Selling Real Estate Archives

How To Make Money In Real Estate And Get Rich in 2023?

September 11, 2023 by Marco Santarelli

There is no quick way to make money or get rich in real estate, but you can grow wealth gradually and consistently by investing correctly. You are probably aware that there are numerous ways to accumulate wealth, but real estate is one of the most effective. Having said that, making money in real estate or profitable investing requires sound guidance, methods, and determination. While investing in real estate is a proven and true method of earning money, it, like any other business, comes with inherent dangers.

If done correctly, real estate can be an excellent vehicle for wealth accumulation if you take the time to educate yourself about the process and the best strategies for maximizing profits. If you have cash (a 20% down payment), getting started in real estate investing is substantially easier. However, the reality is that many entrepreneurs – including those in real estate investing – start their firms with very little money every day. Many of them begin by dreaming big and putting in a great deal of effort.

This blog is intended for novices who are interested in learning how to earn money in real estate. Today, investors have a plethora of possibilities for investing in real estate; there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Learning how to produce income through real estate is an excellent approach to diversifying your portfolio. If you have a large sum of money, you may, for instance, purchase an undervalued real estate property, repair it, and sell it to an investor. After the work is completed, you profit from selling the property for a significantly higher price than you paid for it.

You can also consider buying a long-term rental property or a second home where you vacation and rent out to others when it's not in use if you'd rather leverage your investment by using a mortgage to invest in a tenant-ready property. With the right steps, you can increase your wealth, hedge against inflation, and profit from a rising market. There are so many advantages to owning real estate like leverage, appreciation, and tax benefits, that just getting a “good deal” can make for a great long-term investment.

We'll show you how to make money in real estate and avoid the most common mistakes. The most popular way is to buy an investment property and slowly build up your portfolio. Generally, there are two primary ways to make money from real estate assets — appreciation, which is an increase in property value over a period of time, and rental income collected by renting out the property to tenants. The majority of the money & wealth you build through real estate comes from appreciation but cash flow is important because it helps in reducing your risk.

Buying a rental property that loses money every month in hopes of future appreciation is a bad investment. The positive cash flow doesn't only enable you to pay off the property but it also contributes to saving for another down payment to buy your next investment property sooner. The more properties you buy, the more you can save, and the faster you can achieve your money-making goals through real estate investing.

But we shall discuss some more “well-known” ways to make money in real estate which include both active and passive investing. Remember, knowledge is the key to using real estate as a vehicle for wealth building. Smart investors always know what drives markets, how to time market cycles, and whether to invest in a local market or to invest out of state.

10 Ways To Make Money In Real Estate And Get Rich

Adding real estate to your investment portfolio might help you diversify your portfolio of investments. We will discuss how to generate money in real estate through a variety of various methods in this article. Are you looking forward to it? When it comes to real estate, there are a variety of options for starting to build your wealth. Take the first step toward being a successful real estate investor and discover how you, too, can achieve your goals.

1. Making Money in Real Estate by Renting Out Property

This is the classic way of making money in real estate and getting rich. In this type of investment, you make money by leveraging long-term buy-and-hold residential rentals. People will always require a place to live. Lords and nobles fought over titles that let them collect rent from those living, farming, and otherwise working the land. A few entrepreneurial types drained swamps and built businesses so that they could make more from the land than they would if they merely leased it out to farmers and ranchers.

We’ve come a long way in the intervening ways, providing many options for those who want to know how to make money in real estate. You may buy land, build a home, and then rent it out. You could find distressed properties, rehabilitate them, and then rent them out. Turnkey properties were purchased by someone else who rehabilitated them before finding a tenant. Regardless of how you acquire the property, it is a buy-and-holds strategy.

You can own residential, commercial, and industrial real estate property. One of the biggest benefits of owning rental real estate is the steady cash flow it generates. It is the best form of owning investment real estate for earning a passive income. The downside of this approach is that you’re putting all your eggs in relatively few baskets. If there are issues with the apartment complex you own, the rental income from it suffers as people leave or the repair costs eat into your profits.

This strategy is probably the one most likely to let you generate a steady income that is large enough to live off of once you own multiple rental properties. You may be able to utilize this strategy if you cash out money from a retirement account or equity in your home. If you want to know how to get rich in real estate, understand that this is one of the most secure routes to doing so as long as you manage expenses and the properties themselves well. Dallas is a very good real estate market for buying rental properties.

Know the rules for evicting tenants and raising rental rates if you’ll be managing an apartment building. Understand the local building code, community norms for properties in the price range you’ll be buying, and cost-effective upgrades if you’ll be buying and flipping properties.

You can’t afford to lose money turning a middle-class home into the only luxury property on the block. All of this requires money to buy the properties. We’d recommend saving up or tapping into funds you have to put down the first down payments on single-family homes or small multi-family housing units. This may come from your savings, equity in your primary residence, or a retirement account.

We’d recommend against borrowing against your 401K since the money has to be paid back within a few weeks of losing your job or else you have to pay taxes and a penalty on it. You’d almost be better off pulling money out of an IRA. You have more control over the fees and taxes you’d pay. Set aside thousands of dollars in an emergency fund to cover unplanned repair bills, surprise legal fees, and other costs you haven’t properly taken into account.

Then you don’t end up cutting into your cash flow with high-interest hard money loans to pay for the little repairs needed to legally rent out the unit or hit your credit cards to pay contractors. Buy a single property with your cash down payment, a mortgage, and your business plan. Set the goal of renting out the unit for 1 percent of its total value per month.

For example, a 100,000-dollar house should rent for around a thousand dollars a month. Then apply your strategy. Sell the fixer-upper or collect the first few months of rent from your new tenant. Rebuild your emergency fund, since you may need thousands of dollars to fix a broken water heater or hole in the roof. Save up enough money for your next renovation or down payment.

Then seek a mortgage to buy that next property and repeat the pattern. Don’t rush out to buy a bunch of properties. Debt multiplies risk, and you don’t want to end up with a million dollars of outstanding unsecured debt because you tried to manage ten rental properties without any experience as a landlord. Nor can you afford to make a mistake with a property management company. Don’t try to fix and flip several properties at once. Grow slowly so that you have the margin to absorb the cost of mistakes.

This is why you should be buying one to three rental properties a year, not the ten some property investment programs recommend. Buy and flip one property at a time, no matter how long that takes, until you have the expertise or expert contractor on your team to handle several such renovations at once. Buy a small apartment building and learn how to manage it or find a good property manager to do the work for you.

Remember that every month results in increased equity in the property, and that’s aside from the income you’re earning. You could dramatically improve the cash flow if you aggressively pay down the outstanding mortgage on a property. For example, you go from earning 300 dollars to 1000 dollars per month per single-family rental home.

What is a property that turns out to need far more work than you expected? What if the apartment building isn’t working out as expected? Sell it, pay off the debt, and then start over with the cash you have left over. You will eventually be making millions in real estate as you build up your real estate portfolio, and you could see a million-dollar net worth in less than five years.

If you own dozens of rental homes, consider selling them to buy professionally managed multi-family housing. When you’re ready to earn truly passive income, that is one route. Selling the properties to other investors and investing in real estate investment trusts or shares of a property managed by others is another.

2. Interest-Based Income Through Investing in Mortgage Notes

Mortgage notes can be a good real estate investment for people seeking passive income. When you buy a mortgage note, you receive monthly payments that include both interest and principal. It is a steady stream of income like you’d receive from a rental property, but there is no need to maintain the property like a landlord. It is far easier to invest in real estate located around the country because you don’t have to deal with local rules regarding real estate licensing or taxes. The mortgage note spells out the loan duration. You know how long you’ll receive loan payments, and it may be 10 to 30 years.

You may be able to increase the value of the mortgage note by buying from a distressed noteholder. For example, you may find a farm or family property sold via owner financing. The person sold their home, but now they have to manage the loan. They may need the money, whether it is to allow them to buy a new home or simply get cash to fund their retirement. In these cases, you might offer 80,000 dollars to buy a 100,000-dollar note. If they accept, you receive the interest and principal on a 100,000 dollar loan but only paid 20,000 dollars for it.

Another class of desperate sellers is the private lender with a slow or non-paying borrower. They’re not getting the income they expected. They may be reluctant to foreclose on a slow-paying family member. Or they may not want the property back. You can buy these notes for far less than their face value. However, you’re going to either need to ramp up collection efforts or foreclose on the property. Only buy notes like this if you have a plan for how to monetize the property, whether you rent it out, sell it to someone else or redevelop the property.

3. Getting Rich By Flipping Real Estate

This is another proven way to make quick money in real estate to get rich. Fix and Flip is a specific form of real estate investing. The investor buys a home, pays for repairs and renovations, and then sells the property for a profit. This type of real estate investing is the subject of numerous reality shows. The reality is that this form of real estate investing is high-risk. If you’ve underestimated rehabilitation costs, you could lose money.

If you put too much money into the investment property because you don’t understand your target market and buyer expectations, you’ve probably wiped out your real estate profit margins. Whether there are problems with the selling price, the real estate agent, the neighborhood, or how the property looks, every month the house sits on the market subtracts the property’s carrying costs from your profit margin.

If you try to do the repairs yourself to save money, the theoretical savings on labor costs are offset by the delays in getting the property to market. If you’re not already a skilled building contractor, there is a risk that DIY repairs don’t meet the code or potential buyers’ expectations. Then you may lose everything on the deal because you have to pay for someone else to redo what you thought was done. The ideal fix and flip is a property that only needs cosmetic repairs, but these are truly rare.

4. Making Money Through Real Estate Investment Trusts

Real Estate Investment Trusts or REITs allow you to invest in real estate without having to buy and manage a property. REITs may be invested in mortgages, properties, or a mix of both. You can diversify your holdings in real estate by buying REITS invested in particular market niches. Because REITs are publicly listed, you can buy and sell shares on the open market, making your money more liquid and allowing you to diversify your investments. One of the benefits of REITs is their non-correlation with other types of equities.

This means that the value of REITs depends on the real estate market, not the stock market. REITs are available in publicly traded and non-traded forms. The Securities and Exchange Commission recommends against non-traded REITs due to their high fees, the challenge of liquidating them, and the risk they may become worthless. Publicly traded REITs are as liquid as stocks and bonds. REITs stand out for their regular payment of dividends, something that a decreasing share of stocks offers anymore. Clearly, this also shows a way to make money in real estate and get rich.

5. Making Money Through Real Estate ETFs and Mutual Funds

You can buy exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds that are broadly diversified or targeted to a particular sector. And you can buy ETFs and mutual funds that are themselves invested in real estate. For example, it is possible to buy ETFs that invest in real estate stocks such as publicly-traded home builders. Some ETFs invest in REITs, as well. There are mutual funds that invest in real estate developers and property management firms. Both investments are handled by a fund manager (ETFs are passively managed, and mutual funds are actively managed).

ETFs are less expensive than mutual funds, and you can trade them like stocks at any time during market hours. The benefits of investing in ETFs and mutual funds include high liquidity and low costs. Forget cashing out your 401K or 403B plan to buy rental real estate, since this strategy allows you to invest in real estate within tax-advantaged retirement accounts. You don’t need a lot of money upfront to start investing this way. Conversely, you may not receive dividends. You may not receive any returns until you sell the appreciated shares.

6. Using Private Lending To Making Money in Real Estate

Hard money lenders loan money to those utilizing the fix-and-flip strategy. They may lend money to those buying a property to renovate and then rent out; the property investor, in this case, would secure a traditional mortgage after they have an attractive property bank that will now consider as collateral. Acting as a bank to property buyers yields a higher rate of return than you’d see if you left money sitting in the bank. You have to do your due diligence since mistakes could mean you don’t have a valid lien against the property.

For those not yet ready to invest a large sum into a single project, crowdfunding is an option. You can loan money to someone who wants to buy a rental property or secure a down payment on their own home. In either case, the loans are high-risk and illiquid. Another issue is that hard money lending of more than modest means that SEC rules apply. If you don’t meet the income and net worth requirements set by the SEC, you may not be allowed to loan money to real estate investors unless it is in token amounts through a crowdsourcing site.

7. Increase In Wealth Through Real Estate Appreciation

When the value of a property increases, we call this “appreciation.” While appreciation is not always guaranteed but historically real estate prices have appreciated over the long term. So, again, appreciation alone is not likely going to make you a millionaire but real estate has always increased in the US, averaging 3% per year over the past century. For example, if you purchased a property for $250,000 2 years ago, and today that property is worth $350,000, the appreciation made you $100,000 richer or in other words, your assets grew by $100,000.

Another type of appreciation that can come into play is known as “forced appreciation,” the concept of increasing the value by physically upgrading the property through renovation. Any form of appreciation makes you money in real estate and you become richer. Click on the link to find out how investing in Kansas City real estate can help you gain wealth.

8. Opting For 1031 Exchange in Real Estate

As a real estate investor, you can use this tax code called 1031 Exchange to sell an investment real estate and use the profit to buy a new one that is of equal or greater value. In this way, you can defer paying taxes until that next property is sold or you can opt for another 1031 Exchange. When you choose to sell your property, you are required to pay taxes for your capital gains. With the help of section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code, you are permitted to postpone paying taxes when you reinvest those gains in another property. IRS considers that you are exchanging your old property for another real estate property.

9. Loan Pay Down

When you purchase a rental property with a mortgage, each month you make a payment to the lender. That payment includes two parts: principal and interest. Interest is the profit for the lender, but the principal is the money you are paying down the loan with. Over time, your tenant is essentially paying the loan down for you, helping you build wealth automatically. For example, if you purchased a house five years ago for $100,000 and obtained an $80,000 mortgage (we’ll say it was a 30-year mortgage with a 5 percent fixed rate), today you would owe only $74,000.

Ten years from now, you would owe only $65,000. This means that every year your equity increases. You'd gain value, as long as the property value didn't drop. And if it made $0 in cash flow or broke even and never climbed in value, still after the mortgage is paid off, you’ll now have a property worth $100,000 or more that you didn’t save for. Your tenant paid it off due to the “loan pay-down.” This can't happen if you pay all your cash or savings for the property and don't go for the mortgage options. This is the smartest strategy for making money in real estate to get rich.

10. Refinancing Your Mortgage For Better Cash Flow

You can also opt for refinancing your mortgage. The number one benefit of refinancing your mortgage is to obtain a loan at a lower rate of interest and also to decrease the monthly mortgage payment amount. One of the benefits of refinancing your mortgage is also that refinancing provides the borrower with fresh money at lower interest rates due to which the homeowner can lower his/her monthly payment amount. Another advantage of refinancing your mortgage is that the decrease in the interest rates allows homeowners to replace an existing loan with another with an added benefit of a shorter loan term and no change in the payment amount.

Is Real Estate The Best Way To Make Money or Build Wealth?

While making money in real estate you can minimize the risks and get a high return on your investment but it comes with proper education and experience. You may be fixing and flipping properties. You may be buying fixer-uppers, repairing them, and renting them out. Or you might be buying existing rental properties with tenants, knowing you can improve the cash flow by getting rid of non-paying tenants and adding amenities that allow you to up the rental rates.

It doesn’t matter which strategy you use as long as you pick one and master it. You need to learn a lot of things and also understand the risks involved before buying your first investment property. Location is your priority for a successful real estate investment. It would enhance your chances of selling the property further.

Real estate is one of the best investments available to make a lot of money, assuming you buy properties that have good fundamentals in their favor. It is one of the few businesses where banks are almost eager to loan you money, whereas banks reject roughly half of all business loans. Real estate almost always appreciates at a rate higher than the rate of inflation. Property appreciation rates have averaged 3 to 5 percent annually for the past thirty years.

It takes a dramatic downturn like the Great Depression or the Great Recession of 2007-2012 to hurt property values across the board. Know that real estate is ultimately local, so individual real estate markets can collapse due to lack of demand or dramatic over-building though the national market is steadily growing. One of the points in favor of real estate is that you’re holding a real asset. A company could go bankrupt and wipe out the value of its shares. They could be hit with a massive lawsuit, and the dividends they were paying disappears.

When you own quality real estate, the value won’t go down unless the area as a whole becomes undesirable. As long as you don’t have to sell it in a hurry, you can get your money back. That’s why private mortgage insurance is canceled once you hit 20 percent equity in the property. All of this explains why real estate investing is safer than stock market investing. It is possible to buy real estate for capital gains. Buying condos in the hope of flipping them for a profit is one such case.

Buying land to eventually sell to developers is another. However, real estate offers significant cash flow. You can rent out apartments, condos, single-family houses, and commercial spaces. This generates monthly cash flow for the owner. The cash flow is offset by tax-deductible expenses like maintenance, property taxes, and insurance. There are a variety of ways to calculate the return on investment for rental real estate. If you use the cap rate equation, a good ROI is 10 percent, while 12 percent is considered excellent.

The cap rate is generally used because the equation is straightforward. (NOI / purchase price x 100 percent). Note that these returns are based on the income you see with every rent check. Appreciation of the property is a capital gain you don’t realize unless you sell the property. When you invest in real estate, you could achieve a million-dollar or greater net worth simply because the properties you own and manage have gone up in value over the years.

Few of us have the cash on hand to buy the property outright. This is why many put a down payment on a property before repairing it. They may then rent it out or flip it. Renting it out generates steady income that has significant legal protection since you can generally evict non-paying tenants. The cash on cash returns take the mortgage on a property into account, and you can easily see a double-digit ROI using this equation.

Flipping the property or selling it after you’ve purchased it and repaired it will generate a profit. However, this approach is riskier than renting out real estate. You lose money every month you hold the property and pay carrying costs like the mortgage. If you sell the property for less than it is worth, you could lose tens of thousands of dollars. On the other hand, if you buy real estate and rent it out, you’ll get more for the property from investors because it comes with an income stream, the existing tenant.

References

REITs | Fix and flip
https://thecollegeinvestor.com/10414/ways-to-invest-in-real-estate
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jrose/2018/04/18/real-estate-investing-without-buying-property/#7b1b9b511496

Crowdfunding and Hard Money Lending
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2017/08/23/diversified-portfolio-5-ways-invest-real-estate/588610001

Appreciation
https://www.zillow.com/research/zillow-home-value-appreciation-5235

PMI
https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/how-to-dump-pmi-asap

ROI
https://www.mashvisor.com/blog/rate-of-return-on-a-rental-property
https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rental-investing-earn-2000-month

Strategy to make money
https://www.businessinsider.com/secret-to-wealth-real-estate-2015-4
https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rental-investing-earn-2000-month
https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/plan-to-make-a-million

Loan Pay Down
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brandonturner/2016/10/18/4-things-you-need-to-become-a-millionaire-through-real-estate-investing/#3c402999247a

Business loans rejected
https://www.biz2credit.com/blog/2019/05/13/6-reasons-small-businesses-get-rejected-for-loans/

Top 10 Features of a Profitable Rental Property

May 18, 2023 by Marco Santarelli

If you're considering a long-term investment in real estate, rental property can be a great option for you. We will be discussing the best features of a profitable rental property which can assure great returns with stability. Rental property investment (or simply buy-to-let investment) is a very viable form of investment. As an investment avenue, it more often than not guarantees you a steady return on your investment. This, alongside forming a fairly strong protective hedge around your financial future.

Rental property investment continues to grow in the US. This growth is attributed to rapid urbanization and changes in per capita income alongside other socio-economic factors such as the unaffordability of homeownership. Young Americans are delaying home purchases due to steep prices that remain out of reach for many, which is expanding the rental housing market.

Homeownership is in decline after a few years of modest gains. The decline is seen among all age groups, with people under 35 seeing the largest decline. Therefore, rental demand is expected to increase significantly over the next five years, with many high-population locations currently facing rental housing shortages. As of now, 40.7 million or 34.6% of occupied housing units are renter-occupied. This suggests that demand for rental housing is on the rise, and that supply is failing to keep up with it.

In 2021, the nationwide homeownership rate declined 3.7% year-over-year (YoY) and the number of owner-occupied units declined 4.0% YoY. Homeowner vs. renter statistics reflects a decline in homeownership, with 36% of American households renting their home. 78.7 million out of a total of 122.8 million households are homeowning. 44.1 million households rent their homes. 2.7% of occupied housing units are second homes. 11% of all housing units are vacant. In the first financial quarter of 2021, the homeownership rate was 65.4%.

The Census Bureau counted nearly 20 million rental properties, with 48.2 million individual units, in its 2018 Rental Housing Finance Survey, the most recent one conducted. Individual investors owned nearly 14.3 million of those properties (71.6%), comprising almost 19.9 million units (41.2%). For-profit businesses of various sorts owned 3.7 million properties or 18.8%, but their holdings totaled 21.7 million units or 45% of the total. Entities such as housing cooperative organizations and nonprofits owned smaller shares of the total.

Individual investors are more likely to own single-family and duplex rental homes while big institutional investors own multi-family rental properties. The surveys show that 28% of renter-occupied homes are detached single-family units and 42% of renters live in single-family homes. The majority of the largest owners of apartments in the U.S. are real estate investment trusts (REITs), which are companies that own (and usually operate) income-producing real estate. In 2018, there were 226 REITs in the United States, who owned a combined 821 billion U.S. dollars of assets, and who had a combined market capitalization of one trillion U.S. dollars.

The rental returns in the U.S. have been steadily climbing in recent times. However, when seeking to invest in a rental property as a beginner, you must tread cautiously. This will help you to avoid common risks in rental property investing. Real estate although a profitable field is also equally a very tricky one. There's a lot to be wary of including con agents and dealers, substandard properties, and exorbitant charges among others. It's just important that you exercise caution before buying anything.

Talking about being careful, there's one mistake that every rental property investor must seek to avoid. What is this? Well, it's the mistake of buying an unprofitable rental property. Purchasing such a rental property is like taking all your hard-earned money and throwing it away. The property will just be sitting there with you barely earning anything from it. Worse still, it may even take from you in the form of repair and maintenance expenses.

Top 10 Features of a Profitable Rental Property

Investors seeking to invest in rental properties should always first ascertain a property's viability. There's only one way to know if a given property is indeed profitable, this is by checking if it meets the profitable rental property criteria. Below is a list of the top 10 features of a profitable rental property that you shouldn't ignore.

1. A Property Worth Your Money

Before anything else, a real estate investor should be convinced that the given rental property is financially worthwhile. Ask yourself whether the property in its current or improved state is worth spending your money on. How much rent is it likely to earn you per month?

What's the cost of repairs and refurbishment? Is it worth it? These are the kind of questions you should be asking yourself beforehand. An ideal rental property should earn you an annual gross rent of at least 12% of the purchase price. Apply the one percent rule to help you determine this.

The monthly rent you'll be collecting should at least be 1% of the house's value. This is one of the best features of a profitable rental property considered by seasoned real estate investors. Additionally, you can also involve a financial expert to help you determine the cap rate. This too will help you decide on whether the property is worth it.

2. A Neighborhood With Favorable Clients and Low Vacancy Rates

There isn't any other way, a rental property owner needs tenants. This is the only way he or she can earn income from the property they've invested in. The amount of income you make from a rental property is directly proportional to the neighborhood it's located in.

Neighborhoods with high rent rates will earn you more money than those with less. Likewise, neighborhoods with a higher caliber of clients will also earn you more. A perfect illustration of this is a case where there're two neighborhoods, one dominated by college students and the other with working-class family occupants. It goes without much saying that the latter will earn you more profits.

Too many vacancies could also mean the area is unattractive due to crime or other factors. Investigating the area with a local real estate agent can give you insight into the safety of the neighborhood and the reasons for the abundance of rental properties. This is also one of the features of a profitable rental property that you should always keep in mind.

3. A Safe And Secure Neighborhood

Security is very key when it comes to rental property investing. No tenant can knowingly want to live in an insecure neighborhood where crime or burglary rates are high. This holding true, your rental property business is unlikely to thrive in an unsafe and crime-infested area.

One of the features of a profitable rental property is that it should be located in a very safe neighborhood. Burglaries and theft are the most reported crimes in the U.S., so renters want to know that their families and items are secure. Areas, where vandalism and crime rates are high, are areas to avoid when considering purchasing a rental property.

Therefore, choose a neighborhood with adequate security when purchasing a property. Check things like street lighting, patrol police presence, proximity to sheriff departments, and crime data reports among others.

4. Presence of Schools With High Ratings

profitable rental property — Picture Credit: https://writix.co.uk

The availability of highly-rated schools is another key indicator of a rental property's potential profitability. The presence of educational facilities greatly determines whether tenants choose to settle in one place or not. It's all parents' wish to give their children a high-quality education that can spur them forward in life.

Parents can therefore never wish to live in an area that lacks quality schools and educational hubs. There should be elementary, middle, and high schools of good standards in the neighborhood.

This is also one of the best features of a profitable rental property. You can check the school ratings from sites like Greatschools.org. Using their school quality information, you can check the ratings of all the schools in your community. As an investor, take care, therefore, to pick a location with the best schools and learning abilities.

5. Presence of Physical and Social Amenities

Rental property investment thrives in areas with adequate amenities. Tenants want to be able to always access the facilities and services they require. These include things like shopping malls, gyms, medical facilities, and restaurants. They also include services such as telephone, water, electricity, and internet. Tenants will readily occupy your house if they can conveniently access these amenities – another great feature of a profitable rental property.

6. Adequate Transport Facilities

Related to socio-economic amenities, adequate transport also plays a significant part in rental property investment. The rental real estate business can only do well in areas with adequate transport. It’s smart to figure out the time you’ll spend commuting from home to the places that are important to you. Do you have quick access (within a few blocks) to a transportation system?

Ask yourself these questions:

Does your would-be neighborhood have a good network of roads?
Are the roads tarmacked?
Do they have potholes or get flooded when it heavily rains?
Is there enough public transport?
Are there other means of transport aside from road – Airports, Buses, and Tubes?

These questions will help you choose a profitable rental property.

7. Adequate Sanitation

You can't talk of the features of a profitable rental property without also talking about sanitation. There's a need that the rental property you intend to buy to be in a place with adequate sanitation. Tenants tend to shy away from places with want hygiene and sanitation.

Picture this, no one would wish to live in a place where flies dash in and out at will or where drains lie open, or where there is a badly managed sewage system.

Try and pick a property with sufficient sanitation. Check on things like waste disposal, toilets, sanitary facilities, septic tanks, water and sewerage, stormwater drainage, etc. The cleaner the house and the neighborhood are, the higher the number of profits you can make from it.

8. Favorable Climate

Climate too plays an important part in the success of a profitable rental property investing business. Houses located in places with inclement weather usually struggle to attract clients. It's, therefore, necessary that you choose a location with the right climate for your property.

In line with picking the right climate, avoid cities that tend to have extreme and harsh weather. Also, avoid areas that are prone to floods and even fires.

9. Areas Devoid of Natural Disasters

Another important feature of a profitable rental property is that it should not be located in an area prone to natural disasters. With natural disasters and calamities, you really can't say whether a place is immune to destruction or not. It's just a matter of hoping for the best. Anywhere, there are places that from past occurrences have been known to be highly prone to natural disasters.

These include disasters such as tornadoes, hurricanes, windstorms, wildfires, storms, and even earthquakes. Places such as these are not very suitable location choices for rental properties. In the event of such disasters, one loses all their investment. This can be quite unfortunate if you also didn't have insurance cover against such eventualities.

10. Favorable Property Taxes

Property taxes on property in a given city or state also determine the profitability of rental property investment. The higher the taxes and charges levied by the government in a given area, the less you'll earn from investing in that area. Try and choose an area with attractive state levies.

Depending on where you live, you may qualify for a property tax exemption offered by your state, county, or local jurisdiction. Several other states have property tax rates under 1%, many of which are located in the south region of the country.

As an example, Alabama has both a low tax rate (0.40%) and home prices that are well below the median home value in the U.S. You can find high-quality investment properties at reasonable market prices in the Birmingham real estate market.

How To Find A Profitable Rental Property For SALE

Investing in a rental property can be a hugely profitable venture or a financial mistake. It all depends on how you go about it. You will not make money in real estate unless you buy a profitable rental property in a growing real estate market. Try and take your time before putting your money on any property. Check carefully and be sure that it is worthwhile. Depending on your situation, you can go about the property purchase on your own or involve a real estate agent. Whatever the case, you should be able to reek in some profits from the right property.

Go for reputed turnkey real estate companies and buy rent-ready properties. Then, hire a good property management company that would find qualified tenants as well manage the property on your behalf. When shopping for expertise remember, there are no stupid questions. But lots of stupid answers. Consult with one of the investment counselors who can help build you a custom portfolio of turnkey cash-flow rental properties in the various growth markets across the United States.

Here are some of the growing real estate markets where you can invest in a rental property and get good returns:

All you have to do is fill up this form and schedule a consultation at your convenience. We’re standing by to help you take the guesswork out of real estate investing. By researching top real estate growth markets and structuring complete turnkey real estate investments, we help you succeed by minimizing risk and maximizing profitability.

We offer investors fully refurbished as well as new construction residential properties ranging from single-family homes up to fourplex multi-units.
Our properties make sense the day you buy them.
There is nothing that needs to happen for the property to be a good wealth-building investment.
We select markets based on several factors.
At a high level, we consider economic factors that include job growth, unemployment, population growth, as well as the condition of the local housing market such as inventory, home price trends, etc.
Some of our properties come with a rent guarantee ranging from three months to one year.

References:

http://www.nmhc.org/Content.aspx?id=4708
https://ipropertymanagement.com/research/renters-vs-homeowners-statistics
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/mortgages-real-estate/08/buy-rental-property.asp
https://www.baymgmtgroup.com/blog/the-top-10-features-of-a-good-rental-investment
https://wealthmasteryacademy.com/top-10-features-of-a-profitable-rental-property
https://money.usnews.com/investing/real-estate-investments/articles/2017-08-23/a-guide-for-investing-in-rental-property

22 Best Real Estate Websites for Buyers and Sellers 2023

May 10, 2023 by Marco Santarelli

We’re not going to tell you where to go to find a real estate investment loan or good building contractor; you can find recommendations in those areas almost anywhere. Instead, we’re going to focus on the best real estate websites that make it easier to perform due diligence when researching properties and simplify the process of finding, vetting, and managing tenants. A website is a key tool you can use to find real estate for sale. They are also an ideal place to share listings if you are a seller or an agent because it makes it easy for potential buyers to search for homes.

According to the annual survey conducted by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® of recent homebuyers, for 43% of recent buyers, the ﬁrst step that they took in the home buying process was to look online at properties for sale, while 18% of buyers ﬁrst contacted a real estate agent. The survey also shows that the share of home buyers who used the internet to search for a home increased to an all-time high of 97%. 64% of recent buyers were very satisfied with their recent home buying process.

According to global statistics consolidator Statista, real estate websites are visited more than 120 million times each month, with dominant players like Zillow racking up 36 million unique visitors monthly. This shows that real estate websites are becoming very popular on the internet day by day. They add value to buyers, sellers, and investors.

Buyers can preview hundreds of homes within a few hours from the comfort of their couch. Home sellers can also list their houses which can be viewed by hundreds of shoppers in the market to buy a new home. In addition to it, sellers can find out what their home is worth, look up the sale prices of homes in their area, read up on real estate market trends, and connect with top professionals in the field at the click of a button.

The best real estate websites are those that are easily searchable online, have high-resolution images and weekly market updates, and all the information necessary for buyers and sellers. The websites should have a well-organized menu and an easy-to-navigate layout where visitors can quickly find listings they might be interested in.

Some of these sites can help real estate investors as well who don't have much margin for error when their mistakes have multiple zeroes on the end. When you need to find properties that are a bargain at the buy, don't cost a fortune to fix up, and can be sold for a profit, it requires having the best possible information at every step of the way.

22 Best Real Estate Websites For Buyers And Sellers in 2023

Here is the list of the 22 best real estate websites in 2023 for buying, selling, renting, or managing real estate. These websites provide a plethora of unique features, tools, data analytics, and automated software for real estate buyers, sellers, investors, and landlords. Some new and unique real estate websites have been made into the list which you may or may not be aware of.

1. Best Real Estate Website – Zillow.com

best real estate websites: Zillow group — Pic Credits: Zillow.com

Zillow.com is one of the biggest and best real estate websites for people buying and selling homes. It is more than a website for letting you browse property listings, though its large MLS database is reason enough to make it to this list. It is unusual for letting you search specifically for foreclosures and newly built homes. We list it here because of its massive, free data sets. For example, it shows you historical home values for an area and projected property values by neighborhood.

It lets you see the average rents, too. They attract visitors by offering free advice on determining how much you can afford in rent and tips on how to fill out a rental application. Zillow has a large database of homes for sale or rent. This may let you find potential rental properties as well as learn the comparable rental rate for a neighborhood. In contrast, sites like Rentometer only let you estimate the rent for a given property. And Zillow helps you to find mortgage lenders, once you find a property you want to buy.

It can connect renters and landlords, as well. Furthermore, you should be checking the rental rates charged for comparable properties in the area so you don’t charge too much and have the property sit vacantly. If you want to find properties in a given area, the Zillow “make me move” feature is invaluable. You can find properties that aren’t officially on the market and make an offer. Zillow is free to buyers and sellers. It is a source to drive leads to the advertisers and makes money by charging advertising fees to agents, lenders, and other home service providers.

In addition to the for-sale and rental listings on Zillow.com;

Zillow now buys and sells homes directly through Zillow Offers, helping people move with less hassle and more control.
Zillow Home Loans, Zillow’s affiliated lender, provides mortgage pre-approval and financing.
Zillow Closing Services, Zillow’s affiliated title, and escrow provider offer title and closing services.
Zillow Premier Agent offers support through a trusted network of real estate professionals.

Zillow's consumer brands include Trulia, StreetEasy, and HotPads.

best real estate website zillow group — Pic Credits: Zillow.com

2. Best Real Estate Website – Realtor.com

best real estate websites — Pic Credits: Realtor.com

Operated by Move, Inc., Realtor.com® offers a comprehensive list of for-sale properties, as well as the information and tools to make informed real estate decisions. It comes to our list of the best real estate websites because they provide a variety of valuable information. For example, it provides a quick snapshot of local markets like the median sale price and average price per square foot so you can estimate what a house is worth on the market in good condition.

It can show you the properties that just hit the market and the ones that have sat for months, nearly guaranteeing the sellers will take any reasonable offer. If you identify good prospects, the site can connect you with their real estate agent so you can arrange a tour. It also offers homeowners a bevy of useful tools and resources through the My Home℠ dashboard.

This dashboard allows property owners to manage their homes like the important investment it is by tracking their home’s value over time, researching and managing home improvements, and scouting other similar properties in the neighborhood.

While this site isn’t the best one for listing a rental property, it should be on the list of sites where you add your newly available rental to maximize the number of possible tenants who see it. Realtor.com earns money primarily through advertising fees. The app and website are free to buyers and renters.

Here’s what you can do with Realtor.com

ListHub: It helps you compete for listings by maximizing your online exposure across a network of 750+ real estate websites, including options for international exposure.
EssentialsSM Toolkit: With more than a million agents working nationwide, this toolkit from realtor.com® helps you rise above the crowd. It’s a powerful way to begin building your brand and business online.
ConnectionsSM Plus: It is a complete lead generation system to get you in front of serious local buyers searching on realtor.com®. Receive high-quality buyer leads and the tools you need to respond quickly, make a connection, and keep them engaged throughout the process.
Market Reach: It creates automated, professionally-designed real estate ads to showcase your listings, brand, and community on Facebook and Instagram and then targets active and engaged home shoppers to help you fuel your pipeline with quality leads.

3. Best Real Estate Website – Redfin.com

Redfin is a real estate brokerage. The Seattle-based company was founded in 2004 and went public in Aug. 2017. Glenn Kelman is the CEO. Redfin's business model is based on sellers paying Redfin a small fee. The company claims that Redfin Agents close 3x more deals, so they have the experience to help you sell your home for top dollar.

As a seller, you can get more out of your home equity by selling for more in a hot market and a low listing fee. Through Redfin.com, you can give buyers an online interactive view of your home with no need for in-person viewings. They’ll promote your home with email campaigns, premium placement across Redfin.com, and social media ads.

Redfin has deepened its technology beyond the initial search to make the home tour, the listing debut, the escrow process, the whole process, faster, easier and worry-free. They have given customers more value, not just by saving each thousand in fees, but by investing in every home we sell, by measuring our performance and improving constantly.

This real estate website strives to develop technology that improves the process of buying and selling a home every step of the way. Here are some of the best features.

Redfin Estimate: It is a calculation of the market value of an individual home.
Redfin App: Peruse thousands of homes for sale, get detailed information on each and even schedule a home tour directly from the app.
Draw Your Own Search: On the Redfin iPhone app, draw a line around the exact area where you want to search for homes.
Redfin Home Dashboard: A comprehensive online resource for home sellers that provides real-time data on their homes.
Offer Insights: Real-time statistics and notes from Redfin agents about thousands of offers submitted on behalf of Redfin clients.
Redfin Hot Homes™: Informs Redfin users if a home is likely to sell in two weeks or less
Search by School: This shows all the homes for sale served by a certain school with one easy search.
Redfin Affordability Calculator: Provides an estimate of how much a homebuyer can spend on a home based on their location, income, down payment, and monthly debt.

4. National Association of REALTORS® (NAR)

best real estate website NAR — Credits: NAR Logos and Trademark

The National Association of REALTORS® is America's largest trade association, representing 1.4 million members, including NAR's institutes, societies, and councils, involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries. Their members include residential and commercial brokers, salespeople, property managers, appraisers, counselors, and others engaged in the real estate industry.

NAR also functions as a self-regulatory organization for real estate brokerage. The organization is headquartered in Chicago. The association has its code of ethics to which it requires its members to adhere. N.A.R. members belong to one or more of approximately 1,200 local associations/boards and 54 state and territory associations of REALTORS®. As of 2020, the NAR has over 1.38 million members worldwide, including 600,000 members in the United States.

One of the biggest advantages of using their website is the detailedness and authentication of housing data. They provide the latest real estate research and statistics that affect the industry. NAR governs the hundreds of local Multiple Listing Services (MLSs) which are the information exchanges used across the nation by real estate brokers. However, many MLSs are independent of NAR, although membership is typically limited to licensed brokers and their agents.

Research Reports: They do research on a wide range of topics of interest to real estate practitioners, including market data, commercial, international, home buying, and selling, NAR member information, and technology. There is a research division that collects and disseminates real estate data and conducts economic analysis to provide knowledge of the latest trends and statistics. Delivery of this information takes place via press releases, reports, presentations, and daily blog posts about the overall economy and housing market.

Housing Market Statistics: NAR produces housing statistics on the national, regional, and metro-market levels where data is available. National and regional housing statistics include existing home sales, pending home sales index, and the housing affordability index. The organization releases existing home sales monthly, providing national and regional price and volume statistics.

State & Metro Area Data: Here you can find real estate data for the state and metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in which you live and work.

Commercial Research: In this section, you can find “The annual Commercial Lending Survey,” which provides insights into REALTORS®' commercial financing conditions. The report details liquidity conditions, market impact, funding sources, and respondents' comments.

The organization also works to protect private property rights, promote homeownership, and lobbies to maintain reasonable credit and other standards at the federal level.

5. Best Real Estate Website – Trulia.com

Trulia is a consumer brand of the Zillow Group. The company goes beyond the typical listings, by sourcing insights straight from locals and offering over 34 neighborhood map overlays, to give people a deeper understanding of what living in a home and neighborhood is like.

It also provides a transit score for each property, a value that allows to you identify properties that people who don’t want to own a car will pay a premium for. The ranking of properties by their popularity should be seen as market research.

Know which property types or areas are seen as desirable, but don’t get into a bidding war on “hot” properties. You can explore neighborhoods on Trulia by browsing original neighborhood photos, drone footage, resident reviews, and local insights to see if the homes for sale are right for you.

Here’s what you can do with Trulia.com

best real estate website trulia — Credits: Trulia.com

6. Best Real Estate Website – Neighborhoodscout.com

best real estate websites: Neighborhoodscout — Pic Credits: Neighborhoodscout.com

Neighborhoodscout.com gives you the most accurate, comprehensive, neighborhood-specific crime, demographic, housing, school performance, and real estate trend and forecast analytics available today, with seamless coverage for the entire United States. Scout Vision™ Trends & Forecasts offer the most timely and accurate home price and home appreciation rate predictions for every micro-neighborhood in the U.S. With this comprehensive information, an investor can easily decide whether to buy, hold, sell, or lend on their property.

It reduces the amount of time spent searching for real estate by pinpointing the locations that best meet your specific criteria. As a paid user you get predictive analytics and exclusive data and insights for every neighborhood and address in the United States. It's unique in the way that it reveals the details about every Neighborhood in the U.S., address by address.

Here’s what you can do with Neighborhoodscout.com

Crime Data: NeighborhoodScout Crime Analytics uses hundreds of sophisticated spatial algorithms to process 9 million+ reported crimes into nationally-comparable crime data of unprecedented accuracy, with complete coverage for every neighborhood and address in America.
Demographics: NeighborhoodScout Demographic Analytics derive insights from hundreds of raw inputs to produce one-of-a-kind data patterns for population, migration, lifestyle suitability, walkability, cultural character, education, incomes, ages, employment, diversity, and more. Indexed against national averages for comparison.
Real Estate Data: NeighborhoodScout Real Estate Analytics provides the only micro-neighborhood housing market insights with exclusive market rent prices by the number of bedrooms, house values, property taxes and effective tax rate, years of average rent needed to buy the average house, housing stock profiles, physical neighborhood setting, seasonal and year-round vacancy rates, owner/renter mixes, and more, all in one place.
Public School Ratings: NeighborhoodScout School Quality Ratings provide the only nationally-comparable school quality rating available today. Promotes easy benchmarked comparison of school quality between schools, school districts, property addresses, and neighborhoods in any state or location.

7. Best Real Estate Website – Rentcafe.com

Rentcafe.com is a website prospective tenants will visit to understand the market rates for rent in given areas. You’ll learn what your prospective tenants expect to pay in various communities, which neighborhoods have a reputation for affordability and their expectations regarding lease terms. For example, this site informs them what they should expect to pay for utilities or how much more they’d pay for a lease that includes utilities.

Rentcafe is immensely helpful for renters as well. You can search for all types of apartments and also calculate how much rent you can afford. You can use their rent calculator to figure out how much you could spend on rent while keeping your finances in check. The calculator multiplies your gross monthly income by 20%, 30%, or 40%, based on how much you want to spend. You can use the slider to change the percentage of your income you want to spend on housing.

If you use the additional options, it deducts rent from your income and subtracts your debt, expenses, and savings from the remaining money, depending on which fields you filled in. The final number represents the money you have left to spend per month. The share of your income that should go towards paying your rent depends on many factors, the most important ones being your income level and where you want to live. Their rental income calculator starts with 30% as a standard for how much of your income you should set aside for rent.

They also have a Mobile App where you can check out listings posted by property managers and contact the property straight from the RENTCafé App – no intermediaries!

Here’s what you can do with RENTCafe.com

8. Best Real Estate Website – Nolo.com

Nolo.com is a legal resource that every landlord should be referencing if they don’t have a lawyer to consult. This website can provide information you can’t do without such as the terms you must abide by in a lease written for a specific state, how you must handle deposits, and the rules you must follow if someone is late with the rent.

For example, the website shares the legal disclosures landlords must provide every tenant when you search for the regulations that apply to landlords in a particular jurisdiction. You can quickly check to see when and for what reasons a tenant can withhold the rent and when they can deduct repairs from the rent.

9. Best Real Estate Website – eRentpayment.com

The website eRentpayment.com provides several services that landlords can appreciate. One service the website provides is tenant screening. You can ask them to fill out online applications instead of dealing with paperwork. Through the eRentpayment.com portal, they can submit credit checks and background checks. Many landlords will appreciate the eviction report that tells you whether they’ve been evicted in the past few years.

Another service it provides is online payment processing. You can use the site to receive rental payments from each tenant, and it will send them automatic reminders if they are approaching the due date. You can customize late fees so that the late fees are charged at a unique level by property. The site charges only a few dollars per month rent payment to collect the payment and send it to you as well as generate the receipts for everyone involved that rent was, indeed, paid.

Many tenants will appreciate the fact that the site tracks rental payments to credit reporting agencies, allowing them to improve their credit by paying you on time. The site even allows your tenants to submit maintenance requests, whether you handle the issues themselves or route them to the appropriate contractor.

10. Best Real Estate Website – Mysmartmove.com

Best real estate websites: Mysmartmove — Pic Credits: Mysmartmove.com

Mysmartmove.com is a site solely for background checks and credit checks of potential tenants. The basic package does a credit check against Transunion’s database and pulls a National Criminal Background Report. The “Plus” package adds an eviction report. The “Premium” level includes a full credit report and estimates their income.

When you ask a prospective tenant to submit data for the report, you’re sending the link from Mysmartmove to them. They fill out the necessary details and you receive the reports. They can be required to pay for the screenings to have the report submitted to you. This eliminates the need to process application fees, and you won’t be handling their sensitive information.

Complaints about the site are that up to a third of applicants don’t complete the background checks, but these may be the prospective tenants who don’t want you to know that they have had prior arrests or evictions. The only caveat here is that not every state feeds arrest reports to their system.

You should require a background check of every adult in the household to get an honest assessment of the family since one partner may have clean credit and a criminal record but the other has been arrested and/or evicted.

11. Best Real Estate Website – The Local Tax Appraisal District Website

The United States has fifty states and thousands of local taxing jurisdictions. The local tax appraisal website provides a wealth of information to prospective landlords and property buyers. For example, data mining tools mine these sites to find people who own more than one home. Letters get sent to their primary residence with offers to buy the other properties they own.

While some of these offer letters go to landlords who don’t plan on selling, they can drum up leads in the form of people who didn’t plan on leaving their old residence but had to do something to pay the bills. This periodically results in turnkey properties that already have tenants in them being offered for sale.

These websites yield other information, as well. Are there tax liens against the property? Are there mechanics liens or a mortgage against the property? This can give you an idea of what legal mess needs to be untangled before you make an offer. What does the county or city say it is worth?

A property can certainly be worth less than this estimate because it is in dire need of repair, but the tax district’s appraised value gives you an idea of what the authorities will use as the basis for your property tax bill unless you make a good case it is worth far less.

12. Best Real Estate Website – MLS.com

MLS.com is a free MLS search to find real estate MLS listings for sale by Realtors® and other realty professionals that are members of your local MLS Multiple Listing Service. MLS.com also features real estate news, common real estate questions and answers, real estate classes, mortgage information, and a mortgage calculator.

Find homes for sale, new homes and resale homes, new construction, acreage, lots, land, commercial property, and investment property. The company helps make it quick and easy for you to search and find real estate located all across the USA through its advertised real estate agents’ websites.

MLS.com can help you find providers of many of the services needed in a real estate transaction. The real estate website features some of the best-known and most respected names in real estate.

13. Best Real Estate Website – NoradaRealEstate.com

Norada Real Estate Investments is a premier real estate investment firm providing investors with quality new and refurbished investment properties in growth markets throughout the United States. Founded in late 2003, they were the second nationwide provider of turnkey real estate – with properties as far south as Florida to as far north as Michigan.

Inc. Magazine ranked Norada Real Estate Investments as #925 on its annual list of the top 5000 fastest-growing private companies in America. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economy’s most dynamic segment — its independent small businesses.

Norada Real Estate Investments helps take the guesswork out of real estate investing. By researching top real estate growth markets and structuring complete turnkey real estate investments, they help you succeed by minimizing risk and maximizing profitability.

It offers investors fully refurbished as well as new construction residential properties ranging from single-family homes on up to fourplex multi-units. Their properties make sense the day you buy them. There is nothing that needs to happen for the property to be a good wealth-building investment. You can contact one of their Investment Counselors to ask any questions, or to discuss your investment goals.

14. Best Real Estate Website – Homes.com

Homes.com is also one of the best real estate websites where you can find all that you need to know about every phase in the home buying, selling, renting, and financing process. They’ve also compiled everything you need to know about how to rent a home – things to consider when renting a home-like choosing which amenities are important, what’s your rental budget and how to calculate the costs of homeownership, understanding your rental agreement, and how to do a rental property walk-through.

With their finance section, they’ve created some money-saving tips and advice to make the process a little easier while helping new homeowners and those looking to refinance get familiar with their financial capabilities.

You’ll also find useful information regarding how to understand your credit and what type of credit score you need to buy a home in addition to how to improve it. You can also find details about the components of a mortgage including the types of mortgage rates, how to understand mortgage down payments, and the steps to getting pre-approved by a lender.

15. Best Real Estate Website – Auction.com

best real estate websites auction.com — Pic Credits: Auction.com

Auction.com is the nation's leading online real estate marketplace offering over 30,000 discounted residential bank-owned and foreclosure home deals. It is also one of the best real estate websites which can help you reach your real estate investment goals by offering the largest selection of residential bank-owned and foreclosure homes. Auction.com’s marketplace has streamlined distressed property transactions for buyers and sellers.

With the help of technology and data science, they have created an unrivaled transaction platform that has resulted in $39 billion in sales, 4.4 million registered buyers on Auction.com, 329,000 properties sold to date, 30,000 properties available for sale, 1,000+ employees serving the needs of buyers and sellers, and more than 15,000 auctions per year in all 50 states.

The buyers can bid and purchase properties using their superior technology platform. Buyers can receive convenient access to property information, exclusive inventory, personalized property matches, onsite and online education, and customer support throughout the entire process. The sellers receive the nation’s largest and most reputable auction programs, an unrivaled marketing reach, and data intelligence and insights to move assets quickly.

16. Best Real Estate Website – Curbed.com

Since 2004, Curbed.com has been an integral part of the local news landscape online. They are uniquely primed to surface relevant local issues to a broad, national audience. Unlike a glossy shelter magazine, they see homes, streets, neighborhoods, and cities as inextricably related. Curbed.com covers 14 American cities, while their flagship site covers every place (and trend, and big idea) in between.

If you love where you live, chances are you feel as strongly about the new park on your corner as you do about your lack of a dishwasher or the sustainable properties of a concrete building in the desert. Curbed.com got you covered across 12 American cities, while our flagship site covers every place (and trend, and big idea) in between.

17. Best Real Estate Website – Activerain.com

Active Rain is a site similar to Bigger Pockets. It has more than three hundred thousand members. It is a real estate blog perfect for those who want to network with other real estate professionals, and they claim the world’s largest storehouse of real estate knowledge with over 4 million blog posts on all things real estate.

It was designed specifically to suit the needs of the real estate industry, especially for those who are interested in blogging for business within the real estate industry or for consumers seeking real estate knowledge. This real estate site includes real estate agents and mortgage brokers. There are new real estate investors and established ones.

There are thousands of blogs by real estate investors, agents, and brokers. You can find articles on how to qualify for a commercial real estate mortgage to advise on cleaning up a hoarder's house. Their blogs include built-in lead capture systems, social sharing tools, SEO structured content, and the ability to post your blog on a website with extremely high domain authority.

18. Best Real Estate Website – Popstream.com

best real estate website Propstream — Pic Credits: Propstream.com

Popstream is a paid-access site. Its biggest benefit is allowing you to find distressed home sellers. The database can feed you leads from foreclosures, liens, and tax sales. You can compare this data to the MLS to find people who need to sell a home before it goes to foreclosure or those who probably need to sell to settle a divorce. There's far more information than a dedicated site like Foreclosure.com.

It offers more information than average on outstanding mortgage balances and lets you estimate the existing equity based on the property's estimated value. The website can help you create lists of potential properties for purchase and then send emails or letters to them. The website advertises its ability to help you research properties as you're “driving for dollars”.

The Popstream mobile tool lets you track where you drive so you don't canvas the same area. And it lets you pull up data on the home right in front of you. PropStream offers its full-featured software access for a monthly cost of $97. For active real estate investors, profits from one deal found using the PropStream real estate software can wipe that cost out.

According to PropStream—Is The Only Professional Tool That Gives You The Data Software And Analytics To Solve Real-World Problems Across The Entire Country!

19. Best Real Estate Website – This Old House

There are plenty of projects best left to the professionals such as fixing that constantly flipping breaker or a plumbing problem. However, you may be able to fix any little issues yourself. This is where the website “This Old House” comes in. They show you how to fix many issues from stuck doors to leaking garbage disposals.

They provide information so you know when you need to hire a pro. They also give you the information you need to vet contractors, so you don't accidentally hire a fly-by-night operation. A side benefit is that you may save significant time and money repairing your own home.

For example, you can get a complete guide on what you need to know before putting a metal roof on your own home—the versatile looks, longevity, and peace of mind that come with a roof made of metal. The company serves over 15 million consumers each month with trusted home improvement information and expert advice.

The company boasts the two highest-rated home improvement shows on television in This Old House and Ask This Old House, the highly regarded This Old House Magazine, and a robust digital business at ThisOldHouse.com and across a myriad of platforms including social, podcasting, app, YouTube, and free ad-supported digital television. The brand continues to resonate with audiences across the world, as detailed by The New York Times, Salon, and The Atlantic.

20. Best Real Estate Website – SparkRental.com

best real estate websites: Spark Rental — Pic Credits: Sparkrental.com

SparkRental is one of the best real estate websites for landlords. It offers property management software services through the web portal. These tools are perfect for landlords with one to fifty rental units. For example, you can use their site to run background checks and credit reports. It lets you collect rent online or create state-specific leases.

You can report their rent payments or non-payment to credit bureaus. You can track expenses. One point in favor of SparkRental is that you can compare prices for services like HVAC repair and roof replacements against their price tables. The site has some content on real estate investing and property management.

However, they made our list of the best real estate websites because of their property management tools. From posting your vacant rental listings to many websites with one click to fast & easy tenant screening to powerfully-protective leasing documents, they have you covered. Their ongoing property management software includes online rent collection, expense tracking and ledgers, simple (and recorded!) communications with renters, property photo and legal document storage, and much more.

Here’s what you can do with Spark Rental

21. Best Real Estate Website – Stessa

Stessa is an alternative to SparkRental, though it has a few unique tools in its portfolio. Stessa helps rental property owners easily track, manage, and communicate the performance of their investments. As investors themselves, they created Stessa to easily keep track of property performance, finances, and the paper trail that comes with real estate investing–in one place.

The best thing about Stessa: Stessa is 100% free. Their goal is to provide powerful tools to the investor community at the lowest possible cost. That being said, they do offer optional, premium services for real estate investors for a fee, to assist with things like rent analysis, mortgage financing, and market research.

They allow investors to track the financial performance of individual properties and your real estate portfolio as a whole. This is similar to Quicken letting you see the total year-over-year return on your stock portfolio while allowing you to see the returns for each investment. Stessa provides many rental real estate management tools.

For example, you can connect payment accounts and property management accounts to Stessa. Now you can pull up a report and see who hasn't paid the rent this month out of your 40 tenants, or you could see who has a history of making late payments. Stessa is unusual among real estate websites for letting you create custom reminders and reports. Set up a notification that the tenant is late for the second time so you can file for eviction. Or let it give you personalized recommendations based on your unique real estate portfolio.

Here’s what you can do with Stessa

22. Best Real Estate Website – Land Watch

Most real estate websites are aimed at those who want to buy or rent out existing housing stock. What if you want to invest in a piece of land? You might want to buy it to develop it, or you may hope to resell the property later. LandWatch is one of the best real estate websites for finding raw land. It is the leading and largest site dealing in rural properties, land for sale, hunting land, farms for sale, ranches, log cabins, development sites, and homesites for vacation, recreation, or investment purposes.

Furthermore, it allows you to find properties that are bank-owned (think: bargain basement prices) or have owner financing. In the latter case, you don't have to worry about qualifying for a bank loan. Another benefit of LandWatch is that it periodically hosts land auctions. While Land Auction is primarily raw land, you can also search for commercial real estate. You can also advertise on their platform and reach land buyers searching for property across their network of leading rural real estate websites: LandWatch, Lands of America, and Land And Farm.

Summary

Anyone can search the MLS or read a thousand entries on Craigslist. Use the best real estate websites to find properties, sell them, and manage them in the interim. No one website provides all of the information you need, not even when they are theoretically competing with each other. Use the information that these best real estate websites provide so that you can perform thorough research on any prospective house or investment property before you make an offer.

What is the Ideal “Exit Strategy” in Real Estate?

February 10, 2023 by Marco Santarelli

What exactly is meant by the term “exit strategy?” Is it just cool venture capitalist jargon as they take their billion-dollar start-up profitably public? No, the phrase accurately describes the process of knowing when and how “to cash out” a real estate investment.

An exit strategy is an essential component of any investment plan, as it lays out how an investor plans to realize their profits and exit the investment. An effective exit strategy helps investors manage risk, avoid losses, and make informed decisions about their investments.

There are various types of exit strategies, including selling to a third party, taking a company public through an initial public offering (IPO), or liquidating assets. Regardless of the type of exit strategy, investors need to have a plan in place that aligns with their investment goals and risk tolerance. In this article, we will explore the importance of an exit strategy in investing and guide how to develop a comprehensive and effective plan.

An exit strategy is important for a number of reasons:

Manages risk: Having a well-planned exit strategy helps investors manage their risk and avoid potential losses. By setting clear goals and considering all potential outcomes, investors can make informed decisions about when to sell and how to realize their profits.
Maximizes profits: An exit strategy enables investors to maximize their profits by providing a clear plan for realizing gains and selling investments at the right time. This can help investors avoid missed opportunities and capitalize on market trends.
Increases flexibility: With an exit strategy in place, investors have more flexibility in their investment decisions. They can make quick, informed decisions about selling, holding, or reinvesting in order to take advantage of market conditions.
Reduces stress: Selling an investment can be a stressful process, but having a clear exit strategy can help reduce this stress by providing a roadmap for how to proceed. This can help investors make calm, rational decisions, even in uncertain market conditions.
Facilitates better decision-making: An exit strategy provides a framework for making informed investment decisions. By considering potential outcomes and planning for different scenarios, investors are better equipped to make decisions that are in their best interest.

Exit Strategy in Real Estate

An exit strategy is a method by which an investor cashes out of an investment. In real estate, an exit strategy is a plan for how you will sell your home, either in the short term or long term. It's a crucial step in the process of owning a home, as it can help you maximize your profits, reduce your stress, and make the transition to your next home as seamless as possible.

Preparing for your exit strategy involves researching the housing market, understanding your goals, and making any necessary repairs or upgrades to your home. By taking the time to plan and prepare, you can ensure that you sell your home quickly and for top dollar. In this article, we will explore the importance of an exit strategy and how to prepare for it.

A real estate exit strategy is a plan for selling a property, whether it be a single-family home, a rental property, or a commercial property. There are five main strategies in physical real estate investment, all of which involve different exits or realizing a return. Usually, an investor knows what he or she is going to do with a property before buying it. Everyone looks at cash flow, built-in equity, and repairs. If it’s a flip, they’ll buy the property, rehab it and sell it.

Here are a few examples of real estate exit strategies:

Flipping isn’t entirely dead across the country, especially in cities where inventory is beginning to tighten.
Flipping and holding means rehabbing a house and renting it out.
Holding involves buying an investment property and renting it.
A lease-option is selling the home to a tenant in place.
Wholesaling is buying at a low price and then typically selling it to another investor.

But how do you know when to sell a property that is producing income?

Different investors work on different timelines. For one person, it might be time to sell when the kids head off to college. For another, he might want to knock Europe off the bucket list three years from now. Someone else might have retirement age looming. “You have to have a business plan and know the objectives of that business plan, then you’ll know the answer,” says Alan Langston, executive director of the Arizona Real Estate Investors Association. “When you should get out versus when I should get out are two different answers.”

During the boom in the first half of the 2000s, speculators bought houses in hyper-inflated markets like Phoenix and Las Vegas and resold them within days or weeks. That’s not intelligent investment, Langston said.

“Speculators I can’t speak to,” he said. “I don’t care about them. They’re going to do nothing but screw up the market. Investors add value to everything they do. Speculators do not. Investors earn their money.”

“If I see speculators over my shoulder, I run,” says Greg Rand, author, radio host, and media commentator on real estate.

CREATING A TAXABLE EVENT

Rand’s exit strategy is simple: don’t have one.

“Never sell,” he said. “My experience in real estate both residential and commercial is that the people who do well approach it like they are building a portfolio, not trying to arbitrage the market. They don’t take it off the table.”

Only sell to buy a better property, Rand said.

When an investor sells a property and takes a profit this creates a taxable event. Now the profits are taxed at the current capital gains rates. If it’s a flip and the sale occurs less than 366 days from purchase this may be defined as ordinary income and be subject to ordinary business accounting and tax rules.

It is customary to shelter capital gains when a true investment trade-up to the better property is occurring. An investor can use an IRS Rule 1031 Exchange to defer the tax but must use a qualified intermediary to receive and disburse the purchase funds.

The investor must remain at arm’s length from the cash and complete the entire transaction within 180 days. Intermediary companies like IPX 1031 and 1031 Exchange Experts are ideal partners in understanding the details.

BUY, HOLD, RENT & RELAX

“That philosophy is serving us well,” said Rand. Our philosophy from the ground up is aggregating a portfolio intelligently. Keep your eye on assembling your assets. It’s not about ‘how can I find something to buy so I can find a 15% equity position.’ Think of it as a little money machine. Pull the cord, start the engine, and walk away from it.

What is the end goal? It’s to produce bulletproof wealth.

As Warren Buffett famously said: “Our favorite holding period is forever.”

How to Sell Your Home Fast: Guide With Tips and Strategies

February 10, 2023 by Marco Santarelli

Selling your home can be a time-consuming and stressful endeavor, especially if you wish to do so quickly. However, with the right approach, you can streamline the process and sell your home quickly. In this article, we will discuss some tips and tricks that will assist you in selling your home quickly.

Correctly pricing your home is one of the most crucial things you can do. This means conducting research to determine the selling prices of comparable homes in your area and then setting you asking price accordingly. Overpricing your home can reduce its appeal to potential buyers while underpricing it could mean leaving money on the table.

A second important factor in selling your home quickly is ensuring that it is in pristine condition. This includes cleaning and decluttering the space, making any necessary repairs, and possibly performing cosmetic upgrades to make the property more appealing to prospective buyers. You want to make an excellent first impression and design a space where people can envision themselves living.

Effective marketing of your home is also essential. This entails creating a listing with numerous photos, videos, and a thorough property description. It's also a good idea to hire a real estate agent who can help you reach more prospective buyers and negotiate the best deal. Also, be prepared to be adaptable and willing to make concessions. For instance, you may need to be willing to negotiate the asking price or close the deal quickly. The quicker you can sell your home, the more you're willing to cooperate with prospective buyers.

How to Sell Your Home Fast as an Investor?

If you’re a real estate investor, you know how important it is to be able to sell a house fast. Anything can happen in a short period of time, and you don’t want to risk losing value in your property just because it takes a long time to find a buyer to meet your asking price. When you’re flipping a house, you need to make sure that you do the proper renovations to increase the value of your property, but timing is of the essence because you need to be selling homes just as fast as you’re buying them. There are always a variety of changes you can consider to make your house more marketable.

Never doubt the importance of a professional real estate agent. Finding a good agent is hard these days as the housing market is always changing. We know what it’s like for homeowners and real estate investors, and that’s why we provide only the best advice when it comes to helping you sell quickly. We want you to be able to turn a house into cash. Our experts have knowledge in selling different kinds of housing and properties, working in a variety of different locations, and understanding the target buyers.

In order for your investments to work for you, you need to make sure your real estate is leaving the right impression on buyers. This might include playing up features that appeal to certain buyers. For example, if your property is located near a school, you can assume that a lot of buyers will have families, so you might want to draw attention to the number of bedrooms in the house or the size of the yard.

It’s also about the optics. Who wouldn’t want a newer house with more space? Whether you’re flipping a house or just buying low and selling high, a fresh coat of paint and some prop furniture can really go the extra mile. Maybe you’re just joining the real estate game, or maybe you’ve been investing in real estate for thirty years. Whatever the case may be, these tips can help you get ahead and sell your house in no time!

Tips on How to Sell Your Home Fast:

Selling your home can be a stressful process, but by setting the right price, making it look great, and utilizing technology, you can increase your chances of selling it quickly. It's also important to be flexible with negotiations and open to compromises to make the process smoother and faster.

Price it right: As mentioned earlier, setting the right price for your home is crucial to selling it fast.
Make it look great: Clean, declutter, and make necessary repairs. Consider giving your home a fresh coat of paint or updating fixtures.
Stage it: Staging can help potential buyers visualize living in your home, making it easier for them to make a decision.
Be flexible: Be open to negotiations and willing to make compromises to get the deal done faster.
Utilize technology: Utilize online listing platforms, virtual tours, and high-quality photos and videos to showcase your home to a wider audience.

How to Get Your Home Ready to Sell Fast:

Preparing your home for the market can make a significant impact on the speed of the sale. Cleaning, decluttering, making repairs, improving curb appeal, and hiring a professional inspector can all help make your home more appealing to potential buyers.

Clean thoroughly: Clean every nook and cranny of your home, including windows, appliances, and carpets.
Declutter: Remove any personal items, excess furniture, and clutter to create a more spacious and appealing look.
Make repairs: Fix any leaks, cracks, or damages in your home. Consider making small upgrades that can make a big impact, such as updating light fixtures.
Improve curb appeal: Make sure your home's exterior looks great by mowing the lawn, planting flowers, and pressure-washing the exterior.
Hire a professional inspector: Having a professional inspector check your home can help identify any issues that need to be addressed before listing.

How to Sell Your Home Fast and for Top Dollar:

Selling your home for top dollar requires proper research, effective marketing, and highlighting unique features. Hosting open houses, working with a real estate agent, and pricing it competitively can also increase the chances of selling your home quickly and for a higher price.

Research comparable home prices: Knowing what other homes in your area are selling can help you price your home competitively.
Market your home effectively: Utilize online listing platforms, professional photography, and virtual tours to showcase your home to potential buyers.
Highlight unique features: Make sure to highlight any unique features or upgrades in your home to make it stand out from others.
Host open houses: Hosting open houses can generate buzz and interest in your home, helping you get top dollar.
Hire a real estate agent: A real estate agent can help you navigate the process, reach more potential buyers, and negotiate the best deal.

How to Sell Your Home Fast by Owner:

Selling your home by owner can be a cost-effective option, but it requires effective marketing and being prepared for negotiations. Pricing it correctly, networking, and considering an auction can also help increase the chances of selling your home fast.

Price it correctly: Set a fair and competitive price for your home.
Market your home effectively: Utilize online listings, professional photos and videos, and social media to showcase your home.
Network: Reach out to friends, family, and acquaintances who may know someone in the market for a home.
Consider an auction: An auction can generate interest and competition for your home, leading to a quick sale.
Be prepared for negotiations: Be prepared to negotiate the price and closing date with potential buyers.

How to Sell Your Mobile Home Fast:

Selling a mobile home can present its own set of challenges, but by cleaning, decluttering, making repairs, pricing it correctly, and offering incentives, you can increase the chances of selling it fast. Marketing your home effectively through online listings and professional photos and videos is also crucial.

Clean and declutter: Make sure your home looks its best by cleaning and decluttering.
Make repairs: Address any leaks, cracks, or damages in your home to make it more appealing to potential buyers.
Price it right: Research comparable mobile home prices in your area and set a competitive price.
Market your home effectively: Utilize online listings, professional photos and videos, and social media to showcase your home.
Consider offering incentives: Offering incentives such as paying for closing costs or offering a home warranty can make your home more appealing to potential buyers.

How to Make Your Home More Valuable and Sell Faster:

Making upgrades, adding storage, increasing energy efficiency, landscaping your yard, neutralizing your décor, and hiring a professional appraiser are all ways to increase the value of your home and make it more appealing to potential buyers. By taking these steps, you can sell your home fast and for a higher price.

Make upgrades: Consider making upgrades such as updating the kitchen, and bathroom, or adding a new deck or patio to increase the value of your home.
Add storage: Adding extra storage, such as closet organizers or shelving units, can make your home more attractive to potential buyers.
Increase energy efficiency: Making your home more energy efficient by installing new windows or adding insulation can lower utility costs and make it more appealing to environmentally conscious buyers.
Landscape your yard: Landscaping your yard can improve your home's curb appeal and increase its value.
Neutralize your décor: Neutralizing your décor by painting walls and replacing bold accents with neutral colors can make your home more appealing to a wider range of potential buyers.
Hire a professional appraiser: A professional appraiser can provide an accurate assessment of your home's value, allowing you to price it competitively and sell it fast.

By following these tips, you can increase the value of your home and sell it fast. Whether you're working with a real estate agent or selling by owner, it's important to be proactive and take the necessary steps to make your home as appealing as possible to potential buyers.

10 Ways To Make Money In Real Estate And Get Rich

1. Making Money in Real Estate by Renting Out Property

2. Interest-Based Income Through Investing in Mortgage Notes

3. Getting Rich By Flipping Real Estate

4. Making Money Through Real Estate Investment Trusts

5. Making Money Through Real Estate ETFs and Mutual Funds

6. Using Private Lending To Making Money in Real Estate

7. Increase In Wealth Through Real Estate Appreciation

8. Opting For 1031 Exchange in Real Estate

9. Loan Pay Down

10. Refinancing Your Mortgage For Better Cash Flow

Is Real Estate The Best Way To Make Money or Build Wealth?

Top 10 Features of a Profitable Rental Property

1. A Property Worth Your Money

2. A Neighborhood With Favorable Clients and Low Vacancy Rates

3. A Safe And Secure Neighborhood

4. Presence of Schools With High Ratings

5. Presence of Physical and Social Amenities

6. Adequate Transport Facilities

7. Adequate Sanitation

8. Favorable Climate

9. Areas Devoid of Natural Disasters

10. Favorable Property Taxes

How To Find A Profitable Rental Property For SALE

22 Best Real Estate Websites For Buyers And Sellers in 2023

1. Best Real Estate Website – Zillow.com

2. Best Real Estate Website – Realtor.com

3. Best Real Estate Website – Redfin.com

4. National Association of REALTORS® (NAR)

5. Best Real Estate Website – Trulia.com

6. Best Real Estate Website – Neighborhoodscout.com

7. Best Real Estate Website – Rentcafe.com

8. Best Real Estate Website – Nolo.com

9. Best Real Estate Website – eRentpayment.com

10. Best Real Estate Website – Mysmartmove.com

11. Best Real Estate Website – The Local Tax Appraisal District Website

12. Best Real Estate Website – MLS.com

13. Best Real Estate Website – NoradaRealEstate.com

14. Best Real Estate Website – Homes.com

15. Best Real Estate Website – Auction.com

16. Best Real Estate Website – Curbed.com

17. Best Real Estate Website – Activerain.com

18. Best Real Estate Website – Popstream.com

19. Best Real Estate Website – This Old House

20. Best Real Estate Website – SparkRental.com

21. Best Real Estate Website – Stessa

22. Best Real Estate Website – Land Watch

Exit Strategy in Real Estate

How to Sell Your Home Fast as an Investor?

Tips on How to Sell Your Home Fast:

How to Get Your Home Ready to Sell Fast:

How to Sell Your Home Fast and for Top Dollar:

How to Sell Your Home Fast by Owner:

How to Sell Your Mobile Home Fast:

How to Make Your Home More Valuable and Sell Faster:

Real Estate

Quick Links

Blog Posts

Contact

(949) 218-6668

(800) 611-3060