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Read MoreTips for Finding the Right Property & Where to Stay While You Look
Trying to find the perfect bachelor pad, waterfront home or brownstone in New York, Boston or elsewhere in the U.S. isn’t easy. It’s a time-consuming process that requires considerable hours, patience, a keen eye for what you’re truly looking for and knowing it when you see it. For people who haven’t been on this journey before, it’s a challenge to get through in one piece emotionally and financially.
Accordingly, here are some useful tips for people thinking about buying real estate.
Stay in the City for a Month or More While Looking
If you’re coming in from out of town or across the country, you need to spend time in the city. It’s not much good to do a flying visit for a weekend and try to get a good feel for the place. While you can read up about the best neighborhoods where you’re shopping for your next permanent home, it takes quite some time staying within them to get a proper feel.
A property purchase is a serious and costly investment, so choosing the right neighborhood is important. Driving around doesn’t really do it. It’s much better if you live nearby and hang out in cafés, restaurants and other places of interest. Take a bit of time with it to get a feel for the place.
In order to do this, it would be a good idea to look into serviced apartment providers such as Blueground. Blueground have these serviced apartments in Boston that have excellent furnishings, great indoor light and plenty of creature comforts. The company prides itself on offering the best apartments it can find and is gaining a strong reputation in real estate circles because of this single-minded focus. Their serviced apartments in the Boston area are a testament to that, but they also have rentals across other parts of the U.S too, including New York and Chicago.
Know Your Budget
You can approach the buying process in two different ways. It’s either knowing what your budget is for a new home and seeing what you can get for that much money, or deciding what type of home you want and then checking the price later. The first way has greater success than the second unless price is not an issue.
When a realtor is looking to find suitable real estate for you to buy, they’re best assisted by knowing how much you have available. It’s no good knowing you can spend (or borrow) up to $2m and they’re looking for places in the $2.5-3.5m range. It’s just wasting everyone’s time and likely will cause some measure of frustration over attractive homes that are out of your price range.
It’s better all round to start with a budget and go from there. You can attend open houses and private viewings based on that figure.
Figure Out the Deal Breakers
Everyone has deal breakers. These are things that you’ll absolutely say no way to when the realtor presents a house or apartment that has them. It’s very useful to think carefully about what your personal deal breakers might be. You might surprise yourself!
For instance, you might want a place on a ground floor only. Alternatively, you might be looking for a penthouse. The availability of highly-rated schools nearby could be a must-have with regards to the location of a property. How long it takes to get to your office might be another one.
Also, think about whether there will be renovations, upgrades or other improvements with the property post-purchase. This might mean the furnace needs replacing within five years or you’ll be interested in knocking through some non-bearing walls to expand the room sizes. What permissions will be required to do so, and how hard will they be to acquire?
Consider the Amenities
When considering buying an apartment in the future, what are the amenities that come with the purchase?
If an apartment is in NYC, for instance, then amenities like an elevator, doorman and security, a pool and a gym are often expected. While it might not bother you so much, if you ever come to sell the apartment later, you could find it more difficult to sell without these types of amenities that other people prefer.
There will also likely be association payments for the upkeep of the grounds, doorman and other aspects of the building’s upkeep. For NYC apartments, often the management board for the building association will need to approve you as the buyer based on your public records, credit report, etc. Association payments are in addition to property taxes to the state too.
Perhaps the most important thing to do when choosing new real estate is to take your time. While you may have to act fast to put in your best and final offer when actively seeking exactly the place you want and trying to secure it, first you must know what you’re looking for. Get that right and then start your property hunt in earnest. Not the other way around.
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The Best Reasons Why You Need To Do Rental Investment
If you’ve come into a little extra money, or you’ve been working hard to put away savings, there’s no doubt you’ve been wondering what the best way is to invest that money. If you’ve never considered a rental investment, now is the time to give it some thought. Not only can it be a great decision from a financial standpoint; it can also provide you with another residence that you can make use of if you choose.
Here’s a look at some of the best reasons to consider a rental investment.
A Lovely Retirement Home Down the Road
One of the top reasons people end up investing in a rental vacation property is that they hope to be able to take advantage of it themselves in their retirement years. While you may still be busy in your career with many years left until you retire, there’s nothing wrong with planning for your future, especially if that includes a restful location to enjoy your golden years.
Enjoy Owning a Second Home Without Having to Absorb All the Costs
If the idea of owning a second home appeals to you but you don’t have the extra income to pay for it, investing in a rental property can make excellent financial sense. Think about it, you’ll have the vacation home available to you to use if you like, but at the same time, your guests are paying the mortgage.
Where you need to be careful is that you don’t block off too much time for your own use, as this will take away from your profits. Ideally, you want the income from the guests to cover all the carrying costs, and a little extra is possible. Experts recommend that you don’t stay in the home for any more than 10% of the year if you don’t want to eat into your profits too much.
Discover a New Destination and Culture
Rather than just staying in random hotels on your vacation each year, when you own a vacation home you get to learn about that destination, its people, the culture, and its history. It’s an immersive experience since you become a home-owner rather than just a guest.
You Will Spend Less on Vacations
For some people, owning a second home is actually a way to make vacations more affordable. Think about it, you won't be paying for a hotel when you're on holiday and, ideally, you'll have enough guests booked year-round that your expenses are virtually nothing. All you will have to pay for is the flights to and from your vacation property.
A Couple of Buying Tips to Keep in Mind
If you do decide that a vacation home is for you, then there are a few tips to keep in mind. First of all, the location should be a huge factor. You want to pick a home that is not just appealing to you but would be appealing to guests as well, says Greg, rental executive at luxuryvillasmalta.com. What this means is that you want to look for places that offer scenic views, are close to towns/attractions/landmarks, offer dining nearby, and aren’t difficult to reach from the airport.
You’ll also have to decide whether you want to put work into the home and purchase a fixer-upper or if you want to get a place that is ready-to-go so there are no nasty surprises in the budget.
Purchasing a rental investment can end up being an excellent financial decision for you, not just right now but for your future and well into your retirement years.