Determining to What Extent to Be Involved in the Investment
Most owners of rental properties are part-time investors who spend very little time managing their investments and derive very little of their income from it.
I know this to be true.
I have seen the statistics on the demographics of landlords in America and Canada (see the American Housing Survey 2009 update that comes out every two years put out by the U.
S.
Census Bureau and the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) on the 2005 report References page in the back of this book for specific citations).
Most landlords own a small handful of investment properties that they are renting out.
Over half of these landlords own 5 units or less; and moreover, over a third of them own 3 units or less.
Less than 20% of all landlords derive their primary source of income from rental properties and up to 50% of landlords earn less than $20,000 per year from these rentals.
Estimates show that there are approximately 15 million landlords in America.
Over 90% of these landlords manage their properties by themselves.
Clearly although the majority of these landlords are participating in what may be technically called a "business" for tax purposes, they are not participating in what I would call "the full immersion serious money making business" of growing, developing, and managing real estate investment property.
The question is, are the majority of real estate investors satisfied with having "just a toe in the investments waters?" Are they participating in their minimal way because: A) they are bewildered about what to do next; B) they are new to the business; C) they are satisfied with what they have; D) they believe they are financially constrained; E) they do not know enough about the business to go further; or F) some or all of the above? My hunch is f) -- some or all of the above with a strong emphasis on a) that investors are either bewildered about what to do next with their property windfall, or e) investors do not know enough about the business to go further.
My purpose is to give existing investors, "want to-be" investors, and potential investors direct answers to their questions about what is possible with investment in real estate as a business - something more than the minimum involvement business model that a majority of people are following for whatever reason.
So to the questions of -"Now that you have the house, what are you going to do about it?" and "...
how to determine to what extent to be involved in the rental business?" See what is involved as an investor on a part-time basis as compared with a full-time basis; see alternate ways of being involved in the business from part-time to full-time; and see whether you can be comfortable being involved more-of-the time or full-time.
Whatever level you choose to be involved in is entirely up to you.
You must recognize, however, that you have a business whether it is with one rental unit or 100 -- a business that can be very satisfying on all levels.
I know this to be true.
I have seen the statistics on the demographics of landlords in America and Canada (see the American Housing Survey 2009 update that comes out every two years put out by the U.
S.
Census Bureau and the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) on the 2005 report References page in the back of this book for specific citations).
Most landlords own a small handful of investment properties that they are renting out.
Over half of these landlords own 5 units or less; and moreover, over a third of them own 3 units or less.
Less than 20% of all landlords derive their primary source of income from rental properties and up to 50% of landlords earn less than $20,000 per year from these rentals.
Estimates show that there are approximately 15 million landlords in America.
Over 90% of these landlords manage their properties by themselves.
Clearly although the majority of these landlords are participating in what may be technically called a "business" for tax purposes, they are not participating in what I would call "the full immersion serious money making business" of growing, developing, and managing real estate investment property.
The question is, are the majority of real estate investors satisfied with having "just a toe in the investments waters?" Are they participating in their minimal way because: A) they are bewildered about what to do next; B) they are new to the business; C) they are satisfied with what they have; D) they believe they are financially constrained; E) they do not know enough about the business to go further; or F) some or all of the above? My hunch is f) -- some or all of the above with a strong emphasis on a) that investors are either bewildered about what to do next with their property windfall, or e) investors do not know enough about the business to go further.
My purpose is to give existing investors, "want to-be" investors, and potential investors direct answers to their questions about what is possible with investment in real estate as a business - something more than the minimum involvement business model that a majority of people are following for whatever reason.
So to the questions of -"Now that you have the house, what are you going to do about it?" and "...
how to determine to what extent to be involved in the rental business?" See what is involved as an investor on a part-time basis as compared with a full-time basis; see alternate ways of being involved in the business from part-time to full-time; and see whether you can be comfortable being involved more-of-the time or full-time.
Whatever level you choose to be involved in is entirely up to you.
You must recognize, however, that you have a business whether it is with one rental unit or 100 -- a business that can be very satisfying on all levels.