Real Estate Investing: Buy To Rent, No Money Down

Bill Knell

The market for rental houses is as strong as the demand for new homes. Why not have your cake and eat it too through buying to rent!
With home sales at a record high, it might surprise you to know there is an equally strong market for rental properties. A constantly moving population of business professionals and financial over extension in the 1990s are the primary reasons why an ever-increasing number of people will be renting suitable properties instead of buying a home this year. This is great news for real estate investors!

The robust house rental market is allowing smart investors to have their cake and eat it too. Instead of buying a home, fixing it up and trying to flip it for a profit, real estate investors can turn the home into a rental which provides a positive monthly cash flow. And the home is always there to be sold if the need arises.

It varies by region and the typical age of houses in a particular area, but the general rule for purchasing a property that’s optimum for becoming a rental is a house less the fifteen years old with easy access to major highways and shopping areas. Homes should never be out in the middle of nowhere and always less then a forty-five minute drive to major business areas. Three bedroom houses that have central air conditioning and come with all major appliances (including a washer and dryer) are likely to fetch a higher monthly rent.

Many investors shy away from rentals because they’ve heard the horror stories told by landlords who chose the wrong tenants. But that has become the exception to the rule. Most people who need to rent a home have good credit, a solid record of on time rent payment and solid employment. Some are professionals whose job requires frequent relocation. Others have purchased a new home and are waiting for it to be built. In places like Phoenix where I live, a population boom has extended the waiting time to move into a new home.

Finding qualified tenants has become easier with inexpensive credit and background checks. Anyone that wants to rent a house knows a credit and background check is all but mandatory. You can avoid tenant nightmares by refusing to rent to anyone with evictions, bankruptcies or judgments against them. Ironically, people with all those things on their credit report can actually purchase a home to live in or rent out with no money down.

There are a number of ways for anyone to purchase homes, apartment buildings or other properties regardless of credit or employment history. All it takes is the right information and persistence. The lazy need not apply, but the rewards are substantial for those who try.

more at http://billknell.tripod.com/buy/money.html

About the Author

A native New Yorker now living in Arizona, Bill Knell is a forty-something guy with a wealth of knowledge and experience. He's written hundreds of articles on a wide variety of subjects. A popular Speaker, Bill Knell presents seminars on a number of topics that entertain, train and teach. A popular radio and television show Guest, you've heard Bill on thousands of top-rated shows in all formats and seen him on local, national and international television programs.