Investors purchase residential and commercial income producing real estate to make money. There are two obvious ways of making money from a property. First, the owner takes a share of the annual operating profit generated by the investment, and Second, profits from increasing the market value of the investment beyond what it would be because of inflation alone.
Management and Income
Good management has always been the most important point in increasing or maintaining annual operating profits. Being a skillful manager requires intelligent handling of the functions of buying and selling properties, rent collections, maintenance, leasing, controlling expenses, refurbishing, management accounting and more. All of this requires long “hands-on” experience in the field with plenty of assistance from the latest in administrative hardware and software. Professional property managers will do a much better job than most owners and will more than cover their fees.
Increasing Cash Flow
Since the value of a rental property is based directly on the cash return, adding value means increasing cash flow.
When small investors set out to increase real estate values, the steps are in upgrading houses, duplexes, triplexes, etc., enhancing the cash flow and therefore increasing equity when the property is sold.
When working with larger commercial investment properties, there are two major actions:
• Be aware of the things that have the potential of adding value and taking advantage of this knowledge.
• Do the required homework on the property. A feasibility analysis can measure the ability to add value. There may be many other measures that must be taken, such as market analyses, applications for new zoning, design and construction planning and a plan for marketing.