Central Virginia NOW Magazine July 2015
Central Virginia NOW is a family friendly fun real estate magazine covering the hot topics of Lynchburg and surrounding counties. It includes local professionals who discuss up to the minute thought on real estate, finance, DIY topics and more. It comes out each month and is distributed monthly in the Central Va area as well as online.
Central Virginia NOW is a family friendly fun real estate magazine covering the hot topics of Lynchburg and surrounding counties. It includes local professionals who discuss up to the minute thought on real estate, finance, DIY topics and more. It comes out each month and is distributed monthly in the Central Va area as well as online.
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4<br />
f you like the idea of investing in something<br />
you can touch and feel, buying a<br />
rental property can be an attractive option.<br />
The key, experts say, is purchasing the<br />
right place up front. Here are some tips on<br />
locating a good rental and sizing it up.<br />
Buy in a desirable location. Good schools,<br />
low crime rates and nearby amenities like<br />
parks and shopping all matter in a real estate<br />
search. Some experts suggest limiting<br />
your search to properties near your home<br />
(say, a 20-minute drive) so you can keep<br />
ties with tenants and respond quickly in<br />
case of emergencies. Wherever you search,<br />
look into local vacancy rates and rental<br />
prices for comparable properties, and ask<br />
whether any new apartment buildings are<br />
in the works.<br />
By Joe Jauch, WestStar Mortgage<br />
Branch Manager nmls #315849<br />
434-258-3549<br />
Consider landlord laws. Being a landlord<br />
means being up to speed on all applicable<br />
laws, from federal fair housing laws to<br />
local ordinances that may dictate regulations<br />
like minimum square footage or<br />
ceiling height for bedrooms. If you're<br />
buying into an association, consider those<br />
rules as well. Many condos, for instance,<br />
cap the number of units that can<br />
be rented at any given time.<br />
Total your expenses. Think beyond the<br />
mortgage. Tally up real estate taxes, association<br />
fees, the cost of finding tenants,<br />
and your insurance and maintenance<br />
outlays. Save about one to three percent<br />
of the value of your rental property for<br />
upkeep each year. The goal, of course, is<br />
finding a property where the rent exceeds<br />
your costs, but you'll still need a<br />
plan for carrying the expenses yourself in<br />
the event of a vacancy.<br />
SHOEMAKER & STRAW, PLLC<br />
Attorneys and Counselors at Law<br />
Two Locations to Serve You<br />
Lynchburg<br />
103 Tradewynd Drive<br />
Lynchburg, VA 24502<br />
(434) 237-4891<br />
Smith Mountain Lake<br />
13840 Booker T. Washington Hwy.<br />
Suite B.<br />
Moneta, VA 24121<br />
(540) 425-4970<br />
Practicing in the Areas of:<br />
Personal Injury, Criminal Defense, Traffic/DUI/DWI, Real<br />
Estate, Small Business, Litigation, Estate Planning &<br />
Inspect the property. If you're the DIY<br />
type, then by all means, consider a fixerupper.<br />
Otherwise, look for a newer or<br />
recently renovated property that won't<br />
take too much effort to maintain. A<br />
Domestic Relations<br />
home inspector can help identify structural<br />
or safety issues and may help you assess<br />
the condition of related factors too -- for<br />
instance, when the condo unit is in great<br />
1581 Spring Mill Rd.<br />
Nice Farm House on
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