Owning and operating investment property in Kansas City really isn’t all that difficult. What I do isn’t rocket science. It’s just applying tried and true real estate investment principles along with a generous helping of knowing how Kansas Citians buy, rent and sell houses.
You don’t have to be from the KC area to own rental property here. Regardless of where you are from there are differing ways you can own income property.
Buy Turn Key Rental Property
You can buy rental property that is turn key which is a popular choice amongst the busy, working professional. We simply find you a property that is already rent-ready….maybe even with tenants in it…that will get you the returns you are looking for.
Buy Rehab and Rent Property
Just like it sounds. We look for bank foreclosures or otherwise undervalued homes and then fix them up. If we do our job you will be sitting on a sweet equity position that I like to call “harvestable equity.” Meaning that if the neighborhood is going for $90,000 to $100,000 you should have bought and rehabbed and have an “all in” investment of no more than $65,000. Think it can’t be done? I do it every week. Usually better than those numbers.
Harvestable Equity
This is different than “flipping.” You remember how popular flipping was, right? I was never really much on board. Sure, there were a few properties here in KC that worked. But there were many more that sucked people in and then they couldn’t sell at a decent profit. The numbers I’m talking about get pretty thin when you deduct sales fees…especially if using a realtor. No, I’m talking about waiting to “harvest” the equity until the market turns around. (Next year? 3 years? Twenty?) The equity is there and it’s real. Then you bide your time renting the income property that is generating a healthy cash flow before taxes and in the mean time go ahead and take the depreciation Trust me, this all adds up to a very nice rate of retun. I can map it for you if you like.
To Manage or Not to Manage?
Property management can be expensive when you are running thin margins. If you are running great margins then why not? If you are a busy professional investing in real estate to secure a retirement worth having, you probably want professional property management. If you are someone buying cash flow real estate to replace job income you probably want to manage the rent houses on your own to maximize your returns and get closer to your dream of quitting your job. This won’t be easy mind you…but can be done over years of accumulation.
