If you’re a first-time investor looking to find a property near you, you’ve come to the right place.
There are so many resources to turn to when trying to find real estate property for sale that it can be a bit overwhelming. This guide will walk you through the steps to finding homes for sale for investing in your location. But first…
Are You Investing for Convenience or Success?
There are many factors that go into choosing an ideal location for rental properties, and convenience can be one of them. However, it shouldn’t be the only factor. The real estate market where property investors are searching for rental properties should promise the success of making money in real estate. There are a few ways to make sure that your location is a good place to find a property:
Use What You Know
Real estate investors who live in the same location where they wish to invest in real estate property for sale have the advantage of knowing the real estate market, even if they don’t realize it. Do you see many abandoned residential real estate properties around? Are you seeing the new faces of potential tenants moving into the neighborhoods? Are the commercial centers always packed and prospering? These factors all affect the location of rental properties, and you probably already know all about them. Need a list of factors to review for an ideal location? Read the post “Location Location Location: What Makes for The Best Place to Invest in Real Estate?”
Additional research online will fill in the gaps about the state of the real estate market where you live and help you decide if it’s a good location to invest in real estate property for sale.
Research the Location Using Mashvisor
Searching online to discover the state of a real estate market might sound intimidating. Make your real estate market research easier and faster by using Mashvisor. Mashvisor will reveal all the important information about the location of a real estate property for sale. Start by visiting the city investment guide page and choosing your city. Mashvisor will return the following data:
- Median Property Sale Price (with average square feet of residential homes)
- Cash on Cash Return for Traditional and Airbnb Rentals
- Rental Income for Traditional and Airbnb Rentals
- Number of Real Estate Properties for Sale
- Airbnb Occupancy Rate
With this information, real estate investors can decide if their city is a good location to find real estate property for sale or not.
The next step is to look at specific neighborhoods in the city. From Mashvisor’s homepage, search your city and click “Start Analyzing.” Hover over neighborhoods on the map of your city.
Mashvisor will return the following data on real estate property for sale in the neighborhoods:
- Median Price
- Cash on Cash Return for Traditional and Airbnb Rentals
- Cap Rate for Traditional and Airbnb Rentals
- Mashmeter Rating: This tells a real estate investor how good a residential rental property in that location will be for investing.
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Once you’ve taken a look at all this information, ask yourself again: Am I looking for real estate property for sale in this location near me for success or for convenience? If the answer is convenience, consider trying to find a property elsewhere. If it’s success, keep reading!
Related: Advantages and Disadvantages of Buying Rental Properties Close to Home
Find a Property Near You
Once real estate investors narrow down the location for rental properties, the next step is to find a property. There are a few ways to find a property in a specific location:
- Turn to a real estate agent to provide you with listings for residential homes
- Do your own research online to find real estate property for sale
- Check out local newspapers for listings of homes for sale in the location
- Continue using Mashvisor to find residential real estate property for investing
To start looking for and analyzing the best investment properties in your city and neighborhood of choice, click here.
At this point, you’ll probably have more homes for sale to choose from than you can handle! Now, you have to know how to go about choosing an investment property from these listings.
Related: Where to Look for The Best Real Estate Investments for 2018
How to Go About Choosing an Investment Property
Simply trying to find a property can be relatively easy compared to actually choosing an investment property. A lot goes into choosing an investment property for making money in real estate, so let’s break it down:
Investment Property Analysis
Investment property analysis is the way real estate investors determine if a residential real estate property will make a good investment.
Return on Investment
The first thing to determine is if the return on investment that the rental properties will bring you. Return on investment is measured primarily through two metrics:
- Cash on Cash Return
- Cap Rate
Learn more about how and when to use these metrics by reading “Cap Rate or Cash on Cash Return: Which Metric to Use When.”
Investment Property Analysis with Mashvisor
While real estate investors should have knowledge on how to calculate these return on investment metrics themselves, it might be difficult to do so for every real estate property for sale you find. Make things easier by using Mashvisor’s investment property calculator. The investment property calculator allows you to find cap rate and cash on cash return in seconds for multiple residential homes. Once you find a residential rental property that brings a good cap rate and cash on cash return, move on to the next step of the investment property analysis.
Location
While at this point a real estate investor should already be confident in the general location of the residential rental property, an investigation of the actual street is a good idea. Make sure there is nothing that will drive away potential tenants.
Inspect the Rental Property
Once you’ve checked out the specifics of the location, it’s time to investigate the real estate property for sale. A home inspection is needed (once you’ve narrowed down your real estate property search to one residential rental property) to make sure that there are no major issues with the real estate property.
Real Estate Market Analysis
To make sure prices for homes for sale are reasonable (before getting a professional home appraisal), perform real estate market analysis (comparative market analysis). You can’t get a good return on investment if you end up overpaying for a real estate property for sale. Find real estate comparables (comps): rental properties that have been sold recently that have similar features to the residential rental property you are interested in.
Real Estate Market Analysis with Mashvisor
Finding real estate comps is easy if you use the listings of rental properties from Mashvisor. Mashvisor provides real estate comps for a residential real estate property. Choose two or three comparables. Make a range of values from the prices and decide where your property falls based on its characteristics.
The first step to being a successful real estate investor and making money in real estate is learning how to find real estate property for sale. Choosing an investment property for success is made easier if you follow this guide and use all of the tools Mashvisor has to offer.
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