A second home is a great investment: until all of a sudden, it’s not. But how can you avoid pitfalls and high costs of a second home investment?

Let’s say you find affordable real estate, and are looking at getting into purchasing it as an investment home. How will you know that it’s a good investment? And how can you make sure that you find the right kind of tenant? How can you avoid the house eating all of your profits?

For those of us who are serving second home buyers, there are a lot of questions that can help them get the absolute best investment. By knowing the right questions to ask, and helping steer them towards the right strategies for buying, tenanting, and managing their property, we can make the investment process easier!

Today, Heather Connor is here on the podcast to share her best advice for those looking at investment properties. This episode will help you serve your clients more effectively, teaching you the right questions to ask, and how you can guide your clients toward the easiest experience ever.

Highlights of this episode:

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  Tom introduces Heather, her area of expertise, and how she is connected with real estate.

  
  
  
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  Do you ever help clients look at potential rental units and think “that’s not safe.”?

  
  
  
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  You should KNOW what kind of investment properties you want: have a list beforehand.

  
  
  
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  When you rent the right kind of property, your goal is to get fewer complaints from tenants.

  
  
  
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  Fixing stuff constantly costs more time and energy than it is worth.

  
  
  
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  Know the market: don’t be the kind of investor who takes on just anybody, or any property. Be aware of potential red flags!

  
  
  
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  Use guidelines for your decision-making process.

  
  
  
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  This is not an easy business! You’ll have to make hard decisions.

  
  
  
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  Hiring a property manager can be an intimidating process at first.

  
  
  
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  Buying an investment property? Be aware; you’re buying a job!

  
  
  
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  For agents, don’t be afraid to defer buyers to property managers for the best data.

  
  
  
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  Listen to experts to know what needs to happen with properties. That will help you get the best money.

  
  
  
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  Think about your mental health.

  
  
  
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  Use tools to measure risks, and use systems to mitigate those risks! Think ahead, and protect yourself from lawsuits.

  
  
  
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  KNOW YOUR PROPERTY.

  
  
  
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  Do your best for your renters!

  
  
  
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  Make sure you have a contract to protect both you and your tenant.

  
  
  
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  Be informed: knowledge is so important to you in this process of having an investment home.

  
  
  

Hey everybody, thank you so much for spending time with us today: would you do me a giant favor and share this podcast with fellow realtors, and leave a review. Your reviews help this podcast get shared with more people.

Special thanks to Heather Connor for being on the show! You can connect with her here:

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  Heather’s Website

  
  
  

Connect with me (Tom):

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  2nd Home Agents website

  
  
  
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  Facebook

  
  
  
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  Instagram

  
  
  
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  YouTube

  
  
  

Subscribe to the Show

Don’t miss a single episode of the podcast. You can search for “Selling the Dream” on any of your favorite listening platforms, or follow the links below:

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  iTunes

  
  
  
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  Spotify

  
  
  
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  Stitcher

  
  
  
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  YouTube

  
  
  

As always, thanks for listening. Don’t forget, you’re not selling a home: you’re selling the dream.

See you next time!