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Six Questions to Ask Yourself Before Investing in Largo Real Estate

Collection of Colorful Origami HousesReal estate investing is a challenging business. Contrary to what you may have heard from advertising claims and get-rich-quick schemes, investing in real estate is neither easy nor quick. However, it has been proven again and again that it is a path to wealth and can give you an inflation-proof way to grow retirement and other accounts. Becoming a successful real estate investor requires a certain amount of experience, knowledge, planning, and skill. Because of this, there six important questions you should ask yourself before you jump in.

1.      How much do you know about the real estate industry, market, terminology, and so on?

It’s critical to have the skill to spot a good deal on a property, but successful real estate investing requires knowing more than that. If you have plans to invest, then you’ll need an excellent grasp of what drives markets, changes to laws and regulations, current trends, and warning signs to watch out for, etc. If what you know about real estate investing isn’t complete, then it’s probably a good idea to first learn all you can about it. After getting a comprehensive education on it, you’ll be better equipped to make your first purchase. The internet offers so much wealth of information and resources for new investors. There are sites like BiggerPockets.com that can get you started. Also available are dozens of how-to books, articles, and videos.

2.      What kind of financial skills do you have?

Investing in real estate is different from investing in stocks or other securities. There ia a specific financial skillset and a certain lingo that is used in the industry, and successful investors need to master it to be able to make great deals. For instance, someone investing in rental property would need the skill to pick apart the details of the deal being offered. They would need to know how to analyze a potential property for cash flow, estimate repair and maintenance costs, calculate anticipated rental rates based on current market conditions, the amount of your expected return (both long- and short-term), and more. Now, if what you know about real estate financing is either really basic or obsolete, then think about updating and learning more about it.

3.      Do you have a clear vision for your real estate investing business?

If you own a rental property, you are in the investing business. And just like all other businesses, yours will benefit from having a specific set of goals and a detailed plan of how you intend to achieve them. If you haven’t written a business plan yet, create one that will help you articulate the big picture and iron out any wrinkles you may encounter. It’s also good to have an exit plan even though you don’t need it yet. It’s important to stay prepared. This is because real estate investing is not just about buying properties to get in; you will also need to know how to get out at some point.

4.      How comfortable are you with risk?

All investments carry some degree of risk. It’s exactly the same with real estate. Although the risks in real estate investing are different from other types of investments, things can still go wrong sometimes. Luckily, there are opportunities to mitigate the inherent risks by deciding in advance what kind of real estate investor you want to be. A good strategy many rental property owners have is to develop a niche, purchasing similar properties. It’s a pretty good strategy considering that their experience gives them a deep understanding of one particular kind of investment property. If you want to go for a higher reward investment and don’t mind the high risk that goes with it, you may want to gamble a bit more on higher-priced properties, or those in high-rent areas. For those who are conservative and more averse to risk, less expensive rentals in stable neighborhoods might be the better option.

5.      How strong are your interpersonal skills? Can you work well with others?

At its core, real estate investing is a business that relies on relationships with other people. As a real estate investor, you’ll be rubbing elbows with a large team of real estate, mortgage, and home remodeling professionals. Therefore, one of the keys to investing success is assembling a great team. This involves finding people who understand how you communicate and who have a relationship with you that is built on honesty and respect. Real estate investors worth their salt leverage their trust in other people to help them complete the many tasks that real estate investing requires. This enables them to spend less time and achieve more. They also engage in networking opportunities and trade referrals as a way to solidify and build mutually beneficial business relationships with others.

6.      Who is going to manage the property?

The way it’s been normally done before is that real estate investors were owner-landlords. The vast majority of them were people who invested in and then managed their own rental properties. That was in the past, but now the trend has changed. The explanation for the change is that this approach tends to limit your investing potential. Instead of being able to invest anywhere in the country where the market is favorable, you will be limited to a small geographical area— within a short driving distance of where you live. Using today’s real estate platforms and with the rise of national property management companies such as Real Property Management TradeWinds, investors can buy rental properties just about anywhere. It no longer matters where you find the best deals. There are nearly 300 quality property management offices nationwide ready, willing, and able to care for and lease your rental properties.

In Conclusion

Real estate investors that are successful all have the best available information, experts, and tools. Because of this, Real Property Management TradeWinds offers a free rental property assessment to investors looking for their first investment property. To take advantage of this free service, feel free to contact us online or call us by phone at 727-400-4722.

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