Ultimately, a big part of a given real estate investor’s success is going to come down to how good they are at assessing the value of the properties they invest in. While there are lots of factors to consider when it comes to that part of the equation, there’s one that’s overlooked far more often than it should be – the property’s location. It really does matter!
If you choose a property that is located in an undesirable area, you could be looking at paying for months of holding fees while it sits there unpurchased. Naturally, this can really cut into the profit you can expect to collect once the house is finally sold. Let’s take a closer look at how you can avoid this and make sure you’re making a solid investment.
Take a look at the property’s boundaries
When you’re considering a given property for rehabilitation, it’s incredibly important that you consider the actual boundaries of the property, as well as what they mean for its value. Take a moment to put yourself in the buyer’s shoes and consider what the experience of living there would actually feel like. If you wouldn’t want to live a couple of blocks away from an undesirable part of town or right across the way from a smelly factory, it should go without saying that your buyers won’t want to either. Such properties aren’t necessarily impossible to sell, but your pool of interested buyers is going to be a lot smaller than it otherwise would be.
Check out the proximity to the best schools
Keep in mind that the great majority of people in the market for a home either already have a family that includes children or they are hoping to start one at some point in the future. That said, it’s important to realize that the best property investments involve houses that are close to the area’s best schools. This particular factor is even more important if you’re hoping to rehabilitate and sell a much larger home that involves multiple bedrooms and a lot of space. The average would-be homeowner is going to be interested in those rooms as children’s room, nurseries, or playrooms and those children will need to attend school at some point.
Take note of where the freeways and train tracks are, too
Another major factory that can make an otherwise desirable home a no-go for a lot of buyers is its proximity to certain transportation-centric structures – freeways, for instance, or local train tracks. No one ideally would want their back yard to be right smack against a major freeway or so close to train tracks that life is completely disrupted every time a train moves through town. Airports can also be really noisy and undesirable, so make sure you know where these structures are located before you invest.
The key to being a real estate investment success lies in truly understanding everything you’re getting into with the properties you purchase before you take them on and location is probably the most important factor to consider when assessing a given property’s value.
