California Wholesale Real Estate: The idea of making improvements on an existing real estate investment property, or your own home for that matter, is not necessarily a good thing. On the other hand, there are improvements you can make that definitely are positive and will get you a good return. Knowing the difference is important, especially in this economy where your dollar doesn’t go as far as it once did.
Make sure you are spending your money on improvements that will actually get a return and help your property sell faster, both of which are the point of real estate investment. Buy low, make smart improvements where necessary, and then sell fast. The longer the home is on the market, the more money it will cost you in maintenance and time.
So what are the worst and most wasteful of your improvement dollars? The top three are swimming pools, septic systems, and new roofs. It’s not that the house may not need a new septic or a new roof, but the cost involved may not get you a decent return on your dollar. If the roof is leaking and causing damage, then by all means replace it.
The best way to avoid that, though, is not to buy an investment house that has roof leaks that cause damage. Pretty simple, right? That’s the way it works. If the house is unbelievably low in cost and you know you stand to make a huge percentage on the resale, you may be able to easily invest in the roof. In most cases, though, it’s going to cost you. If you need to replace the roof, see what you can do about getting a reasonable new roof and don’t buy into an architectural style expensive roof.
The septic system will not get you a return that you may be expecting. If the system needs replacing, it could cost anywhere from $10k to $50k depending on where you live. A buyer is NOT going to give you that much more for your house because you replaced the system. They may be more willing to choose your house from among the competition, but it will cost you a bundle.
The winner and worst possible improvement to make to a house for return value is a swimming pool. If you love to swim and its your house, put one in if you’d like. Don’t do it just to make the home more sellable. You will never get your money out of it and some buyers actually walk away from swimming pools because they don’t want the liability and the pool cleaning problem.
California Wholesale Real Estate: As the current managers of the local REIA; Greater Fresno Real Estate Investment Network, we work with all levels of investors…novice to experienced. We provide our membership with networking opportunities, educational, strategic and marketing resources from industry professionals. View our California Wholesale Website
We Buy and Sell Wholesale Real Estate in th Following Areas of California: Central California, Central Valley, San Joaquin Valley, Fresno, Clovis, Madera, Merced, Kingsburg, Selma, Reedley, Coarsegold, Chowchilla, Sanger, Hanford, Kerman, Lindsay, Livingston, Lemoore, Squaw Valley, Strathmore, Tulare, Visalia
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