Will You Benefit From Owning A Home Short Term?
If you’ve read real estate books or attended investment seminars, you’ll hear the gurus recommend you own property for at least 5 years to get the most equity. This advice may sound logical since commission and other closing costs can deduct a major portion of your equity if it hasn’t appreciated substantially.
But let’s consider the downside of waiting to buy a home. When you procrastinate getting into the real estate market, you run the risk of home prices and mortgage rates spiraling beyond your ability to qualify for a home. Plus, you’re letting valuable tax deductions slip through your hands each year you continue to rent. If you consider the wealth building potential of owning a home and the thousands of dollars in equity you could be passing up, you’d be foolish to ignore the opportunity of owning a home.
If you think you’ll have to move after several years, try researching how you can purchase one to turn a profit in a short period of time. Some ambitious homebuyers have created significant wealth by owning several properties in a short time span. One advice you should take to heart is real estate can always be a good investment,-providing you purchase one wisely.
One major strategy to turn a profit is to purchase homes in need of repair. If you’re handy with redecorating and remodeling work, you can add thousands of dollars to the value of a home. If you’re not handy with house repairs, you can also find an inexpensive subcontractor to complete the work.
Investing in fixer uppers aren’t the only way to profit from the real estate market. Many homebuyers have utilized other creative means to build their profits. Some examples of profitable short term ownership strategies include locating sellers desperate to sell, probate sales, foreclosure sales, and REOs (real estate owned) when the mortgage bank takes back property after the home owner fails to make their agreed upon payments.
Another effective technique to help you profit from short term ownership is utilizing lease options. By zeroing in on real estate and properties for rent with options to buy, you get the benefit of building positive credit, accruing a reserve of cash via rent credits to put towards a down payment, and the ability to get a seller to commit to a future predetermined sales price.
One additional benefit to using a lease option is the opportunity to walk away from buying a property (if home prices escalate) and locate another buyer willing to pay you for the option. The new buyer would benefit from your accumulation of rent credits and the opportunity to buy a home for less-than-market price.