Investment & Money

San Jose continues to be one of the most popular markets in the USA. The study has shown that today’s median home price exceeds $1 million. Due to the quick and significant rate of gain, investors are enamored with the San Jose real estate market.

If you are interested in buying any real estate property, you’ll likely need a loan. But nowadays, there are many different ways of getting loans, like san jose hard money lenders.

Apart from this, several different types of loans can help fund your purchase. Here’s a look at the different ways to get financing for your next rental home or flip project:

Hard Money

Hard money is the most expensive option but usually the fastest. These loans typically have interest rates that are double or triple what you would get from a traditional bank loan, so they’re not for everyone. Interest rates and fees make such loans more expensive than conventional mortgages (soft money).

Hard money lenders don’t care about your credit score or how much money you make because a federal agency doesn’t regulate them like conventional lenders are. Instead, hard money lenders focus on how much collateral (or cash) you can put up as part of the funding package for your real estate investment property purchase.

Bridge Loans

These are short-term credits, usually with no more than a year or two maturities. They are typically used to buying and selling a property quickly instead of buying and holding it for years.

The main benefit is that they can fund your purchase much faster than conventional financing. There’s also no credit check, so anyone with sufficient income can get approved—even if they don’t own any real estate.

Personal Loans

• If your credit is good enough, you can apply for a personal loan at your bank or credit union.
• Some peer-to-peer lending services also offer personal loans, including Lending Club and Prosper.
• Private lenders are another option that can help you pay for real estate expenses in exchange for high-interest rates. You’ll need to compare these rates with those of traditional banks before making this kind of investment.

• Your employer may offer loans through its benefits package, which may include some real estate financing options as well as other types of financing (such as home improvement).

House Flipping Loans

These are also called real estate investment loans and can be used to purchase a property, improve it, and resell it for a profit. House flipping is a way to profit in real estate by buying low-value properties at auction or through private sellers and turning them into higher-value homes.

The loan amount is usually between 70% and 90% of the home’s value, with a fixed interest rate for five years and no prepayment penalty. If you choose this route, you’ll be required to put down 20% to 30% as collateral for your loan. You’ll need proof of income that can support the repayment of debts if necessary.

Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)

HELOC is a loan that gives you access to cash secured by your home. You can use this cash for many purposes from paying off high-interest debt to remodeling your kitchen.

The most significant difference between a HELOC and other lending is that it’s not secured with collateral like most other credits are: instead, the bank will take out a lien against your home if you fail to repay your loan.

Conclusion

San Jose hard money lenders are your way out if you want investment options. Hard money is the most popular and favorable choice among different ways of getting money for real estate.

The payback period refers to the time when an investor earns back their initial investment. It’s the point at which an asset begins to generate a profit. A capital investment’s payback period is the amount of time it takes for the project’s cash inflows to equal the cash outflows.

For example, the payback period for a two-year investment would be two years if the initial investment of $2,000 yielded $1,000 at the end of the first and second years each. Payback or recoupment times are typically given in years.

Ideally, payback periods should be brief. Recouping the initial cost of a project or investment must be fast. However, not all projects and investments have the same time horizon, so the shortest payback period must fall within that range. The payback period on a home repair project may be decades, but a construction project may be five years or less.

Why Take Payback Time into Account?

As mentioned earlier, the payback period is the amount of time in years needed to retrieve one’s initial monetary investment.

Due to its easy application to almost any situation and understood by people of varying education and experience, the payback period is frequently used as an analytical tool in the financial sector. It’s an excellent tool for comparing investments of a similar type.

A payback period is a comparative tool between investment and doing nothing. Still, it does not provide any other criteria for making a choice (except, perhaps, that the payback period should be less than infinity).

If anyone wants to evaluate risks quickly but in years rather than dollars, try using the payback period instead of a break-even analysis. Payback periods indicate how long it will take for an investor to recoup their initial investment.

Companies use the payback period to determine the rate of return on any investment, whether it be a new piece of equipment or an upgrade to an existing piece of software, just as the financial sector does.

Influential Factors on the Payback Time

The payback period will change depending on how much money someone has put into the project. The longer it takes for a project to earn back its initial investment, the higher the investment cost.

• To calculate the payback period, one has to consider the timing and size of the cash inflows and outflows related to the project. When cash flow increases, payback time decreases, and vice versa.
• The interest rate on the initial investment influences the payback period. Higher interest rates result in a shorter time needed to repay the loan.
• Tax rates determine how quickly a project retrieves the investment costs if it produces taxable income. The time it takes to recoup initial investment increases as the tax rate does.

• Due to the discounting of cash flows, inflation affects the payback period. The payoff period will be longer if inflation is high.

Payback Period Calculation

To know the time it will take for a project to pay for itself, you must divide its initial cash outlay by its annual net cash inflow. You can assume that the annual net cash inflow is constant for the payback period formula.

Years or fractions of years are used for the final figure. Anyone can calculate the payback period using the formula:

Payback Period = Initial Investment (I) / Annual Return

If a company spends $100,000 on new manufacturing equipment and sees a $20,000 annual return on its investment, it would have a positive cash flow.

Time to Break Even = $100,000 / $20,000

If we divide $1,000,000 by $20,000, we get a payback time of 5 years.

Disadvantages of the Payback Period

Since the payback period only considers cash inflows and outflows until the initial investment has been recovered, it is often criticized for being insufficient. It ignores the cash flows forecast horizon. One must know some disadvantages of the payback period before considering it.

The usefulness of a resource or its lifespan: When an asset pays back its initial investment, it can no longer generate cash flows. The payback approach makes no assumptions about the useful life of assets.

Time Value of Money: Today’s money is worth more than tomorrow’s because of interest, a factor that people often do not consider.

Averaging Error: The calculation’s denominator relies on the project’s average cash flows over several years. Still, if most of the expected cash flows are in the part of the forecast that is farthest away, the calculation will give a payback period too short.

Profitability: It does not consider profitability. If you only look at the payback time, you might miss investments with a higher return.

The Infusion of New Funds: The idea disregards the possibility of future cash flows from an investment that may occur in periods beyond the point of total payback.

Not Suitable for Long Projects: The payback period is more appropriate for smaller projects because it can take a long time for larger projects to recoup their initial investment. The payback period calculation may be off for these projects.

Asset-focused: Many fixed asset purchases aim to improve the efficiency of a single operation, which is useless if a bottleneck downstream limits the business’s output. The payback period formula only considers a specific system operation. It’s more tactical than strategic.

The Bottom Line

The payback method alone is insufficient justification for an item of capital expenditure. Consider throughput analysis and other ways that consider the time value of money and more complex cash flows to determine whether or not the investment will increase the company’s worth. There are additional factors to think about when deciding on capital investment.

They include analyzing whether or not buying multiples of the same model of an asset would reduce maintenance costs. Or if purchasing multiple cheaper and smaller capacity units would make more sense than buying one enormous, expensive monumental support. Purchasing an investment is a significant financial commitment, and you must discuss the payback period before making a final decision.

Trading Forex, stocks, or cryptos requires very specific knowledge and discipline. To be a successful trader must use trustworthy and credible sources for trading portfolios. As we all know, nowadays, it is not simple to find reliable learning resources because of clickbait and misinformation. In this article, we will try to present important sources which are considered user-oriented and trustworthy for learning online trading.

So this will be our main focus during the article where we will divide the learning process into three main steps. After following these steps, you will be ready to trade and make money online without facing common challenges such as lack of knowledge or misunderstanding.

Step One: Introduction to the Online Trading World

First of all, you need a good introduction to online Forex or crypto trading and its specifics. There are some steps to go through before you start FX or any other market trading with real money. You need to know how the financial markets are operating, who are participants, and how the trading world works behind the scenes.

In this step, you also learn about fundamental and technical analysis. All professional traders use both analysis types. They combine macroeconomic events and important news. Then it is needed to analyze price charts with indicators and other technical analysis tools to see the best entry points on price charts.

Entry points are desired asset prices where you can buy or short-sell them. Acquiring this basic knowledge will lead to step 2 where you will need to understand currency pair specifics and fundamental and technical analysis in more detail. You will analyze price charts and use the most popular trading platforms. You can use some trustworthy online Forex learning sources like LearnFX.com to learn more about online trading.

Step Two: Trading Platforms and Market Analysis

After understanding how the Forex market works it is essential to equip yourself with proper technical analysis tools. Good charting software or a full web trading platform will achieve this goal. There are two types of analysis tools as mentioned above: technical and fundamental.

Fundamentals are macroeconomic events, important news, and overall economic indicators. But fundamentals are only the first part of the equation before opening a trade. The second type of analysis is called technical analysis and it is crucial to understand how to use it. You will need a trading platform like MetaTrader4, MT5, or Tradingview to see price charts and use indicators.

Indicators are mathematical algorithms that constantly monitor the market live data and give various signals about its conditions. Remember that indicators are key in measuring the pulse of the market. To always be competent on what’s happening on the macroeconomic scale you will need to monitor the economic calendar for important news events. After you get the fundamentals you can add technical analysis to it and make your predictions even better.

Step Three: Demo Trading and Testing the Waters

After you have the fundamentals and know the basics of technical analysis and trading platform software, it is time to open your first trade on a demo account and test your newly acquired abilities. Demo trading refers to trading the market with fake funds. Sometimes it’s called paper trading. It means you have an account with your preferred broker and have fake money on your account.

When you open your trade it doesn’t go to real exchange but software makes real-time simulation of the market. It copies real-time price movements and enables you to feel like you are trading with a real account. You can open buy and sell orders to see how it works. With demo trading, you are trading real-time markets just without real risks.

There is a popular web-based trading platform with its programming language “pinescript” called Tradingview. It is a free charting platform and offers some advanced functionality with the option for paper trading. With paid plans, you can add as many indicators and open as many charts as you like, but for beginners, the free option is better. You can use TradingView as an alternative to MetaTrader. Just search for the desired currency pair or any asset and then open the chart, there you can have a watchlist of your favorite trading instruments and monitor every detail of each trade.

We strongly recommend practicing trading on a demo account at least for 3 months before going for real money. Some experts and professional Forex masterclasses also recommend trading on a demo account for 6 months. Don’t take these recommendations lightly. They can save you lots of money. Also, Keeping a record of your trading history is a very good way to learn from mistakes and improve your trading skills. Demo trading removes the emotion of losing real money. This is good for strong trading discipline and emotional intelligence which are the main skills all successful traders possess.

Gold is considered a worthy investment globally due to better stability. Many investors believe Gold IRA is an excellent investment option because of the tax benefits. You can also invest in other precious metals, yet gold is considered one of the best options. The main reason behind choosing gold is stability and its global utilization as an investment option. Keep reading to know about Gold IRA and how you can make money from Gold IRA.

What is a Gold IRA?

IRA or Individual Retirement Accounts offer tax benefits to people looking to save for retirement. Gold IRAs are one of the most popular investments due to lesser volatility and better returns in the long run. Gold IRAs are self-directed retirement investment options that allow you to invest in physical gold and other similar metals with additional tax benefits. Gold IRA is typically considered to protect you from inflation. Gold IRA holders can keep their gold in their accounts for as long as they comply with government policies. You can also take help from the gold IRA companies to help you with government policies.

Types of Gold IRA

Different types of Gold IRAs offer various benefits to investors saving for their retirement. They are similar in function, but the tax methods may differ. Let’s tell you about them briefly so you can choose the best one for yourself.

Traditional Gold IRA

As the name suggests, these are the traditional or most common IRAs. The traditional IRA account helps you by enabling you to deduct the contributed money from your income when filing taxes. Eventually, you do not have to file taxes for that amount. But, you have to pay taxes on the full amount when you withdraw from the traditional IRA.

Roth Gold IRA

Roth Gold IRAs are a growing popular type of IRA account as the money on withdrawal is tax-free. However, you must pay taxes while contributing the money to the account. This IRA also does not restrict withdrawal, unlike other accounts.

SEP Gold IRA

SEP IRA is more widely opted for by small businesses and self-employed people. They are essentially similar to traditional IRAs but provide an option to contribute to themselves and their employees.

How to Get Money from a Gold IRA?

The first step to get money from a Gold IRA is to create a Gold IRA with one of the best precious metals IRA companies. Gold IRAs are for retirement saving plans, so you cannot withdraw money from the account until you officially become a senior citizen. You can withdraw money from the IRA when you are 15 years and 6 months old. The government also offers tax benefits to help you save for retirement. Yet, if you need to withdraw before 59½ years, you have to pay 10% extra as a penalty.

All different types of IRAs have their specific restrictions. For example, Traditional IRAs have a required minimum distribution for people over 70 years and 6 months. You must withdraw a particular amount from the account annually to avoid the penalty. Moreover, you may make early withdrawals for qualified educational expenses, qualified medical expenses, or a first-time home purchase.

How to Set Up a Gold IRA?

Setting up a Gold IRA is quite convenient. Find a bank or another financial institution where you want to create a Gold IRA. Go to their website to gather all the information and see if they offer an online option to set up the account. Alternatively, you can also go to their physical location to set up your Gold IRA. Connecting to credible IRA companies can also help you make the best choice for your retirement.

The Bottom Line

Gold IRAs are one of the best options if you are looking for a retirement savings plan. Gold is considered a less volatile option and a hedge against inflation. Many people choose between traditional and Roth old IRAs for their retirement savings. You can receive your amount after 59½ of age or withdraw early with a 10% penalty. However, you can get a waiver for the penalty in case of qualified educational expense, qualified medical expense, or a first-time home purchase.

With rising bills and expenses, a helpful cost-cutting checklist can be a lifesaver! Many Aussies feel what they earn is never enough, and living costs are expected to continue climbing throughout 2022.

In fact, in January 2022, the inflation figure for Australia was 3%, compared to the most recent inflation figure (March 2022), which is now a hefty 5.1%. This is the highest inflation rate in Australia since 2009.

With the increase in the cost of living, we’ve compiled a list of tips on how you can cut down costs. Our cost-cutting checklist will benefit everyone, including the above-mentioned groups.

Cost-Cutting on our Major Expenses

Let’s take a look at what our most crippling costs are one by one and see how we can try and save money.

Housing

• Homeowners – consider fixing your interest rate. This can make a huge difference in your monthly repayments. Also, keeping your savings in an offset account is a good idea. This means that you don’t pay interest on your entire home-loan amount but on the home-loan figure, less the amount in your offset savings account. If you can afford to make more frequent payments or up the repayment, that will save you money on interest.
• Renters – The area in which you choose to live will affect how much your rental amount is, so be very sure to research the average cost of units and housing in prospective living areas.

Transport

With the cost of petrol and vehicle registration, tolls, and fines, you can save more than $8 000 per year by switching to public transport. If this is not an option, consider carpooling with families, friends, or work colleagues.

Groceries

There are many ways to save on groceries. You can budget, shop around and always use a shopping list. Use coupons and rewards programs, and don’t throw out your leftovers. Be creative and use them to create another meal.

Medical Costs

Over the past ten years, the average out-of-pocket medical payments have risen by 50%. There are ways for you to cut down on medical costs without compromising your health. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for generic medication, use your benefits and ask about outpatient facilities, which cost less than being admitted for procedures. Plan for emergencies, and most importantly, take care of your health.

Utility Bills

Heating and cooling your home makes up about 40% of your power bill. Avoid heaters if possible, and insulate your home if you are a homeowner. If not, throw rugs over tiled areas and use thick curtains and door snakes to keep your home at a comfortable temperature. Try and avoid over-using your clothes dryer! Take advantage of every sunny day you get.

Additionally, when your appliances are not in use, turn them off at the power point. Every bit of energy saved will help reduce the bills.

Recreation

Entertainment and socialising are essential parts of every life, but there are ways to do this on a budget. For instance, try to find a restaurant with a BYO policy or try a barbeque at home instead of going out for dinner with friends. That can be just as much fun, and the expense is much lower. Try new things and start up a hobby that will keep you busy at home. Look for free music gigs and try to go to the pub during happy hour.

Sometimes, even if you follow all the tips you can get, you may still fall short on funds. If you are one of those people, don’t stress. Credit24 offers quick loans of up to $10,000.

Our repayments won’t break the bank because we consider all your expenses when calculating them. For more information and convenience, you can access frequently asked questions.

IPF Digital Australia Pty Ltd, trading as Credit24, ABN 59 130 894 405. Australian Credit Licence 422839. The information in this article is of general nature and does not take into consideration your objectives, financial situation or needs. Lending criteria, fees and charges apply. For more information about our products, eligibility criteria and terms and conditions, please visit www.credit24.com.au.

Sources

• https://tradingeconomics.com/australia/inflation-cpi
• https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/professional/out-of-pocket-costs-leaving-chronically-ill-vulner
• https://www.finder.com.au/money/cost-of-living
• https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/how-aussies-can-save-money-while-commuting-to-work/0e44a617-b951-46ca-a216-26c81eab3d46
• https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000870.htm
• https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/03/worried-about-rising-energy-prices-here-are-some-simple-ways-to-lower-your-power-bills

Real estate investment is one of the most solid and secure investments you can make. Indeed, aside from investing in gold there perhaps isn’t a more stable choice for starting or expanding your investment portfolio.

Whatever route you choose to take, you can make a steady passive income and see your home increase in equity as the years pass. Very rarely will real estate lose value over time and even if it does, the losses will pale in comparison to some of the losses you might see with less stable and more unpredictable investments.

But if you’re new to the world of real estate investment, what tips should you be following to ensure you are making the most of the opportunity? Allow us to help you with a few top tips and explain how getting started in real estate investment is easier than you might think.

Flipping

Decide early on whether you’re planning on renting out the property or flipping it as this will have a direct impact on the kind of property you invest in. If you want to make quick money then flipping is the logical option but you will likely need to invest a great deal into renovating and repairing the home to increase its value before selling it on. This could take months and there’s no way of knowing exactly how the real estate market could look by then, particularly in these unstable times.

Renting

Renting the property, either yourself or through a letting agency, is a more long-term plan that could be a great option if you’re looking for a retirement fund and passive income that could last potentially for the rest of your life. If you’re renting, you might have to spend less on renovation but you’ll still need to make the property habitable.

Making it Sustainable

Sustainability is a major buzzword right now but it’s so much more than just an empty phrase. A home that is more sustainable is not only worth more but will be seen as more desirable when it comes to resale. So, if you’re buying an older property, one of the first places you should be looking is the sustainability and energy efficiency of the home. Consider solar panel installation for better energy efficiency, cavity wall installation and having a smart meter set up as a bare minimum.

Consider REITs

If you prefer to be more hands-off with your investments, then an REIT might be a safer bet. Real estate investment trusts are a way of investing in real estate without physically buying property. It’s an investment in the more traditional sense and they can pay high dividends, which makes them very popular among retired individuals. But they can also be complicated and are not easy to sell or value as you only own a fraction of a property.

If your business owns one or a fleet of cars, there are numerous things to take into account when it comes to maintaining these assets.

Of course, the cost and scale of maintaining cars to the requisite standard can prove challenging, but it may be necessary if you’re to reduce operational and fuel costs while boosting performance across the board.

In this article, we’ll consider how you can save money on commercial car maintenance without compromising on the standard or condition of your vehicles.

Top Money-Saving Maintenance Tips

Before we look at some of the best commercial vehicles, we’re going to explore some of the best money saving tips when maintaining vehicles. These include:

1. Shop Around for Repair Costs: Unless you have an in-house team of mechanics, it’s important that you shop around local providers for viable repair costs. Once you have the first price for an initial repair, be sure to use this to leverage a superior deal elsewhere, while ringing around to ensure that you have the best value for money. The same principle also applies to scheduled maintenance, and you can compare and book your MOT online to secure the best value.
2. Rotate Your Tyres for Free: There are also small and simple steps you can take to boost your fleet maintenance, including rotating your tyres. This is a free way of extending the thread life of individual tyres, which can be incredibly expensive annually when you own multiple cars. Just make sure that you have knowledgeable staff members who can carry this out on a regular basis.
3. Bundle Replacement Parts Together: If you have to repair or replace the head gasket on an engine, a mechanic will often replace other items at the same time. This makes sense from a labour perspective, while it can also contribute to a larger, bulk order than can be procured for less. You should do this type of parts’ bundle wherever possible, and it’s a proactive way of saving money over time.

The Best and Most Popular Company Cars

Before we go, we thought we’d take a look at three of the best and most popular company cars in the UK. These include:

1. The BMW 3 Series 330e: While this isn’t cheap with an average price of $41,330, it can deliver excellent performance and estimated Co2 emissions of 31g/Km. It’s also an excellent executive saloon and one that offers additional efficiency as a hybrid model.
2. The Volkswagen ID.3: This hatchback is cheaper at £30,505, while as an all-electric vehicle, it also delivers zero carbon emissions. This is certainly more attractive financially than a petrol or diesel car in the long-term, while it’s also spacious and easy to handle.
3. The Tesla Model 3: Another fully electric saloon with an average starting price of £42,935, this emission free model makes a great company car choice in 2022. It also has the same amount of space as the BMW 3 Series, while it benefits from incredibly low BiK rates.

What is pattern review? Pattern review is a trading strategy that uses the history of a security’s price movements to identify potential trading opportunities. It is based on the assumption that past price movements will repeat themselves in the future. This can be used in Forex trading, as well as other financial markets. In this blog post, we will discuss what pattern review is, how it works, and how you can use it to improve your trading results!

What is a Pattern?

A pattern is a reliable signal or indication that something is about to happen. Patterns can be found in many different things (as an example of an abcd pattern), from the natural world to man-made objects. In trading, patterns are used to predict future price movements. There are three main types of patterns: reversal, continuation, and breakout. Reversal patterns indicate that the current trend is about to change direction. Continuation patterns show that the current trend is likely to continue. Breakout patterns occur when the market breaks out of a trading range and starts to move in a new direction. By studying past price movements, traders can identify patterns and use them to make predictions about future price movements. This can give them an edge in the market and help them to make profits.

Types of Patterns

There are three main types of patterns that traders look for: reversal, continuation, and breakout. Reversal patterns signal that a trend is about to reverse, continuation patterns signal that a trend is likely to continue, and breakout patterns signal that prices are about to break out of a range. Reversal and continuation patterns can be further subdivided into bullish and bearish patterns.

Bullish reversal patterns occur at the end of a downtrend, while bearish reversal patterns occur at the end of an uptrend. Bullish continuation patterns occur in the middle of a downtrend, while bearish continuation patterns occur in the middle of an uptrend. Breakout patterns can be bullish or bearish, depending on whether prices are breaking out to the upside or downside. Trading price action using pattern recognition is a powerful tool that can help traders identify potential trade setups.

How does Pattern Review Work?

Pattern review works by analyzing past trading data and looking for reliable patterns that have been proven to predict future price movements. By doing this, traders can gain insight into what the next move in the market may be. The most common way of doing this is by using technical analysis tools such as candlestick charts and trend lines. These tools can help traders to identify trading patterns and make trading decisions that are based on the probability of a particular price movement occurring.

What are the Different Graph Patterns?

Trading patterns are a crucial part of technical analysis and can be used to identify potential market trends. There are four main types of graph patterns: reversal, continuation, breakout, and consolidation. Reversal patterns occur when the market reverses direction after a period of bullish or bearish activity. Continuation patterns indicate that the current trend is likely to continue. Breakout patterns suggest that the market is about to make a sudden move in either direction. Consolidation patterns occur when the market is range-bound and may be about to make a breakout. These are just a few of the different graph patterns that technical analysts use to identify potential market trends. By understanding these patterns, traders can make more informed decisions about when to enter or exit the market.

How can you Use Pattern Review?

Pattern review is an extremely useful trading strategy for both novice and experienced traders. By using it, traders can improve their trading results and increase their chances of making profits. It can also be used in combination with other trading strategies, such as trading the news or using indicators. By doing this, traders can increase their chances of success even further.

Overall, pattern review is a trading strategy that can be used to identify potential trading opportunities and improve trading results. By using it in combination with other trading strategies, traders can increase their chances of success even further. It is important to remember, however, that trading involves risk and there is always the possibility of losses as well as gains. Therefore, it is important to be aware of the risks and use trading strategies that are appropriate for your trading goals.

Conclusion

Trading patterns can be incredibly useful for investors, providing valuable insights into the behavior of the markets. However, it is important to remember that no single pattern is guaranteed to produce profits. Instead, trading patterns should be viewed as one tool in a wider arsenal, to be used alongside other technical indicators and fundamental analysis. By taking a holistic approach to market analysis, investors can give themselves the best chance of making successful trades.

It’s in every landlord’s best interest to ensure that their respective properties and by extension, their respective tenants remain safe. Failing to regard safety with due importance is liable to lead to unsatisfied tenants, reduced renter retention, and possible legal problems. As such, property safety should be among every landlord’s top priorities. So, regardless of how new or well-kept your property is, make sure to employ the following measures.

Address Maintenance Issues as they Arise

Sitting on maintenance issues instead of addressing them in a timely manner can have serious consequences. Not only is this likely to draw the ire of tenants, but it’s also liable to compromise the overall safety of your rental property. Since many large-scale safety problems start off as relatively minor maintenance issues, it’s in your best interest to address the former before they’re able to become the latter. So, if you have a habit of placing maintenance issues on the backburner, now would be the time to amend your approach to property upkeep.

For starters, you’ll need to enlist the services of full-time maintenance personnel – especially if the property in question is a large multi-family rental. The more units and individual residents a property has, the more maintenance issues are going to spring up. And since most landlords are unable to address every maintenance request on their own particularly when it comes to larger properties – having a dedicated maintenance staff can be a boon to your upkeep efforts and help keep your rental safe for years to come.

If you don’t have the bandwidth to turn being a landlord into your full-time occupation, consider working with a highly-rated property management company. This will ensure that even in your absence, someone will be around to act as your proxy and efficiently delegate tasks to maintenance personnel.

Have the Property Inspected

Having your rental property inspected by a certified professional on a regular basis can be a great way to stay abreast of safety issues. An experienced inspector will be able to identify a host of emerging problems, ensuring that you’re able to tackle them before they’re able to place anyone’s safety at risk. The right inspector will also make you aware of any code violations they come across and make helpful recommendations regarding repairs and renovations. Additionally, keeping track of inspection results and code violations is often a hassle-free process in places that use cutting-edge municipal software.

Screen All Rental Applicants

Screening rental applicants can benefit landlords in a number of ways. For starters, a rigorous screening process can help you determine how likely an applicant is to remain current with rent. Since evicting tenants for nonpayment of rent is often an arduous process, proper screening stands to save you quite a few headaches. Secondly, the screening process can help you identify prospective renters who are liable to pose a danger to other residents and/or the property itself.

With an applicant’s permission, make sure to have a look at their criminal history. To be clear, past convictions shouldn’t necessarily prohibit someone from being allowed to rent from you. However, it’s also important to take the crime(s) of which an applicant was convicted into careful consideration. If these are offenses that could compromise the safety of other tenants and/or the property, taking a chance on them may not be in your best interest.

So, no matter how bothersome you find the screening process, you should never abstain from carrying it out. Just because someone is able to present themselves well in an in-person interview or phone conversation doesn’t mean they’d make a good tenant. If you simply can’t be bothered to undertake the screening process on your own, reach out to a good screening service or delegate this task to a property manager.

It’s only natural that landlords would strive to protect their respective rentals. After all, should any harm come to their properties, they’re liable to find their finances adversely impacted. Furthermore, if any tenants are inconvenienced or injured as a result of a landlord’s refusal to prioritize safety, lawsuits and other legal consequences are likely to follow. That being the case, no landlord can afford to regard safety as an afterthought. Fortunately, with the advice outlined above at your disposal, protecting a rental property should be well within your abilities.

Whereas purchasing the right investment property can be a long-term boon to your finances, purchasing the wrong one is liable to leave you suffering from an acute case of buyer’s remorse. Considering how much capital is in play with most investment properties, you’d do well to avoid making such large purchases in haste. So, before committing to purchase your first investment property, make a point of doing your homework and steering clear of the following missteps.

Recognize the Importance of Location

When it comes to investing in properties, a few factors are as important as location. Since the location of a property plays a significant role in determining its overall profitability, you’d be wise to engage in some research before proceeding to put down an offer. By looking closely at an area’s population size, rate of growth, local economy, home prices, and rental rates, you can get a clear picture of how much demand for housing that area has. Needless to say, areas in which housing is in high demand tend to have higher property values and rent prices than areas where demand is on the wane. So, if you’re looking to turn an investment property into a rental, this is worth taking into consideration.

Given how important location is to real estate, investors who are limiting themselves to properties in their respective locales may want to reconsider this approach. After all, if you live in an area in which demand for housing is low to nonexistent, an investment property may not be the wisest use of capital.

Conversely, branching out into other cities, towns and states can expand your options exponentially and increase your chances of making a profitable investment. So, before beginning your real estate journey, you may want to research the best cities to invest in real estate.

Know the Condition of the Property

One of the best ways to prevent yourself from purchasing the wrong investment property is to insist that a professional inspection take place. No matter how flawless you think a property is, there could be serious problems lurking beneath the surface – problems that non-professionals are unlikely to spot. So, even if you’ve personally gone over the property with a fine-toothed comb, it’s important to understand that you aren’t a certified inspector and are therefore likely to miss certain problems. Furthermore, without a professional inspection, you may find it impossible to purchase insurance for the property.

Regardless of how forcefully a seller pushes back against the idea of an inspection property, just remember that as a buyer, a formal inspection only stands to help you. For example, if an inspector uncovers problems that you hadn’t been made aware of – or problems that the seller never knew about – you may find yourself imbued with enhanced bargaining power. Furthermore, if the results of an inspection reveal the presence of problems that are massive in scope and exorbitantly expensive to address, you may ultimately deem a property to be unworthy of your time, effort, and money.

Work with Licensed and Insured Contractors

If your first investment property requires any repairs or renovations, take care to work exclusively with contractors who are licensed and insured. As a cost-cutting measure, some investors opt to hire contractors who lack both licensing and insurance. Since they tend to charge comparatively lower rates, it’s easy to see why working with unlicensed contractors would strike fledgling investors as a financially savvy move. However, doing so can prove far more draining on your resources than doing business with licensed contractors.

Whereas licensed contractors have an obligation to maintain a certain level of honesty and professionalism, unlicensed contractors are bound by no such rules. As such, they have very little incentive to be upfront with clients, guarantee their work or stick with jobs until they’re finished. Furthermore, if a contractor who lacks proper insurance is injured in the course of working for you, you may find yourself shelling out a small fortune to cover their medical costs.

Few decisions can facilitate a more serious case of buyer’s remorse than purchasing the wrong investment property. Although smart real estate investments can generate massive returns, it’s important to understand that not every property you come across is going to prove profitable. Fortunately, preventing yourself from making unwise property investments is easier than you may think. So, if you’re looking to minimize your chances of making an investment you’ll come to regret, simply put the tips outlined above to practical use.