Thinking About Buying a Rental but Don't Know Where to Start?

There are many great North Central New Jersey area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (973) 214-0691 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

We have people coming to us all the time with the question: "Where do I start if I want to invest in rental property?" It's a great question, especially if you don't have any experience in this area of real estate. Luckily, we're here to help:

• Think about how much money you have available for a down payment. Most of the time, to get a mortgage for an investment property you'll need to put 25% down. If it's a primary residence, sometimes you'll be able to put less down.

• Speak to a knowledgeable mortgage broker about investment property products. These differ from primary residence products. I know a few great brokers I would be happy to connect you with if you would like more information.

• Know your criteria for where you want to buy. This comes down to a personal preference. Some people don't want to buy a rental property more than 10-15 minutes away from their home. Others are fine living farther from their rental home.

• Know the details. Now that you know where you want your rental property to be located, you need to find out what the break even point will be and the amount of cash flow you'll have.

For the most part, the types of properties I'm talking about will have a fairly modest cash flow. However, these properties will have the advantage of having tenants who pay the mortgage down for many years. Typically, these should not be viewed as a way to generate short-term cash flow, but as part of a long-term wealth building strategy. These are nice to have if the real estate market isn't trending upward over the next few years, as rentals are in high demand when that happens.

If you want more details about the rental process, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to assist you in this fantastic investment opportunity!