If you’re very new to all of this, you’re probably wondering how to dive in to the wonderful world of buying rental property. I’ll share with you what worked for me, and it involves 5 specific steps:- Find a good real estate agent
- Practice running the numbers
- Conduct physical inspections (drive-by’s & showings)
- Make an offer & negotiate
- Manage the contract processSTEP #1: FIND A GOOD REAL ESTATE AGENTEventually, you will need your own “team,” including a real estate agent, mortgage broker, insurance broker, title company, attorney, home inspector, and a handful of trustworthy contractors. But with the exception of a real estate agent, your team does not need to be brought together right out of the gate. You will gradually assemble it as you go.STEP #2: PRACTICE RUNNING THE NUMBERSAsk your new broker to send you all the active 2-8 unit multifamily rental property listings in your target area, and practice running the numbers to identify the most beneficial ones. As long as you know a simple formula and have a few key numbers from the property, can use those numbers to do rapid-fire “back of the envelope” calculations to quickly screen properties for financial practicality. Read my property valuation article to learn how to do this.STEP #3: CONDUCT PHYSICAL INSPECTIONSOnce you have a list of financially viable multifamily rental properties, take some time to do drive-by’s. Whether the numbers work or not, you do not want to get any property in an especially bad area (in fact, you’ll find that the numbers usually work best in such areas…you get what you pay for!). Plus, while not a flawless science, if the outside looks like it’s falling apart you may want to pass.After this process, you will have a list of maybe 3 or 4 properties to look at with your Realtor, instead of, say, 10 or 15. Have your Realtor schedule weekly showings, and bring a notebook to jot down notes so you can later use this info to adjust your bid amount.Keep physically inspecting properties with your agent in this manner every week and do not get discouraged. The majority of rental properties you come across will be poorly maintained and/or overpriced. Tenants beat them up, and many, many landlords could care less about maintaining their investment.So, buying rental property takes time. All I can say is be patient, and remember that the more deals you inspect, the better deal you are likely to get when you finally pull the trigger.STEP #4: MAKE AN OFFER & NEGOTIATEOk, so you’ve run a bunch of initial numbers, did a bunch of drive-by’s, and physically inspected a bunch of hot prospects with your agent. Finally, you’ve found a 2-8 unit multifamily rental property you’d like to purchase. Time to negotiate!STEP #5: MANAGE THE CONTRACT PROCESSYippee, your offer was accepted! So now what? Well, there are various steps that round out the process of buying rental property:- Get the property “under contract”
- Initiate title work; note that some states require an attorney
- Conduct a property inspection
- Get an appraisal
- Arrange financing
- Get property insurance
- Get a property survey
- Review settlement documents and close the dealThis may seem complicated if you happen to be new to all of this, but it’s really not. After you go through the entire process once, you’ll be ready to start buying rental property like there’s no tomorrow!
Start Buying Rental Property With This 5-Step Process
The Need For Higher Education
Receiving an undergraduate degree in business is the first step in the process. Undergraduate degrees allow many individuals to enter their field of choice with relatively stable jobs and at times, allow them to advance to higher positions after gaining experience. However, in some cases, an individual may not advance in a business because of the lack of higher education.To reach higher positions, businesses are looking for individuals who are well experienced and educated. So, what should you do? Well, it depends on what you want to do in a business and it depends on the business. For some, experience is all you need to climb the business ladder. For other businesses, education is needed. If you need higher education, then you should consider getting an MBA or MBM, depending on your field. Receiving higher education of this type will distinguish you from other individuals, increase your ability to attain higher positions and wages.Since higher education is in high demand, you may wonder why it’s so important for the job. Here are few reasons why higher education is needed for business:-Concepts discussed and learned in school may not be covered in on-the-job experience. It’s best to learn the concepts and then match them with experience. This will increase your potential to make the best decisions at the right time in a field.-Education also provides training for certain circumstances. Learn how to react in different situations before you get into a field and make major decisions that affect the entire business. Make mistakes without huge consequences and learn from those mistakes for future reference.-Learn more about your specific field and how you can improve strategies and business models. Education can enable you to think of new ideas that are worth sharing with a business.-Expand on the skills you already have by attaining more in-depth knowledge of the subjects.-Network with classmates and build business partners for the future. Collaborate and learn together, and then enter the business field with new contacts and networks.Higher education leads to a great future in business. Not only does it prepare you for the business world ahead, to climb to success, but it allows you to join other professionals and develop relationships with some of the best business people. Get educated from the best, meet some of the best in the field, and find your future in the business world with the skills you develop in school.