Real Estate Investing – The 3 Biggest Risks
Nov 20th, 2009 by master
The upper echelons of real estate investing is eluded by so many investors because of the perceived risk. Real estate investing can’t actually be that risky, can it? It’s just being honest to say that it depends how you do it. Risk is usually more or less related to a lack of proper knowledge and training. You have learned to manage risky things like the fact that learning to walk was risky for you at one time. That’s why a meaningful real estate investing guide read this article from The Investor Today by Matthew David is effective in helping to put the risks in their proper perspective. Most investors are hindered by a lack of investing knowledge but the good news is that it can easily be overcome. A no hassle method to overcome investing ignorance is to take advantage of online real estate courses for free check out this post. Once you have the proper knowledge and guidance, getting ahead will be easier than you think. Having said that, here are the most common risks of real estate investing that you’ll want to avoid.
1. Investing by Speculating
Purchasing your dream home is lot different than purchasing a dream home but many investors don’t distinguish the two. If it fits their budget, they consider it a good value and it’s visually appealing then it’s a go for them. Over the long term, investors always plan for their property to appreciate in value. Property appreciation is very different than people think it is though. There are no guarantees that property value will go up in value over the term you own it even if you own it for 10+ years. In the last 10 years, Tokyo real estate has fallen by over 75% of the value of a decade ago. What if appreciation in value was your only investing strategy in that market?
The simplest way to avoid speculating is to learn to invest your money into great deals, not great markets. Find a property that you can buy for significantly less than the local market value is essential for you to learn. If you learn to buy property with a lot of equity built into the purchase, the local market conditions are almost irrelevant. Paying full market value basically leaves you attached to the vessel of hope for appreciation. Buying with a discount always works, appreciation sometimes works but not always.
2. Cash Flow Issues
If you purchase stocks, do you go visit the company’s factory or facilities? Do you have a meet and greet with their CEO? Why not? The reason is that you bought the company to make money not because of all the visual appeals.
What considerations do most investors use to buy real estate? They use all the strategies that are dead wrong for a buying a stock and those strategies are just as poor at evaluating real estate. Imagine dealing with crappy tenants and not even making any money. Unfortunately, this is a true story for many average real estate investors.
If you have analyzed the cash flow position of your property before you buy then don’t buy it. If you’re buying a property that does not produce strong cash flow then you’re basically counting on appreciation to make you money. As previously stated, don’t speculate.
There’s an easy way to manage this risk and that’s good news. If you learn to buy great deal properties with discounts built into the purchase, the properties will almost always produce good cash flow. Great deals do not matter whether you are purchasing in the ghetto or if you’re purchasing them in the Hamptons because a great deal is buying with a big discount.
3. Nightmare on Tenant Street
More valuable than the money you can lose over bad tenants is the sanity it may cost you. Wanting your vacancy filled is no reason to put any old tenant in your property. No cash flow, no appreciation and bad tenants can sound pretty bad. Unfortunately, for many average investors, this is a true story.
Do you know why most commercial properties have detailed rental applications? There’s more to it than just CYA and paperwork. It’s actually because they screen their tenants and so should you. There are great sites out there like www.theinvestortoday.com that will show you how to quickly and easily screen tenants.
If you follow these 3 pit falls that hold back most investors from the upper echelons of real estate investing, the sky is the limit for you. Real estate is a business and when you treat it like one, your income will improve dramatically.
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