When most people think of investing in residential property, they think about buying a small house and renting it for a few hundred dollars over the mortgage.

The main problem with that plan is that in the current market, finding a house that will rent at a profit after a 6.5% mortgage is much tougher than it was a few years ago.

That’s before considering what if you go a few months with no renters, something major breaks, or you have a bad renter, (I have stories!!!) you can put your profit at serious risk.

This is why most people are not willing to invest a large portion of their savings into a residential rental property.

But…

There are more than a few ways to get into a property with less than 20% down on a risky investment.

Here is a summary of a few of the ideas we discussed in this week’s podcast

House Hacking – Rent every room individually. People are paying up to $1,000 a month for room rentals because the market for cheap rentals is so tough. A 4-5 bedroom house can make serious money with the right setup.

Non-Traditional Partnerships – Instead of buying a house as an individual or as a couple, buy a house with a friend or two and split the expenses. For many, this is much more desirable than renting or taking on a mortgage by themselves.

Own/Airbnb – Tim and I discuss a couple in Annapolis who have a new property with a $2,000 mortgage. They can rent the house for the Naval Academy Graduation and Annapolis Boat Shows for $3,000 a week. During the 4 weeks, they will cover 50% of the annual mortgage.

Traditional Airbnb – People assume Airbnb’s are only for seaside towns or places near major attractions but that’s not true. People rent basements, garage apartments and are also looking for “primitive” sites with no amenities and are willing to pay big bucks. Got an old shed at the back of the property?

To Sell Or Not To Sell, That Is The Question…

Here is my advice:
If you NEED to move but are not sure when. The answer is yesterday, then today, then tomorrow in that order. Not the day after… I think every day that goes by will be worse than the previous day. Carpe Diem!

If you have an investment property and you don’t want to keep it for more than 5 years, sell it immediately. See above

If you have a property covered under a lease, incentivize your tenant to move. Give them cash, detail their cars, pay some of their student loan debt etc. Trying to save 5k and potentially losing 10% of your home’s value waiting until next year could cost you tens of thousands.

If you want to move but don’t have to move, you are likely not moving anyway because the payments on houses have doubled. Only people who NEED to move will jump in.

If you want/need to BUY and are thinking about waiting. DON’T WAIT! The Fed said they will raise rates two more times in 2022 and again next year.

If you are looking to purchase an investment property, wait. There will be deals, now is not the time to jump. Hang on

If you own your home outright in cash and want to move. I would sell it and rent where you want to live for at least the winter and see how things go.

You can write the lease in a way that allows you the option to break it and that way you can look for deals. Rent and wait for the perfect house that will likely cost less than it does today.

Bottom line_______ Tomorrow will NOT be better than today for anyone

I Contemplated Turning In My Real Estate License

I was brainstorming about what we could talk about in our next video and I asked Tim to send me some info on long-term interest rates. Like, what will rates be in 1,3, and 5 years from now…

Seems like an interesting topic, I was secretly hoping he would send me a chart showing 4.5% and holding forever

When he sent it to me, I was shocked… I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I actually called a buddy who is a contractor to see what it would take to get into the contracting business.

I thought I could be a good contractor because I would always deliver a great product, I don’t do drugs or drink, and frankly, there is a shortage of stand-up guys who can do what they say, at the given price, and come close to the promised timeline.

Why? 9.55% interest on a 30-year fixed mortgage in 2026 …Whaaaaaaaa?(think minions lol) I got a chill down my spine and I thought this is it, I am done. No one will buy a house at 10% interest. If they did they would never pay what people are asking for houses today and it would either crash the market or freeze it entirely

Either of those scenarios is a death blow to me. I am a single-income household and if we don’t sell houses, we don’t eat.

The Ol’ Sell & Buy…

Back in our day we just found a house while ours was under contract and it was super easy. Back then, people were just happy someone wanted to buy their house.

Nowadays, if you slip up and tell a home seller you have a house to sell first, they might try to fist-fight you before telling you to get off their property!

Okay but seriously, this process has become super angsty because the houses are selling SO fast and there are barely any to buy. If you do find one, you need to sell a kidney, agree to pay 50k over, sight unseen, and you need to decide in the next 30 minutes…

There is a huge (and somewhat realistic) fear that if you sell, you set off a ticking timebomb, and with nothing to buy, this could get ugly.

Like looking for a camper ugly (multiple clients did this and liked it) or as one client is dealing with, his wife rolled out to the Sunshine State while he is Motel 6ing it!

Have no fear, using this process you can make it super smooth. Almost…

Are You Ready For WAR?!

It’s time we recognize what it really is like to buy a house during this post pandemalyptic world we live in and yes I just made that word up.

When you have to fight multiple desperate competing buyers, evermore greedy sellers, and real estate agents’ way-over-inflated egos, it is often all-out pandemonium.

I know what it’s like to go to war and win using a military tactic known as force multiplier. In other words attack from land, sea, and air simultaneously!

We must gather intel by knowing what everyone wants and how they want it. Remember it’s not just the sellers who need convincing it’s mostly their Realtor and knowing what they want is also key. Not every seller is only looking for the highest offer.

There are other things to consider that many people don’t think of like how long is the seller required to wait for settlement, what inspections/repairs will the buyer want, how solid is the financing, just how bad do you really want the house?
BTW how do you even define winning? Keeping both kidneys, only writing 10 offers, only paying 50k over asking? How about getting the right house instead of the wrong house?

According to experts, this real estate market will remain tough for a long time …so instead of thinking it was a blip and will go back to “normal” soon, let’s prepare for the reality of today and what is to come over the next few years.

Is The Juice Worth The Squeeze???

When it comes time to plan the sale of your house most people heavily factor in their personal opinions about what they might like when buying a home. The problem is you are not buying your home…

Others have strong beliefs about the right and wrong way to sell a house and they let those thoughts dictate their decisions.

The average American owns 3 houses in their lifetime so therefore they sell two…
Do we paint?
If we do what color, neutral beige?
How about the kitchen?
Who would we even hire?
Should we redo the carpets and if so what color?
What if the buyer hates it?
How much would all that cost?
Would we get the money back if we spend all that?
What if we do all this work and the buyer plans on making it “their own” and changes everything?
If we choose to save this money won’t it be more money in our pocket?

There is a LOT to consider and the way you manage those decisions will determine the profit margins and potentially even whether or not it will sell (not every house sells even in this market!)

When Listing For Sale Is The Juice Worth The Squeeze?
There is obviously a LOT to consider and in the balance is tens of thousands of dollars – Choose wisely my friend ; )