ebook proof read april 25
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
10 Costly Mistakes to Avoid as a New Real Estate Investor<br />
Get all of the costs. In addition to the property taxes, ask your real estate<br />
broker if he/she can obtain data on the current expenses of the property, such<br />
as utilities and insurance. If it’s a commercial property this should be no<br />
problem. For a single-family home, this may be tougher, but a seller may<br />
provide this information if they know there is an eager investor looking for it.<br />
Evaluate multiple properties. You may feel that a particular property is the<br />
one, but you should look at multiple properties before making an offer. Ask<br />
your real estate broker to show you several within your price range, including<br />
properties you don’t like, so you can assess the different neighborhoods and<br />
have a better sense of your target property’s value.<br />
Obtain local statistics. Look at how the city compares with other localities in<br />
the area. How do the schools stack up? What’s the median income?<br />
Unemployment rate? What’s the population count, and is the community<br />
growing? How do the real estate taxes compare to nearby towns? All this will<br />
help you better understand the attractiveness (or lack thereof) of your target<br />
town or city over others. Don’t forget to check the official website of the city<br />
or county where the potential investment property is located; many local<br />
government websites include demographics, crime statistics, and other data.<br />
Determine property potential. Understand how the property is zoned. Can<br />
you expand it? Can you convert it to something else? What are the setback<br />
regulations from the street and bordering areas of the lot? If you have visions<br />
of developing the property, you need to know the city’s classification of the<br />
property and the limitations that come with that. If, for example, you want to<br />
alter the property’s use by turning a residential property into a commercial<br />
one, this will likely cost you in attorney fees, but a consultation with city<br />
managers is imperative in order to find out if that is a step you could even<br />
successfully take.<br />
20<br />
10 Costly Mistakes to Avoid as a New Real Estate Investor
Change language