Easy Ways to Invest in Real Estate
Buying property has the potential to provide
you with a significant ROI, and is a favourite strategy for many investors.
With the real estate market in southern Ontario continuing to show strength,
investing in Peel Region properties can be particularly effective. Peel Region
boasts a growing market, yet an investor can enter the fray in Brampton or
Mississauga without having to invest the kinds of sums necessary in other GTA
jurisdictions. Homes in Toronto, for example, are often priced at more than a
million dollars, and consistently sell for greater than the asking price. In
Peel, luxury homes can be purchased for much less, and are in almost as much
demand. If you have the capital, you can find some easy ways to invest in real
estate in the GTA.
Partnering with a Broker
While real estate investments have
excellent potential, you must also be careful to choose the right property. That’s why partnering
with a knowledgeable and experienced local broker is essential. An outsider can
only ever know part of the local story, but experienced brokers usually know a
wide array of facts about every neighbourhood on their turf – the statistics
regarding prices, the rate of growth, or the amount of time a house can be
expected to stay on the market, for example. Other factors might include the
area’s job market, GDP growth and infrastructure developments. Facilities such
as hospitals or access to public transit can also make a property more valuable.
Many of these things are fairly
straightforward, but a local broker can also be expected to know details that
might not be easily uncoverable, such as whether or not particular properties
can be subdivided, which properties have pending permits for development, and
any drawbacks that might be foreseen. You would want to know, for example, if
the country estate home you’re considering purchasing is about to get a large
pig barn operation as a neighbour.
Fixer-Uppers
One thing that can help your real estate
investment get the best possible return is the willingness to spend some time
and money on improvements. If you have carpentry skills, or know contractors
that will work at affordable rates, buying a home that needs some work can be a
great option. Many buyers will by-pass a "fixer-upper,” but sometimes a few
thousand dollars’ worth of renovation/redecoration can transform the property
so that it can be sold for tens of thousands of dollars above what you paid for
it. It’s estimated that adding details such as a marble or granite kitchen
countertop, for example, boosts the asking price of a house far above what the
countertop is actually worth.
However, bear in mind that investing in
real estate is not the same as "flipping” houses. A true investor enters the
market ready to play the long game, finding properties that will increase in
value over a period of several years.
There is always easy ways to invest in real
estate, especially with interest rates currently so low, it’s a great time to
buy. Partner with a broker, analyze the data, and find an investment property
that will bring you significant returns!