-approved are considered significantly more reliable and serious which is particularly important in hot seller’s markets where a few buyers compete for the same property. To get qualified, set up a budget based on your savings and income and bring all relevant documents to the bank. You should use your knowledge of local financial institutions that you’ve accumulated throughout your real estate career to focus on the best options. It is recommended to talk to a few different banks including both small local and big national ones. Different credit institutions offer various interest rates and other mortgage terms.Step 4: Look for Properties for Sale
After you have established that investing in rental properties is a beneficial real estate strategy in your market at the moment and you have been pre- approved for a mortgage loan, the time has come to start searching for properties for sale within your budget. As a first-time investor, you should set up a budget and stick to it. One of the gravest mistakes which beginner real estate investors make – and against which agents are not protected – is exceeding their budget because they fall in love with a certain house. Buying an investment property is a business decision which should be based on calculations and rationality rather than on your emotions. Thus, make sure to focus your property search on homes for sale within your budget only to avoid getting tempted.Step 5: Analyze the Potential of Properties
To become a successful real estate investor , the next obligatory step in buying an investment property is to perform investment property analysis on a number of different listings. The prevailing rates in the local market, to evaluate how much rent you can charge for these properties and what vacancy/occupancy you can expect. You also need to calculate all recurring expenses such as property tax, home insurance, HOA fees, maintenance, property management, and others. The difference between the rental income and the rental expenses will provide you with an estimate of the cash flow. As a first-time real estate investor, you have to remember to go for a positive cash flow property as that’s the only way to make money rather than lose money in real estate. Last but not least, you must calculate what return on investment your property will be able to bring you, as both capitalization rate and cash on cash return. A good cap rate and cash on cash return for rental properties are usually considered 8% or more.Step 6: Buy a Property
The last part of the process of starting to invest in real estate is to actually buy a house. That’s something you are already an expert on as an agent. Investing in rental properties is a lucrative strategy to make extra money for everyone, but it comes with some additional benefits for real estate agents. Just follow the steps above to diversity your real estate career and expand your earnings.
If you want to buy, sell, rent a property or any other information related to real estate feel free to contact with Land Fortuners , we are always here to help you.
