Hello, everyone. This is Juan Carlos Gastelum, I am a real estate investor in Texas. If you’re just getting into real estate investing and have never analyzed a deal, you´re probably wondering what are the first steps that you need to do to assess whether that investment makes sense from your criteria and the financial metrics that you’re hoping for. So let’s get started. First, you may want to log on to one of the major websites on the internet to find properties. That’s the MLS where you can find properties like www.realtor.com , www.redfin.com , or even www.zillow.com . So log on and type in your selected market. Let’s just say it’s Atlanta, Georgia. Type in Atlanta, Georgia and start looking for the type of asset you want to invest in. Let’s say it’s a single family home. Filter: “single family home”, “three bedrooms/two baths”, “two car garage”. Once you filter your characteristics on the property, you will be able to narrow down to your selected asset type and begin your analysis. Only look at those properties that fit your criteria. So let’s say that you also want to look at properties that have been built after the year 2000, filter that as well. Year built: “2000 and newer”. From all the different properties that you will get as result from your search, make sure that you select those that appeal most to you according to the neighborhood and according to the style of the property that you would like to invest in. Next, step number two. Start assessing the expenses for that property. You want to take into consideration insurance, property taxes, repairs and maintenance, as well as ongoing expenses for the property, such as water and sewer, trash collection and energy. Those expenses can be searched by either calling directly the services companies like the energy provider or the trash company, or even the city.
For insurance you can get a quote from any insurance broker that you may find online or an insurance broker that you are currently working with. Go ahead and ask them for a reference quote. Also, look into the county records for that property, and you will find the tax assessment for the current year, which is what you’d like to know in order to be able to input that expense as part of your deal analysis. Third, you want to assess the income that the property produces, and for that, you may want to log on to www.apartments.com or www.forrent.com or even www.zillow.com , and search for rents in that market for that type of asset. Make sure you’re targeting the “three bedrooms/two baths, two car garage” so that you can have the most accurate average rent for the market you are looking to invest in. With these three steps you will be able to start doing a basic analysis of a deal that you’d like to invest in. Our tip for today is to log on to those websites and start doing your basic analysis. That’s it for today. Take care. Best wishes on your real estate journey and God bless!
