Is real estate a good investment today? During her guest appearance on WCNC-NBC’s Charlotte Today, Nancy Braun, owner of Showcase Realty, talked about the fundamentals of real estate investing and why it’s the perfect time for buyers looking to invest in a rental property.
Charlotte is booming with a strong seller’s market and is currently a hot market for investors. For those who are considering investing in real estate, Nancy recommended starting with finding a good real estate agent to work with. The next step is determining what kind of investor are you going to be— long term or short term? Then you also have to choose what kind of property are you going to invest in. Do you want to invest in a condo, a townhouse, or a single-family home?
Nancy also discussed what investors should consider when planning out a strategy. She said the those who are looking to invest should know how to use their cash on hand and, whether they should use mortgages or hard money loans.
As for the team that the investor should recruit, Nancy suggested including contractors, lenders, home inspectors, a real estate broker who has experience working with investors, and a financial planner.
Investing in real estate isn't for everyone. If you're willing to dip your toes in the water, doing thorough research and examining all your options is very important. Before putting some of your hard-earned money into a property, you have to know that it will require some work and the right mindset.
If you’re venturing into real estate investment, get expert help from Nancy Braun and her team at Showcase Realty. You may also visit SmartInvestmentsCharlotte.com.
Get in touch with her today directly at 704-488 3109 to get started!
Colleen Odegaard: Real estate has always been a strong investment across the country. In fact, Charlotte is booming with a strong seller’s market and developers are working to meet the demand.
Eugene Robinson: Nancy Braun is the award-winning broker and owner of Showcase Realty. She’s here to tell us why it’s the perfect time for buyers looking to invest in a rental property. Hello Nancy and welcome to the show.
Nancy Braun: Good morning!
Colleen Odegaard: Good morning! Okay, first off. How does a buyer invest in a property?
Nancy Braun: Well it’s, you have to find yourself a good real estate agent to work with. And then you need to determine what you’re gonna be. Are you gonna be a short-term investor or long-term investor? Are you going to wanna, they call “flip”, which is buy a home, renovate, sell for more? Or do you want to hold? That means you’re gonna buy something, maybe possibly renovate, and then keep a tenant in there and have the tenant pay your mortgage.
Eugene Robinson: And what type of investment? Are you going to invest in condos, townhouse, single homes - what does that look like?
Nancy Braun: So it depends upon what your focus will be. Now if you’re an out-of-town investor, we have some that live in other countries. They might want a townhome because then they don’t have to worry about maintenance and taking care of the exterior. It might just be a simpler concept for them. Now we, of course, have a property management company that can assist any investor on either strategy. And we would take care of all the maintenance of the property but that is sort of a comfort zone for some. Now last year, townhomes and condos have increased by 10%, versus single family homes, an average of about 6%. So, you’re also paying a higher price for the townhome condo than you were a year ago. Single-family homes, I personally prefer to invest in. I have my portfolio of investments and they’re all single-family homes. And I just feel that you don’t have the subjectivity of an HOA fee going up, so there could be a normal special assessment if they’re putting new roofs on the entire complex. And you might not have that planned for. So single-family homes you know, we have historically seen, as opposed to last year, a steadier increase whereas townhomes and condos might not show that in history, that it always increases at the same rate.
Colleen Odegaard: What should investors consider when planning out a strategy?
Nancy Braun: Well, the investors gonna wanna know how to use their cash on hand and, whether they should use mortgages or hard money loans, and, you know, if you have a hundred thousand dollars to play with, then the hard money loan, or even a traditional lender, is gonna require to invest or put down 20 - 25%, that’s the down payment. So, you could take that hundred thousand dollars, and use 25,000 on 4 properties, versus take that hundred thousand and buy one property, so you could stretch your money and hedge your investments much better. So that’s one thing that they should consider if their finance are part of it. And then, what are they looking for? Are they gonna rent or they gonna wanna get in on the low end and then have, you know, tenants that might be paying 700 to 900 a month, which could cause more problems, cause those tend to lead to more frictions, more issues with the credit. Or you can have an investor that wants the high-end, you know maybe they wanna have high-end tenants in there, and have maybe less issues to come up.
Eugene Robinson: What type of team that the investor recruit of opening money now?
Nancy Braun: So the team should be, your contractors in place, your lenders in place, your home inspectors, a great real estate broker that has experience working with investors, and a financial planner that works with you.
Colleen Odegaard: So let me ask you this, and this might not be a one-size-fits-all answer, but is it better to look for a fix n’ flip like you were talking about, or a long-term investment?
Nancy Braun: It really depends if you want, what your strategy is. I personally have always stayed in held. I don’t like selling my properties. I just want them to appreciate, and history will show you that as long as you hold your investments for a long time, you’re gonna have a reward at the end. So that’s kind of my retirement strategy. With flipping, you’re gonna take the money, and then you’re gonna flip that money into the next product. So it really depends upon if you risk reverse, or you just want a hold stay.
Eugene Robinson: What any other program that investors, that your company does to help the investors?
Nancy Braun: So we sit down with the investors and we really understand their strategy. I happen to also represent a lot of banks and institutional companies. So, we can offer them some homes that are in distress. And so we certainly wanna figure out their strategy. Don’t just jump in and buy the first thing you see. You gotta figure out what kind of personality you are. What kind of fluid money you have. How much are you willing to risk? And are you looking for the long-term or the short-term? So we can offer all those programs plus the team that we have already established.
Colleen Odegaard: Nancy is among the best. If you’re ready to invest in real estate, visit SmartInvestmentsCharlotte.com. SmartInvestmentsCharlotte.com. Or you can call Nancy directly at 704-488 3109. Again 704-488 3109. Nancy Braun, thank you so much.
Nancy Braun: Thank you.
Comments(1)