Rentals make great investments and the Top 8 Fastest growing housing Markets, from local Realtor, Andy Eckert

Rentals gain popularity for investments

Buy land. They're not making it anymore." - Mark Twain

Property is valuable and mostly becomes more valuable as time goes on.

This idea is not lost on today's legion of real estate investors or the average person. According to the Financial Security Index Survey released in July, 54 million Americans consider real estate to be the preferred cash investment for funds not needed for more than 10 years.

It is a great time to invest in real estate with interest rates are historically low. Owning rental property is one way to invest and immediately get return on your money. The key before you start is to ask yourself what you need to make on a rental.

Enlist a real estate agent to help you analyze rental rates and apartment prices in the neighborhood. Scour the classifieds to get an idea of what rents are in the area you would like to buy. Also, learn what properties are selling for.

Before you buy, know what your costs will be for taxes, maintenance, and profit. Can you be competitive at this location and still make a profit? One landlord writing in ConsumerismCommentary.com said she must make $500 profit on each rental per month.

Pick the right neighborhood. High crime areas will cost you money, according to Consumerism Commentary.  High rent areas probably will resist rentals. Sturdy middle-class neighborhoods are often best.

One useful talent is a flair for DIY. If you like doing general repairs, you can usually save on expected expenses. If you don't have such a flair, develop ties to handy-people who are skilled and available. You might be able to hire someone on demand for a low hourly rate.

Finally, once you have done the math and purchased your rental, find the right renter with a strict application. You must make your money back on a property so your three questions have to be: Can they afford the apartment? Will they pay the rent? Will they keep the property nice? To find out, check previous landlords. Verify income. After that, run a civil and criminal background check. 

One landlord even calls the mother or father of younger people who want to rent.

The 8 Fastest Growing Housing Markets, according to NAR

   City, State                       Up     Median Price

1. Boulder, Colorado         18.5%       $ 549,600

2. Elmira, N. Y.                 17.6 %      $ 115,600

3. Springfield, Il.               17.1 %      $ 143,100

4. Port St. Lucie, Fl.          16.1 %      $ 209,000

5. Cumberland, W.Va.      15.2 %      $   94,900

6. Rockford, Il                   15.1 %      $ 109,000

7. Daytona Beach, Fl.        14.7 %     $ 172,000

8. Tampa-Clearwater, Fl.  14.2 %      $ 199,900

3 Tips for Selling a Small Kitchen & Realtors Donate to local Boys & Girls Clubs, from your local Huntington County Realtor

3 Tips for Selling a Small Kitchen

Many buyers are in search of great kitchen space. But the kitchen can be one of the trickiest rooms to stage, especially when the space is small.

If your house is lacking in kitchen space, it's important to make it look as appealing as possible.

1. Remove all clutter and appliances from the counter-tops, leaving only one or two decorative items. This will make the space appear cleaner and larger, she says.

2. Make sure the kitchen is getting plenty of light. Dark spaces appear smaller, so to open up the space make sure any windows are allowing maximum light through. If that's not possible, add appealing forms of artificial lighting to do the trick.

3. If the cabinets have seen better days, consider painting them white. White reflects light and helps make a space feel much bigger and open.

Realtors® Donate Thousands of Hours, Dollars to Local Boys & Girls Clubs

WASHINGTON (August 16, 2016) — The National Association of Realtors® joined forces last year with Boys & Girls Clubs of America to enrich the lives of Club kids and teens in communities across the U.S.

Since December 2015, a total of 188 local Clubs and 18,200 Club youth have been positively impacted by Realtors® and more than $100,000 has been donated to local Clubs by associations, members and real estate firms.

"Today's kids are our future, so when I began my NAR presidential term, I knew I wanted to involve Boys & Girls Club. I am so proud of all the passion, time and effort put forward by the Realtor® family to better the lives of the children in the communities in which we live and work," said NAR President Tom Salomone, broker-owner of Real Estate II, Inc. in Coral Springs, Florida. "Realtors® work every day to build and improve communities, so it comes as no surprise to me that our members jumped at the opportunity to get involved with their local Boys & Girls Club and volunteer their time and energy to support Club kids."   

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It's 4H Fair Time! Which includes, horse ppop, dust and elephant ears, from your Local Huntington County Realtor, Andy Eckert

This month will be full of horse poop, dust, Elephant ears and milkshakes. That’s right is 4H fair time….

We finished the horse show part and Aleah and Michael had a good fair showing. Aleah won some classes and a Grand Champion and Michael won 2 classes and a Reserve Champion. Aleah rode 3 different animals and excelled at all 3. Western Pleasure is her best events, English is her least Favorite and Contesting seems to be a lot of fun for her. Michael showed some halter and riding classes, which he did well in. I was really afraid because he doesn’t take failure well and riding isn’t easy. He came along so far in the past 45 days and I can’t thank Stephanie, Sebastian, Olivia and Aleah enough for all the instruction and support you gave him.

We now will be moving in the goats, rabbits and chickens and showing them for the next week or so. This is always a very busy time for our family with all the maintenance for animals during the fair. We will be running kids in the morning to feed and then again in the afternoon. I think we can allow them to stay during the day for part of the fair but Aleah has Volleyball practice also. It’s a good thing they learn a lot from raising and training these animals because it’s eating into my golf game.

Aleah starts her Freshman year at HNHS this Fall and she is a little nervous and so are we. I’m sure she will handle it all just fine and I just hope all the upper class boys don’t start hounding her.

Michael starts at Crestview MS this Fall and he is also excited and nervous but eager to get the show on the road. He is also excited that his sister Cassy will be coming home this Fall, it’s been way too long since she’s been at home.

Michaels Grandma and Sister Ashley spent the entire day watching him at the 4H horse show and really were proud of him and how far his riding skill has come. I kept his Mom up to date during the day while she was at work. He has a great support system.

I keep hoping Olivia lands a full time job in her field of work, maybe she will be closer to home. Sebastian just set up his apartment for next school year in Ft Wayne and will be moving at the end of the month. Jenny Hinen will be his roomy, good luck Jen.

Have a great Summer and always remember I always have time for your referrals.

God Bless

Andy