The early arrival of snow and mercury dropping temperatures have me yearning for all things sunshine, margaritas, and salty skin. Dreaming of exotic destinations has become a worthy and rather distracting sideline, it also has me thinking about real estate investing and how to bring joy to your world this winter……
Even the grinchiest of Grinches will concede that the gains provided by income properties can indeed make that trip South a merry and bright reality. Supplementing your bleak mid-winter day job earnings with a well-performing real estate portfolio will help you sleep better at night, buffer against employment downturns and pave the way to earlier retirement.
Market variables, locational differences, and infrastructure spending can definitely create a degree of disparity with investment returns. As such, it is important to identify your investor profile, chat with an investment focussed realtor, and hone your strategy prior to making any purchases. Due to higher relative purchase prices, you may surrender some monthly cash flow if you invest in Guelph, Cambridge or Kitchener compared to let’s say, St Catharines or Chatham. However, your exit strategy with masses of accrued equity will be sure to jingle all your bells and make your spirits bright.
Adding a secondary suite and creating dual revenue streams is one of many strategies for increasing the return on investment. Other investors prefer student rentals, which are virtually exempt from market downturns, and provide one of the highest and most dependable income streams. Granted, there may be a few un-silent nights along the way as your inexperienced tenants navigate appliances and property care for the first time, but the upside is definitely worthwhile and is guaranteed to have you rocking around your Christmas tree.
And so why you ask, is December such a magically merry month for investor acquisitions? You may not remember those properties that were listed back in September? The ones that were likely overpriced and continue to linger in the annals of realtor.ca, the ones that everyone has forgotten about, and the ones where the sellers have become hopelessly stressed? What about the new listings which continue to grace our search engines in the hopes of a quick sale and a fresh New Year? How about the old, the dated and jaded, the Tiny Tim homes with intrinsic value that nobody can see? Well hey, this is the golden opportunity time to get your festive ducks in a row and negotiate a sweet cheese of a deal.
It’s clearly evident that consumer focus shifts in December and fewer eyes are on the market as buyers deck their jolly halls and kiss a few too many Santa Clauses. All of this merriment and busyness effectively lessens your competition and makes this one of the most wonderful times of the year for fattening your property portfolio. So, let’s pop a sparkly new property in your Yuletide stocking this December and you’ll soon be hearing the joyful ka-ching of golden rings, pipers piping and partridges in pear trees.
From my hearth to yours, be sure to have yourself a merry little Christmas and remember to take a cheeky peek at the market between all your festive shenanigans…. you just never know what opportunities you might find.
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