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If you’re like most people, you want your financial future to be better than your present, or at least not worse. So, you set money aside and think of ways to make it grow. The options seem endless, but you’ve selected real estate as your investment arena, and you’re considering condos.

Condos have several advantages over single family houses or 2-4 unit buildings. And several disadvantages. In my conversations with people who’ve invested in condos, few were aware of all of them. So here they are. (The people I mentioned were interested in condos for sale in Chicago and the surrounding area but I’m betting their typical of new investors everywhere.

The advantages and disadvantages I’m going to talk about apply whether you’re looking at Chicago condos for sale, New York condos for sale, or Sioux Falls condos for sale, assuming you’re looking to buy them as investment vehicles.

Advantages of buying a condo as an investment property

Maintenance

Maintenance needs to be done on all properties. Condos, especially condos that are professionally managed, offer some relief to condo investors.

You don’t have to worry about roof, stairs, landscaping and such. The association takes care of them. For a price, it’s true, but you don’t have to do them.

Some of the problems inside the unit can also be taken care of by the complex maintenance crew. That varies from condo association to condo association. And they charge you for it, but you don’t have to drop everything else and run to your condo because the sink’s leaking.

Price

Some condos are very expensive. However, houses of similar size in the same neighborhood cost more. So, you can buy an investment property in a better neighborhood. Also, in most areas, there’s no such thing as a 1-bedroom house, but there are 1-bedroom, or even no bedroom, condo units. And, usually, there are people willing to rent them.

Amenities

Amenities vary from condo association to condo association. But it’s possible to invest in a condo located in a complex that has swimming pool, 24-hour security, and such things.

The disadvantages of buying a condo as an investment

Rules

You have to follow rules that are not yours. Each association has its own rules. And the rules can change. One of the rules that can change is whether tenants are permitted or not. If you own a condo and the association votes no more tenants, when your lease is up, you either move in or sell. Your association might decide to go with the ‘no more tenants’ rule at a time when selling is not a great option.

Or, worse, they decide to allow too many rentals. Too many tenants can make getting a mortgage difficult (FHA and others do not like condo associations where more than 10% of the units are rented.) which makes reselling your investment difficult, not to mention refinancing it.

Shared decision making

Yes, you could make sure you have something to say about decisions and get yourself elected on the board of directors; still, you are not the only decision maker.

Association fees

You have to pay the same amount whether your unit is rented or vacant. In other words, you get to pay the same amount whether you use or not the services (for instance, the water bill portion of your assessment).

Special assessments

When you bought your condo unit, there were no special assessments and none were being considered. Six months later, the association decides it’s time for a new face and there’s not enough money in the reserves. They decide to go ahead with the face lift and pay it with special assessments. Your share is going to be twice your profits for the next 20 months. Can happen.

Yes, things can go wrong with a single family investment or an apartment building investment. But there you have more control. Because there you can have a home inspector inspect the whole structure. Because there there’s no board of director’s member whose boyfriend owns a construction company that could use a few thousand dollars.

So, overall, buying a condo as an investment is not the way to go. That is, if you can afford a single family house. A single family house is not the best way to go if you can afford a 2-unit building. A 2-unit building is not the best way to go if you can afford a 3-unit building and so on. Because of 2 reasons: when a condo is vacant (or a single family house) the whole income source is gone but the expenses are still there.

In any case, if you’re buying a condo as an investment property, you should know what you’re getting into.

One of the easiest and quickest ways of smartening up the appearance of your home is by having patio canopies installed. Not only are they quick and simple to have fitted, but they also represent a very economical way of lifting the appearance of your home, and creating an inviting look which adds a great deal of kerb appeal. Adding patio roofs or door surrounds is certainly an effective way of making sure that your home stands out from others in the same neighbourhood, and in todays dog eat dog world of property buying and selling, its certainly worth considering.

Patio canopies are usually made of a special PVC material which offers a number of significant advantages over alternative materials such as wood or metal. Although wood and metal may seem to offer advantages of their own, it is over the long term that it can be seen that PVC offers far better value for money. A wooden door surround may look attractive to begin with, but as it is exposed to weather and external climatic conditions, it is likely to warp, crack and split, causing leaks and unsightly peeling. In this regard long term maintenance has to be considered, and painting your door surround or patio canopy every few years may prove to be a tiresome task.

Metal may offer several benefits of its own, and when compared to wooden canopies or surrounds certainly offers protection against cracking or warping over time. However, metal comes with two points worth considering – firstly its weight, and secondly its maintenance. A metal canopy or surround is heavy, and this will dramatically increase the cost of manufacture and fitting. A heavy metal canopy will probably take several fitters, and may take a long time to install, requiring a large amount of drilling, damage to the wall, and bolts running deep inside your cavity wall. Over the long term metal will still require painting, although unlike with wood, it will be necessary to use paints which are specially designed for metal – an expensive task in itself.

However, when it comes to PVC door canopies and surrounds, there are many clear benefits both in the short term and over the longer term too. To begin with PVC can be manufactured quickly and cheaply, meaning that youre unlikely to have to wait very long after placing your order, yet safe in the knowledge that it will be created to the exact measurements of your home, providing a precise fit. Being lightweight it will be quick and easy to transport, and often only requires one or two fitters and a few minutes to install, keeping costs and disruption to a bare minimum.

Over the longer term, too, the benefits of PVC patio canopies and patio roofs is clear, since they need virtually no maintenance. PVC doesnt warp or crack, and is fully resistant to the weather were likely to experience in this country. Although youre free to paint a PVC canopy or door surround should you wish, theres really no need, and if you are happy with the colour and finish of the PVC canopy, then you can simply forget any maintenance. A quick wash with a hose or a sponge once in a while will ensure that your patio canopy will continue to look in pristine condition for many, many years.

Many people seem to think that a PVC patio canopy or door surround will come in any colour you like so long as its white. Its certainly true that many PVC doors, window frames, canopies and surrounds are white, but thats by no means the only option available. With a range of colours available, and even wood effect finishes, you can be sure that your canopy will not only match your existing decor and colours, but will look natural and attractive. From a distance many visitors will probably assume your canopy was built at the same time as the house, and may even assume it is made from wood. This is kerb appeal without the maintenance, at a low cost, creating a home that is truly as unique as you are.

We spend a great deal of time and effort decorating the inside of our home to reflect our tastes and preferences, but all too often we neglect the outside. Since the outside of our home is what people see first, and since it is naturally exposed to a great deal more weather and wear and tear, it makes sense to make the right choices when choosing patio canopies and patio roofs. Without doubt a PVC patio canopy or door surround represents a sound financial investment, without any of the long term commitment on your part thats often necessary with alternate solutions.

There are many people who look at property investment as an income-generating opportunity. To achieve their goal, they develop a plan to calculate their returns, the total investment required, their income and their present and future expenses. These people also consider the risk-reward ratio before they invest in a property.

You need to have an investment plan that will calculate your total cash outflow and inflow. This will give you an idea on the financial benefit of buying a property and give help you calculate the amount that you need to borrow. If you find it difficult to calculate these details you can use software packages that are available in the market.

When buying a property you need to calculate

a) The loan required
b) The cost of the purchase
c) The cost of maintaining the property

Loan Required

Most people take out a loan to finance their property investment. Here are a few factors that you need to consider when taking a loan

i) There many people who pay only the interest on the loan that they have taken. The interest that they pay can be deducted from their income. People usually opt for repayment of both the principle and the interest when the rate of interest is high.

ii) You also need to decide on the type of loan that you require. You can take out a fixed rate loan, floating rate loan, line of credit and split loan. If you feel that interest rate is likely to rise then it is best that you opt for fixed rate loan. A variable rate loan is usually opted for when the interest rate is likely to fall.

iii) Most lenders will give you loan only up to 90 percent of the property value. If you want to borrow more you will have to take mortgage insurance on the property, which could be expensive. The loan that you take will depend on your requirement and risk appetite. People who expect property prices to rise will gamble on the rise and have less equity in the property.

Once you have decided on the loan amount and the type of loan, you need to calculate the borrowing cost and cash-flow you need to generate to repay the loan taken.

Cost of Purchase

Land cost is not the only factor that you need to consider when you buy a property. You need to include expenses on legal representation, stamp duty, surveys, insurance, registration of title, investigations, valuation fee, commission to real estate agents and all other expenses you incur when buying a property.

Cost of maintaining the property

You also need to calculate the cost of maintaining the property. Some maintenance cost that you pay include water tax and water charges, maintenance and repair charges, local taxes, expenses on maintaining the books, insurance, security expenses and all other expenses that you incur in ensuring the safety of property.

Therefore it is important that all property investments must be made only after careful evaluation the financial feasibility of your investment.

How does one determine when to sell a rental property investment? If you are going to buy rental properties having a plan in place for the appropriate time to sell is important.

I have worked with many individuals over the years and showed them how to buy rental property. There are many things that need to be considered when purchasing for investment purposes. There is also definitely a time to sell.

How to Buy an Investment Property

-Is the property in a convenient location? Is it near shopping, in a neighborhood with good schools, and is it easily accessible to interstates and connecting roads?

-Does the potential investment property have a sound foundation? What sort of issues does the home have? If it needs a new roof or the foundation is sunken in and is creating issues within the structure, it might not be a good investment at this time. If the issues are only cosmetic (needs a new bathroom floor, or painting, or carpeting) it may be worthwhile. Inspection reports will reveal the propertys flaws so the buyer and real estate professional can make a good decision.

-Do you have enough of a down payment to purchase the rental property so financing will not be an issue? In the current real estate market, most lenders will see a down payment of 40-50% as a good risk. If you can invest 100% into the property this is even better.

-Income gained from the property needs to exceed expenses. Identify a credit worthy tenant, a reliable property manager, and a solid lease to make your property investment profitable. Property management fees are tax deductible.

-For residential property investments, single-family homes as well as multi-tenant properties such as duplexes and fourplexes are great ways to build income and wealth. Some investors may want to consider apartment complexes. In this case a commercial property loan will be necessary to obtain financing.

-Use depreciation on the investment property as a way to receive an annual tax deduction. Check with your accountant, who will apply the depreciation deduction on the building, appliances — even window treatments. The government still allows tax deductions for accelerated depreciation on properties. Savvy real estate investors use this deduction to increase cash flow and net operating profit on a property.

When to Sell a Rental Property

I have a term for properties that need to be sold: alligator properties. These are properties that are eating the investor alive with carrying costs. When an investor looks at the bottom line on an alligator property there is no profit just expenses. An alligator property today may have been a good investment ten years ago. But some individuals will continue to hold a property until it depletes all of the profits they may have made in the first 5-7 years.

If a property has sentimental value (it was your first home, or your mother once owned it but now shes deceased), some investors may tend to want to hold onto it. Having an emotional attachment to an investment property that is supposed to be generating income is not good. Sometimes an individual will hold this type of property even if it is not profitable. It may be time to consider selling this property.