Real estate investing – it’s something that hits close to home for our founder, LJ. He’s been building up his own real estate portfolio for years, and has certainly gotten his feet wet when it comes to property investing.
If you’d like to diversify your own revenue streams and set yourself up for a prosperous future, we’re here to help! Today, we’re talking about the different types of real estate investing and how it all works.
Cash flowing properties
Let’s begin with cash flowing properties: a property with an income that’s greater than its expenses. Say you buy a property today that’s already making some money, and there’s really nothing more to be done. You’ll just put your 20% down and let it continue doing its thing. The property will appreciate year after year, as well as the mortgage pay-down.
Any extra income generated by incoming rent will be there to service any potential repairs, maintenance, etc. This ownership model is relatively straightforward, which is why a lot of people who are not full-time real estate investors prefer it. They already have a job and responsibilities, so they’re looking for something turnkey.
It’s a simple, easy entry point that suits many investors. However, we’ve seen that the greatest returns and the greatest margins come from investments that require a little bit more work.
How we can take you from start to finish (and beyond)
Sometimes, investors will come to us saying, “I want something that’s going to be a little bit more work, but I don’t have time to search for the perfect property.”
Lots of people think that you only use a real estate broker when you’ve found a property and you’re ready to buy, but that’s far from the truth! We’re also here to help you get started and manage your real estate portfolio.
What does that mean in practice? Well, a brokerage can research and present potential properties depending on the criteria that you have for your own investment. If you’re looking at a property that requires more work, we can manage it too, including coordinating with contractors and different stakeholders as work unfolds.
Finally, we can also take care of renting those properties out once all is said and done.
The value of financial savvy and experience
Many buyers hyper-focus on the purchase, but for us, the most important part of the purchase is maintaining cash flow.
What kind of value are we going to create, either by increasing rents or having stable tenants that decrease vacancy? How much value are we creating for that building that we can then refinance and pull out? If we’re just looking to sit on it, how much peace of mind can we create for our clients?
By signing long-term tenants who have a good rental history and solid jobs, owners won’t have to worry about their investments. Instead, they can simply sit back and reap the benefits of the appreciation.
What it really boils down to is the BRRRR strategy: Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat. It all starts with telling us about your budget, from down payment to renovations. Then, we’ll comb the market for suitable options and bring you our top recommendations.
In our experience, a property that’s going to work for a BRRRR is usually a diamond in the rough: they’re not properties that you would easily find. They’re listed a certain way, the rents are presented in a certain way. It can take a lot of time to find the type of property that really makes sense, then analyze what they have to offer and make financial projections.
You’ve got this – and we can help
Whether you’re planning on purchasing a property six months from now, two years from now, or somewhere in between, there’s always groundwork we can do on our end.
You’re busy with your job, making a living, always thinking about how you can maximize your investments. Why take time away from your life and work to look at 45 different properties that might not actually fit your vision?
At LJ Realties, we walk the walk: we have significant real estate investment experience, which gives us a keen eye for what works and what doesn’t, and which steps you should take to solve a given problem.
You’re never in this alone! Reach out to our team if you’re thinking about taking the plunge and we’ll be happy to chat about your options.