Rent and Income Property

Rent and Income Property, by Des Moines Real Estate Experts RE/MAX Real Estate Concepts

When considering a real estate purchase that will become an income property, consider the rental rate.  After all, there are more things to consider than simply the purchase price.

It is important to figure how much rent you will be able to charge for each unit of an income property.  Although there is no concrete specific list for this, there are ways to determine what the market will bear.  Once that is determined, balance it against the expenses of purchasing and maintaining the property in order to determine if it will be a good investment.  In some cases it may still be a good investment, but the price point may need to be negotiated.  In other cases, you may be on to the bargain of the century! 

In order to figure out what the monthly expenses of a particular income property will cost, add up the projected expenses, mortgage, principal and interest, taxes, and insurance, and divide by twelve.  The resulting figure is the minimum amount of rent you must get in order to break even.  But how much can you get for the income property?

The best way to determine how much an income property can ask for rent is to check out the competition.  Look at similar units in the area.  Compare factors such as number of bedrooms and bathrooms, parking, patio, amenities (swimming pool, etc.) and of course, location.

Another factor affecting how much rent can be received for a unit is supply and demand.  Is there a lot of inventory on the market for this type of unit?  Is there a high or low vacancy rate?  Are there other units as nice as yours on the market?  These and other factors should be taken into consideration when determining the rental rate of each unit.  If the potential rental rate makes the investment look like a good value then put in that purchase offer and buy that property.

There is a lot of free information available to you about buying, selling or investing in Des Moines real estate. For complete information about the Des Moines real estate market including current homes for sale, property values and more please visit the most complete website online dedicated to everything Des Moines real estate at Real Estate with RE/MAX. Please feel free to contact us with any of your real estate or mortgage related questions and we will be more than glad to answer your questions. Call us at 1-800-708-5890 or email us at dsm@realestateconcepts.net.