Purchasing Investment Property: Help Ensure Profits with These 3 Home Features

Any seasoned investor will tell you that if you have a solid plan, you can turn a good profit on your investment. And when it comes to investing in Real Estate, one of the key factors that leads to success is choosing the right property. If you want to turn a profit, here are the three home features you should be looking for in an investment property:

• Location, Location, Location

This is a lot more important than you may think. An investment property’s location is critical to figuring out how much you can profit from it AND how long you can keep tenants there (or how often you can keep if booked if you are using it as a short-term rental). Remember that you can polish any property to look appealing, but you can’t move it to a better location. So, when considering an investment property, make sure it’s in a good location.
A helpful way to determine if a location is good or not for an investment property is to understand that investments with high cash flow usually share similar characteristics. They are usually found in areas with good schools, nearby amenities and attractions like parks, movie theaters, beach accesses and shopping. It’s also important to note what the access to the property is like, those on well-kept streets do better than those on unfinished or non-maintained roads.

• Marketability

Another thing to consider is what the average rental rates in the area are and how frequently are nearby properties rented. You need to be able to cover your operating costs, and if charging the average rental rate isn’t going to do that, then your investment will not be successful.  
How often are other properties in the area rented? Here along the Emerald Coast, seasonal rentals are very common, but are those seasonal rentals booked throughout the season? If the vacancy level in the area is high, then it’s possible that the average rent is too high, or people aren’t as interested to stay there anymore. Whereas if the vacancies are low, you know people want to be there and you can charge a little higher rent to meet the demand.

• Trending Floor Plans

As mentioned before with location, you can change up a lot in a property to make it to your or the general public's liking, but something besides location you can’t really change is the floor plan. Since you will be competing with other investment properties, it’s important to choose one with a floor plan that is more modern and functional. A way to figure out what types of floor plans are in higher demand is to look at what’s trending. When you have a modern and functional floor plan, it will be much easier to keep the property booked.

The bottome line is, good investors know that it’s important to choose a property that will turn a profit. And smart investors know that using a local and experienced Real Estate agent will help them find an investment property that meets all three of the above home features and more.
The real estate market is always changing. New neighborhoods are being developed, rental and vacancy rates fluctuate, and trends can spring up or die out overnight. If you’re thinking of purchasing an investment property, contact us today! We would love to help!