Do you have plans to start investing in real estate after retirement, or when you have a lot of savings? Well, we encourage you to get started NOW, instead.
There is no reason you couldn’t start buying and selling houses as a business and build your net worth—even if only on the side, part-time.
And, to help make the transition from employee to real estate investor easier, you can follow a checklist for buying investment property. Not only can it demystify the process for you, but it also keeps you on track for repeatedly achieving good returns.
Your Property Investment Checklist for Achieving Good Returns
Especially as a first-time investor, it helps to have a checklist for buying investment property on hand.
It’s not just that you don’t want to forget a critical step in the process of buying, rehabbing, and selling homes… it’s that you don’t want these missteps to cost you your potential returns.
And, in the beginning, it’s easy to overlook what needs to happen next on a deal simply because you want it so badly.
So, to make sure you don’t let your emotions derail your intentions—and your ROI—here’s a checklist to keep your deal-making decisions on track.
➜ Get Pre-Approved.
While you may be ready to jump headfirst into your property search, you may benefit from taking time to get pre-approved for your mortgage.
This process takes VERY little time to do, and it will facilitate the entire process. Not only will it give you a good idea of the maximum sale price you can consider, but it will also:
- help you estimate your cash flow
- allow you to structure a strong offer
- make you appear more credible to the buyer
- help you win any bidding wars
To get started on your pre-approval journey, fill in our quick 1-minute application at aqrelending.ca/mortgage-application.
➜ Find a deal.
It sounds easier than it might be just starting out. The best deals that offer the greatest potential for good returns are properties from homeowners in distress. Since they typically need to unload their homes fast, you can often buy them at below-market value.
Of course, that’s why other investors go after them, too. So, when you put a system in place that helps you generate leads, make sure it’s designed to find off-market properties that DON’T make it onto your competitors’ radars.
Otherwise, finding a deal won’t always lead to a close.
Want to know more about How to Find Motivated Sellers Online? Read our guide.
➜ Offer wisely.
To get anywhere near realizing decent returns, you have to buy properties at pretty steep discounts. The more room you have to renovate a house, the less likely you’ll get thrown off your financial course if things don’t go as planned. Anything from a surprise leak to a severe storm has the potential to knock you and your ROI around a little.
How do you know if you’re getting a good deal? Learn the 4 Best Ways to Value a Real Estate Investment Property.
BUT, offering wisely is not just about offering low. The homeowner needs to feel like they’re getting a deal, too. So, to make sure your offer doesn’t get shoved aside, consider where they’re coming from as much as where you want your returns to go.
To learn more, read our post on How to Make a Low Offer on a House Without Losing the Deal.
➜ Get an inspection.
To ensure that you make an appropriate offer that takes into account all necessary repairs, it’s CRITICAL to perform an inspection. Skip this item on your list and you could find yourself falling into a money pit.
So, make sure you check for things like:
- mold
- foundation issues
- the condition of the plumbing
- overburdened electrical panels
These things aren’t always obvious from a single walk-through. You’ve got to get the right pros in there to help you calculate exactly what kind of rehab you’re getting into.
There’s really no excuse for skipping this step and putting your returns at risk.
Buying an older home? Learn the Top 3 Areas That Could Spell Trouble.
➜ Rehab smartly.
Once you know what you need to do on your investment property, run those numbers correctly so that you can perform that rehab smartly. In order to do that, get a real estate investment analysis and valuation tool that estimates local labor and material costs that you can accurately budget for.
Then, stick to your budget!
Deciding halfway through repairs that tearing down walls to open up the kitchen will look as good in your property as it does on TV could actually damage your returns. And, there’s nothing smart about that.
Before your start, read about the 6 Upgrades to Increase the value of Your House!
➜ Sell (or rent) at a price that makes sense.
The final item on your checklist is to sell your investment property at a price that makes sense—for your bottom line and the market.
Obviously, you don’t want to price the house too low. Sure, you may sell it fast and for exactly what you’re asking. But, you may also miss out on realizing the highest possible returns.
But you shouldn’t list the home for as much as you can imagine, either. Price out your buyers and you may be holding the house for longer than your ROI can bear.
It’s a balancing act to be sure. But, if you’ve correctly and confidently checked everything else off your list, the balance in your checkbook should reflect good returns.
The beauty of having a checklist for buying investment property like this one on hand is that it keeps you focused on your goal of realizing optimal returns no matter what else crops up.
- So, you can spend a little extra time with a distressed homeowner if that’s what they need to feel comfortable with the deal.
- Or, you can get more estimates for repairing the electrical system if that’s what you need to feel satisfied with the cost.
No matter what happens, you’ve got an easy-to-carry tool to help keep you on track—from your first deal on.
The Right Tools and Resources Make Staying on Track Easy
Now that you are armed with your checklist, start finding great investment properties on the AQRE Home platform!
AQRE Home offers everything you need to make your dream investment a reality. Including:
- hand-picked investment properties
- mortgage broker connections
- a build-in messenger for easy offers
- realtor connections across the U.S. and Canada
- expert guidance from a team with 20 years of combined real estate experience
So start browsing and sending offers today on AQRE Home.
Read more:
- AQRE Guide to Making Money in Real Estate: Calculate your ROI
- Thinking About Buying a ‘Fixer Upper’? Here’s What You Need to Know
- Signs You’re NOT Ready to Invest in Real Estate… Yet!
- Donald Trump’s Real Estate Failures (and the Reasons Behind Them!)
- Choose the Right Classes of Investment Property – Class A,B,C, and D