Investment property can be a great way to supplement your income or plan for your future. But, buyer beware- if you have not planned accordingly your investment could backfire on you and go from a cash cow to a money pit in a matter of months! If you aren’t prepared you could run into a bad tenant- or a string of them- who don’t pay, destroy your building, or all of the above. Fortunately, by proper planning and screening you can take many of the complexities out of this equation. Below is a brief list of things to consider before purchasing an investment property:

1. Formulate a Team

There are a lot of important things to consider before purchasing an investment property: down payment, tax liabilities, market conditions, general banking and trust account handling, landlord-tenant laws, lease preparation, contract formation, and the list goes on.

You can take the time to do the research yourself or you could consider hiring a team of professional to assist you. To handle all these issues you may need to consult an accountant, a lawyer, and a sophisticated realtor… OR you could hire a property management agency- the right agency will be knowledgeable on tax topics, the local market, accounting, and lease preparation and execution. You could, and many people do, manage a single property or a few properties on your own, but if you want to maximize success then you should plan to spend considerable time researching all of these areas before signing that purchase offer.

2. Determine YOUR Location

I say YOUR location because that is often most important to your investment decision. Are you going to invest in your local community or are you going to invest in another area? If you buy in your locale then you may be able to handle the management yourself. If, on the other hand, you are determined to purchase outside of your area (usually beyond a 30 mi radius) then you need to consider the implications of being a long-distance owner.

Local owners have the ability to tackle all aspects of your property management. You can consult with YOUR account, YOUR realtor, YOUR banker, contractor, plumber, etc. Maybe you prefer the DIY approach to maintenance- no problem a quick trip over to your property is usually not much of a hassle.

Long-distance owners need to be aware that the DIY approach is virtually impossible. You will need to find trustworthy experts to consult for your professional services including your contracting. Often times long-distance owners will need to rely upon management companies to do their bidding. This is a crucial decision since your manager will be the one negotiating contract and lease prices on your behalf. It is absolutely imperative that you find a management company that you can rely on to keep an open line of communication and one that you know will hit the ground to track down new tenants and keep your investment in tip-top shape.

3. Title Transfer and Commercial Insurance

This area might not always pop up on the ‘investment property top five list of things to consider’ but being married to an attorney this is one area that I feel is overlooked. Often times investors do not consider the implications their investment properties have on their personal assets until they have expanded their portfolio to multiple properties.

Without going into specifics, you can imagine where I’m going with this topic. For example, a tenant slips and falls on the sidewalk in front of your property because your maintenance person or snow removal company didn’t adequately clear the ice. Who’s liable for injuries stemming from this fall? You, individually? Your homeowner’s insurance? Your maintenance person? With damages for personal injury lawsuits increasing on a daily basis this is a topic worth noting.

Investing in mortgage notes can be a great way for you to increase your assets and to add security to your life. It is an excellent option if you want the security of cash flow for the future. It is also a good option if you are looking to begin real estate investing. It is even a great option if you are looking to sell your home. Mortgage notes offer a great return for many different individuals in many walks of life. Knowing how to make this investment strategy work for you is important in order to be successful with it. Here are a few ideas to think about to determine where your interest would lie and how you might pursue such an investment strategy:

First decide where you fit in:

Home owner desiring a sale
Home owner desiring cash flow from a sale
Beginning investor with no cash desiring to make money
Experienced RE investor
Landlord with a current portfolio

Understanding where you fit in will help you determine what strategy to use in order to make mortgage notes a valuable investment for you. If you are a home owner simply desiring to sell your home then seller financing is something you should look seriously at. The next thing you need to think about is simply whether you want to hold the note as an investment and receive payments long term or if you want to sell all or part of the note to get a lump sum of cash. The answer will be different for every seller. If you decide you want to keep the note as a cash flow investment then it really only needs to satisfy your needs. it is still a good idea to do some research and find out how to structure a good note. If you are planning on selling the note then you definitely need to be sure and create a note that a mortgage note investor will be interested in.

If you are a beginning investor or desire to be an investor but you have no experience then you definitely need to think about things differently. If you are looking to make money with mortgage notes, know this. It is a lot of hard work.What you need to first accept is that you are talking about becoming an entrepreneur and running your own business. Recognize that running your own business is at least 10 times harder than working a job for somebody else. You must accept this and accept complete responsibility for that and then go about learning the business. You need to know all you can about the note business, how to market it and how to make sure your potential customers are satisfied. That may involve helping the home owner understand how to best structure a note or how much to expect from the sell.

If you are an experienced RE investor who already has properties and wishes to begin investing in paper then you will already have a good foundation and just need to add some additional insights to expand your business. You may need to learn more about lending rates. You will need to research the paper side of the business a bit. Know that you can turn any deal you own into a cash flow note deal. I would suggest that anybody thinking of investing in notes on a level that involves their creation, make sure the note is created in such a way that a current mortgage note investor would be interested in buying it if the need ever arose. Make sure there is a significant down payment and the rate should be above the going industry rate.

If you already own cash flow properties in the form of rentals you might want to consider the idea of seller finance for some of those properties or others you find. With this mortgage note You will have the same benefits of cash flow as you do from the rentals with the added benefit of a more responsible tenant. they will be more likely to take care of the property because they are buying it from you. They will likely take better care of the maintenance and they will be responsible for taxes and utilities and all other fees. Read more about the Mortgage Notes Business today and find out how to make it work for you.

Costa Rica, a dream holiday destination for millions of people worldwide, is experiencing a rise in the realty market’s emotion. The already-hot property investment destination is gaining traction as more and more investors are trying to put their dough in the meaty Costa Rica real estate market.

But like any other realty market, some properties in the country give a very good return, while others produce lackluster results, at best. You may not lose your money by blindly investing in any property in the country, but you may lose the chance of earning a very good return. It is, therefore, advisable to wisely choose a property from booming Costa Rica realty market.

3 most-attractive Costa Rica real estate options you should not let go of

Manuel Antonio Real Estate

Manuel Antonio is, perhaps, the most sought-after tourist destination for people coming to the country because of its nearness to Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio (Manuel Antonio National Park). This is the biggest drawer of visitors from abroad, so a property bought in the vicinity of the Manuel Antonio village will fetch high return on investment. In the recent months, demand for investment properties in Manuel Antonio has witnessed a significant surge. Although the national park is the smallest in the country, its biodiversity is second to none. This is an ideal investment destination also because it is not as over-exposed as San Jos, which has Pos Volcano National Park, the most visited national park in the country, in its vicinity.

Quepos real estate

The reason behind shooting demand for Quepos real estate is its proximity to Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio. It is the closest town to the national park. The small town of Quepos had traditionally been lazy. It was a town of plantation workers, fishermen, and merchants, but the fate of this little town, which is only 7 kilometers from Manuel Antonio, changed when visitors from outside came flocking to the neighboring national park. It is at the time, one of the hottest realty markets in the country.

Costa Rica luxury real estate

Luxury is always sold dear, and Costa Rica is not an exception to this rule. If you can spare money to invest in million-dollar villas then you should look for luxury segment. This segment pays a huge dividend, but its not suitable for those who want to enter, buy, modify, and sale the property in a jiffy. You need to have patience to make a killing in Costa Rica’s luxury real estate market. Manuel Antonio is a fertile ground for such properties.

Property market in Costa Rica has grown to this extent also because of the ease with which foreign investors can invest in the country. For an American investor Costa Rica’s real estate market offers a fabulous opportunity, and the safest real estate investment in foreign country. When contemplating the investment options, one should never let the above described property investment options go out of sight.