Invest in Apartments: Five Reasons Why Right Now is the Best Time

There is a real estate investment opportunity growing before your very eyes. With the estimated 1,000,000 foreclosures in single-family homes expected in 2008, there is a radically higher need for rental housing on the horizon. Are you prepared to provide housing to the hundreds, or maybe thousands, of people who could end up losing their homes in your immediate area? You could be, by investing in apartments and other rentals right now.

There are five reasons primary reasons to invest in apartment buildings, and right now those reasons are becoming even more relevant than in the previous five decades.

1. Apartment buildings are a very flexible real estate investment. Flexible, because in a down-turning rental market, you can forego a rent increase during a specific year to keep the building full. Flexible, because in a bull market you can increase the rents. Keep close tabs on the local economy so you can determine what to charge each year.

2. Apartment buildings are mortgaged based on the net-income performance of the property. Lenders will look at the historical income trend of the property and your future projections to determine the amount to lend against the real estate, with very little consideration of your personal track record.

3. Apartment buildings usually appreciate in value as long as they are maintained properly and they are in the right location. Even a poorly located rental can appreciate in value, provided the net income continues to grow despite the location.

4. Everyone needs a place to live, whether it be in a rental or they own it. With the rising foreclosures on sub-prime mortgages and regulations taking effect to block more of the kind being written, fewer people will be able to buy into home ownership.

5. Multi-family real estate creates a long-term income. As the years go by and you get ready to retire, you can get cash out of the building by either re-financing and taking out money (tax free!), or you can amortize the mortgage, eliminate that payment, and take your profits on a monthly basis.

As you can see, buying a multi-family apartment buildings may be the right way for you to invest in real estate with real, long-term, cash dividends. Whether you purchase a duplex, a four-flat, or put together a pool of investors and pick up a middle of the road larger apartment building, by buying in the right location with sound management in place, you will see the rewards for many years to come.