Could a Career in Real Estate Be for You?

If you’re looking for a wise financial investment to make, real estate could prove to be the best option for you! Investing in real estate gives you a reliable source of financial security. If you are an employed individual, you never know when you might be made redundant or lose your job – having savings from a sold property or having a steady income from letting a property out can help tide you over until you find a new position. If you are self-employed or run your own business and are going through a rough patch with little profit, you can also benefit from this. So, let’s take a moment to look at both buy to sell and buy to let real estate.

Buy-to-Sell Basics

Buying to sell is perhaps the simplest way to get involved in real estate. You quite literally buy a property at a low price and sell it on at a higher price, consequently making a profit in the process. People are paying record amounts of money for good quality properties at the moment, so you might as well cash in on the trend while people are willing to cough up a lot of cash!

Buy-to-Let Basics

Buy to let real estate helps to secure a monthly income. If you have used a mortgage to purchase the property, rent payments from tenants can help to clear the mortgage. If you charge a little extra per month, you can have a little extra in your pocket. If you purchase a property outright, everything that you bring in will be pure profit. 

Refurbishing

When you first get your hands on a property, you may want to consider refurbishing it or renovating it. This will help it to stand out on the market, which is extremely important, regardless of whether you intend to buy or let. The best way to determine how to outshine other properties in the area is to conduct viewings of other properties being sold or let nearby. An estate agent will help you to do this, or they will be able to inform you of what other properties have that your property needs to match or exceed. You can then carry out the recommended renovations and increase your asking price or rental price. Common renovations that you might want to consider can include loft conversions or extensions (which provide your property with an extra room), installing skylights (which flood spaces with natural light), sprucing up the kitchen, adding a conservatory, or adding a garage (where people can safely store their vehicles and reduce their insurance premiums).

Focusing on CRM

When you get into real estate, you need to remember that this is a profession. As such, you need to focus on being professional and maintaining good relationships with people who are renting or buying from you! Having a good understanding of CRM will help you to achieve this. CRM stands for customer relationship management and the better bonds you have with your “customers”, the more successful you will be in this field. Good customer relationship can entail keeping in touch, following up on enquiries and requests, and being an all round pleasant individual to deal with. Of course, this takes effort and organisation. But CRM software like follow up boss can help with scheduling and keeping on top of things.

Maintenance

If you are intending to let a property out, you need to remember that you will become a landlord and that becoming a landlord comes hand in hand with a whole lot of responsibility. Not only will you need to ensure that the property is up to scratch when a tenant moves in, but you will need to maintain it for the entire time they are living there too! Of course, certain responsibilities such as cleaning will fall upon the tenant. But if something breaks or needs replacing, it will be up to you to rectify the situation. Make sure that your tenants can get in touch with you should they need and arrange regular checks to ensure that they are keeping the property in ship shape at all times! It’s a good idea to always meet your tenants before allowing them to move in. This will give you a better chance of finding someone who will avoid destroying or damaging your property.

These, of course, are just the basics of getting involved in real estate. You are likely to have to learn a whole lot more along the way. But hopefully, the above information will help you to get started in the right direction!

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