Like many investment adventures, investing in apartments as a real-estate venture has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are obvious, such as having a group of people paying your monthly mortgage. Not only that, but with a multi unit structure you are sure to not only have the needed funds for upgrades and repairs, but plenty left over at the end of the month for your personal expenses or reinvestment.
Lets say for instance you have a 15 unit dwelling you’ve bought for $500,000, giving you a monthly mortgage of $3000.00. Now divide that payment by 15 giving you $200 from each months rent to pay YOUR mortgage. Now since apartments need pretty constant repairs and upgrades, let set aside another $3000/$200 per unit for repairs. So now, your mortgage is paid and repairs and upkeep have been deducted, and you’ve only used $400.00 of the rents collected. At this point it is always wise to set aside any taxes you may owe, and the rest is YOURS. That’s right, you can pocket 1000’s each and every month, without spending a dime of your own personal account. All the while, your investment continues to grow in value.
Many investors will not handle anything but apartments for the shear fact that they are able to pay them off quickly and pocket 60% of the rents collected each month. Once someone is able to invest in several apartments, the earning potential is unlimited.
Now when considering any investment I feel it is very important to look at both sides, so let see what the disadvantages may be. Well, when dealing with multiple tenants, you will also be dealing with multiple repairs and situations, however, if you’ve set aside the $200.00 a month, this will be another cost free situation. If you yourself are unable to maintain the units yourself, hiring on-site managers is a wonderful alternative. Their responsibilities would be maintaining the units, collecting the rents, keeping the units rented, and screening potential renters. Many of these work for free rent and a small monthly salary, freeing your time up to search for your next investment. It’s in the reinvestment of these funds that I feel you will be on the absolute road to success. It is also important to investigate legal liabilities as they vary from state to state, but insurance, not only on your structure but you tenants is available in many states and can prove to be another very wise investment.
A very dear friend of mine was recently widowed. She was absolutely devastated, not only by the loss of her soul mate, but also but the fact she felt she had no marketable skills. She and her husband owned 3 properties, one she resides in and two rentals. Another friend suggested she sell one of the houses and invest in apartments. She reasoned she could be getting rent payments from 25 tenants instead of 2. Well my friend did just that, and two years later she bought her second set of units. She has been widowed now 5 years now and has been able to turn her two rentals into a small fortune, and because she uses the services of on site managers and an accountant, her involvement is minimal.
It is however very, very important to do your homework and research before investing an any property. What is targeted for that area over the next few years is an important consideration. If your apartments have a recreation area or pool, you will need to carry added insurance. Location is also very important, as that will determine the type of residence you will attract. Closer to schools will get more tenants with children, as do those near shopping centers. Along the city edges or near colleges is where your more likely to find adult residence and near hospital and medical offices is where more senior living complexes are found.
Another exciting field to look into is space rent for manufactured homes. In this instance, your responsibilities decrease, as do your legal liabilities. While the residences own their private dwellings, you own the property in which they are placed. Your taxed in an entirely different way, as more of a parking lot attendant and acreage owner.
Over all, for my money, apartment rentals is absolutely the best way to go, and qualifying for a loan becomes a bit easier, due to the fact that this is also a business investment, not simply a home load. If you haven’t checked into the possibilities lately, I would strongly encourage you to research this issue a bit more, and happy investing.