As a real estate investor, simply Googling “multi family homes for sale near me” will get you nowhere in 2019. That’s because browsing different listings platforms is just not enough. Why? Because you need to evaluate multi family investment properties from every angle. That’s the only way to make sure that after this major purchase, you’ll be making money with the rental property of your choice.
So, What’s the Best Way to Find Multi Family Homes for Sale Near You?
It’s to use a multi family investment calculator. That’s because this kind of calculator won’t only show you residential listings. It will help you carry out multi family real estate investment analysis to completion.
Let’s take a look at how this tool works step by step in helping you find multi family properties in your local housing market. Just be sure that before you move any further, you ask yourself one important question:
Is investing in multi family homes for sale near me really the smartest move?
How will you know the answer? From a little real estate market research. It’s possible that where you live is not the best multi family market. This could be the case for a few different reasons. The point is to make sure that the location is a good one for buying a multi family home for investment. This means researching and reviewing:
- Economic and Job Growth– Is the economy stable and growing? Are jobs being added at a healthy rate?
- Population Growth– You need tenants for your multi family rental! Are people moving here?
- Investment Property Taxes– Are they so high, your ROI will suffer?
- Landlord-Tenant Laws– Is your city/state landlord-friendly?
- Crime Rate– Will tenants feel safe living in your rental property?
- Real Estate Appreciation Rates– Will you make money from selling the investment property down the line?
Of course, the investment property calculator can help you determine the major profitability factors surrounding cash flow and return on investment (ROI). So, let’s continue.
How to Find Multi Family Homes for Sale with an Investment Property Calculator
So now you’ve reached one of two conclusions:
- Buying a multi family home is a smart investment in your local real estate market
Or
- Your market research has bought you to a much better-performing multi family market
Now it’s time to analyze whatever city you have landed on in terms of where to invest in real estate (neighborhood analysis) and what property to invest in (multi family real estate investment analysis).
Neighborhood Analysis
A city may be ideal for investing in multi family homes for sale, but the story differs from neighborhood to neighborhood. The typical investment property calculator is not likely to be able to help you out here. But Mashvisor’s calculator has a tool called the Heatmap. With this tool, you can use the following filters for a thorough neighborhood analysis:
- Listing Price
- Traditional or Airbnb Rental Income
- Traditional or Airbnb Cash on Cash Return
- Airbnb Occupancy Rate
If you set any one of the filters, the map will show you which neighborhoods have income properties with the most profitable features.
For example, a real estate investor shouldn’t start an investment property search without a budget in mind. If you set the Listing Price filter, you can instantly view the neighborhoods (if any in the city) that have multi family homes for sale within your desired budget.
Are you an Airbnb investor? Then the Airbnb occupancy rate is something really crucial as not all neighborhoods see tourist activity. Set the filter and you’ll know if income properties in this area work with the Airbnb rental strategy or not.
Don’t forget to check the Rental Income and Cash on Cash Return filters as well. These are actually the most important ones! You want to find the neighborhood that will have rental properties that make money and these filters will help you find them in minutes.
In this way, you’ll be sure to choose a location that has the best multi family homes for sale, right down to the exact neighborhood.
Multi Family Real Estate Investment Analysis
- City✔
- Neighborhood✔
- Multi Family Investment Property
You’ve done a lot of the work and only in a few minutes time. Now it’s time for the last and most important step- finding a multi family home that makes for a great real estate investment. Multi family investment analysis by way of a real estate calculator is the best and quickest way to go about this.
When you click on your chosen neighborhood from the Heatmap analysis tool, what you’ll see in the sidebar now are the Property Listings in that neighborhood.
Right now, it’s showing all kinds of income properties- from condos to single family rentals to duplex investments. To narrow things down, set one more filter for multi family homes.
Now, all you see on the sidebar are multi family homes for sale. Each real estate listing will also have a small preview of the investment property analysis featuring the Airbnb and Traditional Cap Rate and Cash on Cash Return.
Click on the property that you find suits you best (the one with the highest cap rate I imagine) and you’ll be taken to the Investment Property Analysis Page.
This is where you get to interact with the multi family investment calculator and adjust any values specific to you like the property financing and the different rental expenses and costs, both one-time and recurring.
You might have to do a little more research at this point to make sure you get the most accurate results. However, the investment property calculator already provides you with estimates. That way, you can find one or two multi family homes for sale that look promising and research them more thoroughly. This saves you a lot of time and effort in the process of buying an investment property.
This page will also help you carry out comparative market analysis for multi family homes for sale that you view. It will show you the right real estate comps, without you having to go hunting for them and setting up complicated investment analysis spreadsheets.
Start Looking For and Analyzing Multi Family Homes for Sale Now
The Next Step
Now that you have one of the best multi family real estate properties displayed right in front of you, it’s time to:
- Finalize your investment property financing
- Seek out the real estate agent or seller of the multi family home
- Make an offer
If you did the very first step of real estate market research correctly, you’ll soon be able to find a tenant with the right marketing. Then, you’ll be making money in real estate. It all starts with knowing the best way to find multi family homes for sale.