makroz
01-02-2007, 07:01 AM
While your sound, well-located, rental-house investment is hopefully appreciating in market value, there might be some potential problems to anticipate.
The biggest rental-house problem I've encountered is not being able to obtain enough rent to pay the mortgage, property taxes, insurance, repairs, and other expenses.
Local markets for rental houses vary widely. The national standard for rent used to be a rental house should command at least 1 percent of its market value in monthly rent.
For example, using our rental house purchased for $100,000, it should rent for at least $1,000 per month. Inexpensive rental houses often meet this 1 percent rent standard. However, investors in more expensive rental houses usually are unable to obtain rent that meets this 1 percent per month profitability test.
The result can be negative cash flow. That means the rental income is less than the expenses for the house.
However, many rental-house investors can handle a mild case of negative cash flow. They reason the house is appreciating in market value at a faster rate than the negative cash flow. If the investor can afford to pay the negative cash flow, perhaps $100 to $500 per month, rapidly appreciating rental houses can be a great investment.
If you can't afford the negative cash flow each month, investing in rental houses might not be a smart investment for you. Instead, you might wish to purchase bargain-priced fixer-upper houses for quick resale. That's called "flipping" instead of "keeping" for long-term rental-house investment
The biggest rental-house problem I've encountered is not being able to obtain enough rent to pay the mortgage, property taxes, insurance, repairs, and other expenses.
Local markets for rental houses vary widely. The national standard for rent used to be a rental house should command at least 1 percent of its market value in monthly rent.
For example, using our rental house purchased for $100,000, it should rent for at least $1,000 per month. Inexpensive rental houses often meet this 1 percent rent standard. However, investors in more expensive rental houses usually are unable to obtain rent that meets this 1 percent per month profitability test.
The result can be negative cash flow. That means the rental income is less than the expenses for the house.
However, many rental-house investors can handle a mild case of negative cash flow. They reason the house is appreciating in market value at a faster rate than the negative cash flow. If the investor can afford to pay the negative cash flow, perhaps $100 to $500 per month, rapidly appreciating rental houses can be a great investment.
If you can't afford the negative cash flow each month, investing in rental houses might not be a smart investment for you. Instead, you might wish to purchase bargain-priced fixer-upper houses for quick resale. That's called "flipping" instead of "keeping" for long-term rental-house investment