subject: Short-Term Investing for Long-Term Results [print this page] Author: Peter V
In the last lesson, we talked about how important it is to not let yourself get caught in the trap of thinking that your long-term real estate investments will be nothing but a drain on you in the short term. Of course, you do need to plan ahead for the possibility that they could be a drain. After all, you do not want to buy a property, just to find that you have to fork it right back over to a lender 5 or 6 months down the road because your tenants did not work out. However, the Drain Option should be a last resort rather than a given mode of operations.
When you are investing long-term, you will have a lot to think about. You should determine how you will pay for the property, a variety of options for making the property generate money, and at least 3 different exit strategies (long-term ideal, short-term ideal and emergency) to make sure that you are always able to make your long-term investing situation work for you. Once you have determined that the property is a good buy and a good fit for you, however, you need to also investigate options for making that property worth more in the short term and the long term.
When you buy a long-term investment property, you will want to factor in improvements that will help its short-term productivity as well as its potential in the long-term. This means that while remodeling the bathroom might improve the value of the home, if you can get away with changing out the fixtures, then spending the remodel money on something that might really appeal to your tenant demographic (for example, a swing set or a sandbox for the backyard if you are trying to attract families), then this might be a good place to make a short-term investment in order to increase the attractiveness of the property. Anything you can do in the short term to help your tenants see themselves in the property long-term has multiple benefits:
It increases your likelihood of attracting responsible, long-term tenants
It increases the odds that if you needed or wanted to do a lease-option agreement at some point, you could
It can help you fill up your property fast
It will keep your property in demand
Of course, some short-term investments will be more significant than a swing set. For example, you might need to do some serious work on the exterior of the house in order to make it more durable in the event of inclement weather. While this may not be as obvious to your tenant as you wish it were, in 5 years when everyone else is repainting and repairing hail damage, you will be patting yourself on the back. Another good way to get money back out of a property in the long term is to make sure that it is energy efficient. As more and more government regulations on energy consumption go into effect, homes and properties that meet the requirements are expected to receive benefits for meeting these standards. Peter Vekselman has been successfully investing in real estate since 1996. He has completed over 1200 real estate deals, owned a construction company, been a private lender, and owned a property management company. Peter currently works with clients all over the US helping them achieve riches in real estate investing. For more information please visit www.CoachingByPeter.com.About the Author:
Peter Vekselman has been successfully investing in real estate since 1996.
He has completed over 1200 real estate deals, owned a construction company,
been a private lender, and owned a property management company. Peter
currently works with clients all over the US helping them achieve riches in
real estate investing. For more information please visit
