Finding the right location is key in any real estate transaction. You can change your landscaping, your paint color or your front door, but not your locale.
Spotting potential is all about being open to possibilities. The creative aspect is about envisioning a future and building it in one's mind. The nuts and bolts part is looking at what is trending in the area, such as approved funding for school renovations, new retail investments, and infrastructure upgrades in the pipeline.
Finding opportunities that others missed. Older listings are a great place to start. This is where the creative part of your brain gets a workout. "Stale" listings are those that have been on the market for some time. They may be in poor condition, have an odd layout or simply overpriced. Investors are frequently looking for worn down properties that can be purchased at a deep discount, cleaned up and put back on the market in a short period of time. Buyers looking for their own home may skip those properties because of the upfront cost involved in making it habitable. True opportunities may be in older, better kept properties that have not had their "TV makeovers," houses that are perfectly functional and you can improve over time. Of course, this only works if you can live with the disruption caused by renovations.
Checking out a new area. Focus is not limited to your specific property, but encompasses the neighborhood, the town and surrounding areas. How will that new highway connector affect local traffic patterns? Will your once quiet neighborhood see more cars on the road? Construction at the new retail center may mean a longer trip to the supermarket, but the increased traffic could be a boon to local shops, which in turn can lead to investments in the community.
Some "Nuts and Bolts" detective work. One way to find out what's going on in a new community is the local Letters to the Editor. That's where everyone vents. You may find out that the empty warehouse complex is slated for a new mixed use development. Some residents may be opposed due to pressure on local schools and possible higher taxes. Others may be tired of the eyesore and look forward to the new possibilites that come with new residents. If you really want to know what's going on, stop in the local coffee shop and sit at the counter. Almost every town has one. That little spot and the long time staff will know a lot about what's changing, and whether the residents are happy about it.
Don't forget the statistics. Your agent will have information on market trends such as the average time to sell, average price, and closed price as a percentage of asking price. This can help you determine the right price for the right property.
Whether it's our decades of experince finding the right properties, or agents with construction backgrounds, the #RynoMarketing team is uniquely qualified to help you discover a property's potential.