Where SHOULD you Buy?
Here’s the short answer: Wherever the hell you want to and can afford!
The last time I looked, the “Stars and Stripes” were still flying over City Hall, ensuring that this is your right as an American. I could end this blog post right here and really be good to go. I might expand on the various Fair Housing Acts that have been passed over the last 150 years or so, guaranteeing your right to do so and go on to the legal whys and wherefores but that’s not where I wanted to go to make the bigger point. I wanted to discuss what makes for a good buy, a smart buy, when one thinks primarily of Real Estate as being an investment.
So let’s go back to our rule book (for general rules of thumb) and consider a few aspects of this so-called investment.
- Rule Number 1: Don’t buy the most expensive house on the street. It is better to buy the least expensive house on the street. Why? Because you can ride the crest of the appreciation wave that Mr./Mrs. Fancy pants in the big house created for you
- Rule Number 2. Maximize your mortgage: even with rising interest rates. They are still lower than the overall average since records have been getting kept. Also, paying cash robs you of one of the greatest advantages of owning Real Estate. You can leverage the purchase.
- Rule Number 3. Buy on the fringe and wait. If you have the time to make a good long term plan, you can become rich just by following this rule.
- Rule Number 4. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. The smartest buyers look for properties that are sound structurally and might need “some cosmetic” repairs. This is the greatest opportunity today. Why? Because most buyers are pathetically spoiled and only want to consider a “perfect” house that they can move right into immediately. I refer to this as the microwave mentality. It doesn’t make a difference if it is a “bad flip” with awful finishing work. Much like the microwave, it will make your food fast and it is easy. It is just not cooked very well (and some would argue it isn’t very good for health as well.)
So don’t make this one question too complicated because it shouldn’t be. There are a few other rules which I will discuss at a later date, but I wanted to write a blog today, not an entire book. So for now, just look at the rules above, it is simple common sense.
“Hey, I wrote the book on Real Estate, literally.”
Author Brendan J. Cunningham is a New York Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker, lead of the Platinum Team at HusVar Real Estate, as well as an accomplished writer, Shakespearean trained professional actor, and podcaster.
Start your home search now at www.husvarre.com