Starting anything new is both exciting and challenging. If you’ve decided to begin investing in Charleston real estate, you’re entering the market at a great time. Rents are rising pretty steadily, and there’s a large pool of well-qualified tenants who are looking for great rental homes. You can expect an impressive ROI as the value of your property grows, and your cash flow in the short term won’t be too bad, either.
It’s a competitive market, though. Interest and demand are higher than inventory in a lot of neighborhoods, and you’ll have to be strategic about where and what you buy.
Do you have some specific investment goals established?
You’ll need them. You’ll also need to surround yourself with some local real estate and property management experts who can help you navigate the market and the investment process.
Here are some of the first steps to investing in Charleston properties.
Establish Your Investment Goals
To be a successful investor, you need to know why you’re investing and what you’re hoping to accomplish. Your investment goals will help you make smart decisions. They will drive what neighborhoods you focus on, whether you choose single-family homes or multi-family properties, and the way you structure your financing. Get those goals in writing and use them as your guideposts.
Surround Yourself with Charleston Industry Experts
You will need a good real estate agent to help you identify properties and negotiate deals.
Don’t stop at a good agent. You’ll also need a broker, an insurance agent, legal advice, and vendors like painters, roofers, cleaners, landscapers, and other professionals.
Find a Charleston property management expert, too. You might think about property management as being something that can wait until you’re ready to lease your home. But, you can benefit by having a property manager work with you throughout your buying process as well. Property managers can tell you how much rent a potential investment property will earn you. We can advise you about repairs and renovations that may be needed before a home is ready for the rental market. We can also tell you about what you can expect in terms of ongoing maintenance costs and other expenses.
Think Like a Tenant When Investing
As you begin looking at investment properties, don’t think about what you like in a home. Think about what your tenants will want and need. They’ll want a desirable location close to schools, shopping, entertainment, and recreation. They’ll want a property that’s clean, safe, and well-maintained.
Those fixer-upper investment properties might look tempting. They’re going to be cheap and new investors can get excited about putting their own personal touches on renovations and rehabs.
It’s not always a great way to begin your real estate investment career, however. Your goal should be to get your property onto the rental market as quickly as possible. That’s hard to do when you need to put in a new kitchen or install a new roof. Look for homes in good condition that only need cosmetic changes before they’re ready for the rental market.
Once you’ve established what you’re looking for and put together a good team of partners, you can take the next steps as an investor: buy the property and rent it out.
We love working with new investors, and we’d be happy to help you have a great investment experience. Contact our team at Charleston Home Rentals for more information as you prepare to look for rental properties.
