Skip to Content

Purchasing Your First Rental Property? Here’s What You Should Know

New homeowners admiring their first property purchase Obtaining your first Peterson single-family rental property can be a thrilling experience. But compared to all investments, there are several risks involved. To ensure that your first investment property purchase in Peterson becomes as successful as you hope it will be, there are several factors to learn before purchasing. For example, you’ll need the answers to questions like whom do you want to rent to? What type of rental property will you center on? How will you finance your purchase? In what follows, we’ll address these concerns and other important details you’ll need to know to make buying your first rental property a rewarding experience.

Define Your End Goal

One of the first things to keep in mind when acquiring your first single-family rental home is to set clearly defined end goals. Before starting your property search, you should decide what qualities you are seeking in your investment property. Let’s say you might be hunting for properties in a particular area with a specific number of bedrooms or minimum square footage. You can even focus on a certain renter demographic, such as college students or retirees. Learning the details helps you to refine your search criteria and locate potential properties faster.

Prepare Your Finances

Aside from knowing what qualities you are searching for in a property, it is best to prepare financially before getting an investment property. Industry experts recommend paying down personal debt and saving for a down payment before starting your property search. Reduced personal debt can help you to qualify for more favorable loan rates, while nearly all mortgage loans for an investment property will require a 20% down payment. Arranging to finance in advance is one more vital step, but watch out for high-interest loans or mortgage products that seem too good to be true. By prequalifying with a dependable mortgage lender, you will be able to seize investment opportunities as they arise. By prioritizing financial readiness, you can more surely buy that rental property at the right time.

Crunch the Numbers

After taking these vital preliminary steps, the search for your ideal property starts. One critical aspect to think about during your search is that you must run a series of numbers on every possible property, like your margins, operating expenses, and expected return. This is where a lot of new investors make costly mistakes.

New investors must remember to include all the expenses related to purchasing and preparing the rental property for lease, as well as ongoing property management, maintenance, and vacancy costs. Industry experts suggest a margin of 10% and a 6% return in your first year means you have a profitable investment.

Stay Objective

It is advisable to bear in mind that an investment property is just that, an investment. Getting attached to a certain property or permitting emotions to manipulate your decisions is not a good idea. Furthermore, the property you buy is not necessarily one you would ever live in yourself. Industry experts suggest choosing low-cost properties in high-demand areas for your first investment. However, keep away from fixer-uppers unless you are a highly skilled home remodeling expert or know an experienced contractor capable of executing the work at a reduced going rate. Your first single-family rental property should be viewed as the first step toward a long and profitable investment career rather than the end goal. In this fashion, you can keep yourself on track and your investment properties in the black.

Design a Management Strategy

Finally, remember that acquiring a rental property is just the first step. To guarantee that your investment prospers, you need a proactive management strategy. This is where hiring a Peterson property management company can be advantageous. As local market experts, property managers can help you discover off-market investment properties, analyze market conditions, set rental rates, and among other tasks. As more expert investors will tell you, the right property management company is an essential partner in profitable rental property investing.

 

If you’ve discovered the ideal investment property, make sure you also choose the ideal Peterson property management team. Contact Real Property Management Northern Utah at 801-546-1770 to learn more.

We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.

The Neighborly Done Right Promise

The Neighborly Done Right Promise ® delivered by Real Property Management, a proud Neighborly company

When it comes to finding the right property manager for your investment property, you want to know that they stand behind their work and get the job done right – the first time. At Real Property Management we have the expertise, technology, and systems to manage your property the right way. We work hard to optimize your return on investment while preserving your asset and giving you peace of mind. Our highly trained and skilled team works hard so you can be sure your property's management will be Done Right.

Canada excluded. Services performed by independently owned and operated franchises.

See Full Details