Are you a beginner in real estate investment? Real estate investment might appear quite an overwhelming process. When you are investing in real estate, it is recommended to be extra cautious and thing over the pros & cons of the given deal. Therefore, it is considered a great idea to do in-depth research of the available real estate market before you invest in the first real estate property.

If you are planning out investing in real estate anytime soon, here are some tips that can help you optimize the overall profits:

1. Consider the Location: When it comes to real estate investing, location is the topmost concern that you should take into consideration. Before laying down the final payments and putting yourself under significant amount of debts over the given property, you must ensure that you are investing in a good location. As the real estate principle goes “look out for the worst property on the best street”. This is because it will offer you an opportunity to develop equity effectively.

If it is a property in a good neighborhood, then you can consider investing some additional money in fixing the same. Then, you can sell the property or the house to someone else who must be looking for a good property in a flourishing locality. In the professional world of real estate investing, it is referred to as “fixing & flipping”.

2. Look Out for Wholesale Properties: Investing in real estate market is quite similar to stock investments. You are always looking out for the best possible deal. Thus, you must follow the same principle and should avoid paying for the full amount of the property. Instead, you can search for options like the wholesale properties that usually come at major discounts. Though such properties might require some work, it can help you earn higher profits in the long run.

3. Check Your Credit Score: For investing in real estate, there are chances that you might need to borrow money from somewhere. This is the reason you should check your credit score before making any major investments in the real estate markets. If you have some problems with your credit score, you should try getting it resolved as soon as possible. Improve the credit score and look out for the best possible options for real estate investment.

4. Check the Market Rates: If you are a first-time real estate investor, it is crucial for you to know about the existing market rates. If you are taking help from a real estate agent, make sure that the ongoing real estate rates are in your favor. You can also research for the rates on your end and take the most well-informed decision towards maximizing your overall profits.

5. Negotiate Properly: If you wish to gain maximum profits, it is considered wise to negotiate properly. Negotiations can help you in cracking the best real estate deals in the locality.

Make up for a profitable real estate investment!

As I’ve covered before, selling a home can be an intricate, prolonged process.  It’s often complicated by the fact that people who visit the home you’re trying to sell aren’t going to like everything about it.  That’s a fact.  Every house is going to have some features that are attractive to potential buyers and other features that are more of a turn-off.  As a realtor, it’s my job to highlight the pros and downplay the cons.  However, sometimes there is no other option and a part of the house or property need to be changed.  That’s what happened with the latest home we sold.  An overgrown tree needed to be removed from the backyard before the buyer would agree to our price.

The one-story house was situated in a large lot that faced south, surrounded by environmentally protected land on the northern, eastern, and western sides.  Because those areas are considered off limits due to environmental protection, we can’t touch it.  However, just outside of the protected ground was a large oak tree that had been struck by lightning and was hanging dangerously over the property.

The large limbs could fall at any time and damage the property, so the tree needed to be removed.  We contacted numerous local tree companies and received quotes ranging from $1,500 to $3,000 for the job.  Shortly thereafter, I received a call from Matt Wall, a tree contractor friend who was visiting the area from out of state.  Matt is the owner of Texas Tree Lawn & Garden, a tree care company based in Corpus Christi, TX.  He happened to be in town visiting relatives, so we went out for a drink to catch up.  After explaining the situation, Matt offered to cut the tree down for $1,000.  This was music to my ears, so we went ahead with it.  In total, it took 3 hours to cut it down and another hour to grind the wood and haul it away.

After the tree was removed, we contacted the prospective buyer to revisit the home and review the property.  He walked around the house again, checked out the backyard, and submitted a bid for the full asking price.  We signed the papers and closed on the home that week.  The lesson here is to be flexible and invest if you need to.  We would never have sold the home if we didn’t remove the tree, so we went ahead with it.  A small investment of $1,000 allowed our team at Tom Jax & Associates to get the full asking price for the home.  We’ve had many experiences like this and we do our best to learn from each one so that we’re better prepared for the next time it comes around.