“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
I had heard this old adage thousands of times in my life, but it had never really applied to me until I started looking into buying real estate, and more specifically, buy/hold rental investment properties. Over the last several years, I have researched thousands of buy/hold rental investment properties across several different US markets, and I have seen and heard it all – fake pictures, doctored tax records, inaccurate income projections, and the most frequently seen misdirection: missing information.
What Information Should You Be Looking For?
There are some critical pieces of information (I refer to it as “Golden Data”) you will need to collect in order to properly evaluate the purchase of any investment property that comes your way. My general rule of thumb is that if any pieces of Golden Data are missing (or not validated), I will NOT buy the property. Follow this link for our Golden Data Checklist.
What To Do With All of This Data?
OK… now you’ve done your homework, and you’ve checked off all of the items on the Golden Data Checklist. Now what? Well, now you are fully equipped to evaluate the financial returns on this property with high-confidence information. You are now able to calculate the CAP rate [see previous blog “Why a Buy and Hold Investor Should Care About CAP Rates“, and you’ll be able to determine what your true ROI will be for this investment.
REIMidwest Turnkey Investment Properties
REIMidwest, LLC, is a full service, turnkey real estate investment firm specializing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the surrounding areas of the city, including Milwaukee and Waukesha counties.
We are a direct seller and own all our properties. There are no middlemen or brokers involved at any point in the transaction. When you buy a property from us, we will provide all of the Golden Data Checklist for you so there will be no surprises waiting for you. All of our properties are completely renovated from top to bottom – all HVAC, Electrical, Plumbing, Appliances, Roofing, and Foundation are evaluated and serviced by licensed professionals, and we hire a 3rd party home inspection at the completion of every property to ensure the finished product is done properly and to code. We also provide a 1-year Home Warranty. Finally, we stand behind our work. We will hold back $2,000 of the purchase price in escrow, and we will cover up to $2,000 of any maintenance costs for up to 2 years.