It is a wise move to avoid more specialized and complex properties and investing tactics if you have little to no prior real estate investing experience. In this blog article, we go over the simpler and more approachable possibilities for investing in income-producing real estate. Many people may find investing in real estate to be particularly appealing for residential income property. The majority of other property kinds, including commercial, industrial, and retail properties, are more complex to comprehend, acquire and maintain than residential housing. If you already own a home, you have expertise in finding, acquiring, and caring for residential property.

In this article, we cover the benefits and drawbacks of investing in residential rental property, as well as insights into which strategy might be the most profitable for you.

The Different Investment Options for Residential Income Property

Money- Growth With Investment

For many people, a place to call home is their first (and best) real estate investment. We discuss the investment opportunities associated with purchasing a property for your own use in this part, including potential revenue from turning your house into a rental or fixing it up and selling it. We also provide you with some advice on how to make money from having a holiday house.

Acquiring a Home of one’s own

You’re going to require a roof over your head for many years during your adult life. The only investment that allows you to live in it or rent it out to generate revenue is real estate. It’s not the best idea to use a stock, bond, or mutual fund as your roof over your head!

Unless you intend to relocate soon, investing in a home probably makes sound financial sense in the long run. (Even if you have to move, you can elect to keep owning the property and rent it out.) Over time, owning typically costs less than renting, and it enables you to accumulate equity (the difference between a property’s market worth and any mortgage loans owed on it).

The existing tax code also allows you to pocket sizable tax-free profits when you sell your house for more than you paid for it plus the amount you invested in modifications while you owned it. Particularly, single taxpayers as well as married couples filing jointly can avail of tax-free capital gains. You (or your spouse, if you’re married) must have owned the property and used it as your primary residence for at least 24 months out of the previous 60 months in order to be eligible for this homeowner’s gains tax exemption. It’s not necessary for the 24 months to be continuous. A pro-rata (proportionate) credit based on hardship or a change in employment is also now offered by the Income Tax Department. Also, take note that the complete exemption amounts are diminished proportionally for the period of time during the preceding five years that you rented out your home.

Making your House a Rental

One easy approach to purchasing and owning more homes is to convert your existing residence into a rental unit when you relocate. If you can afford to purchase two houses, this strategy is an option if you’re already thinking about investing in real estate (either now or in the future). It’s better to keep your current home when you buy a new one if you’re staying in the same neighborhood so you can maintain the property easily. There are several advantages to this strategy:

  • You avoid the effort and expense of looking for a different rental property, not to mention the related transaction expenses.
  • You are familiar with the property, have likely taken good care of it, and may even have made improvements.
  • Because the residence piqued your interest, you are aware of the target market.

But it’s typically not a good idea to rent out your house briefly because:

  • Even if you may not want the duties of being a landlord, you force yourself to enter the rental market when you turn your house into a rental.
  • If your property is categorized for tax purposes, you must pay tax on the sales’ profit when you sell it and don’t purchase another rental property, as a rental.

Living in and Making Investments in Well-located Fixer-uppers

Purchase House

Make sure to purchase a house in need in a desirable area where you’re prepared to dwell for 24 months! But if you’re a shrewd investor, you would have made a purchase in a desirable area anyhow.

Here is a straightforward example to show the potentially considerable advantages of this approach. You spend ₹ 2,75,00,000 to buy a fixer-upper that will serve as your primary house. Over the following 24 months, you invest ₹ 25,00,000 in modifications (paint, landscaping, appliances, designer items, etc.), as well as the amount of sweat equity that fits your abilities and budget. Now that you own one of the nicer houses in the area, you may sell it for a net price of ₹ 4,00,00,000 after transaction fees. Your efforts have resulted in a ₹ 1,00,00,000 profit that is fully tax-free from your total investment of ₹ 3,00,00,000 (₹ 2,75, 00,000 plus ₹ 25,00,000). As a result, you’ve made an average of ₹ 50,00,000 every year, which isn’t bad for a second income that isn’t subject to tight office rules and regulations.

Getting a Second Home

A vacation home, or a residence in a location where people love taking leisure visits, is something that many wealthy people do in order to increase their real estate holdings. The majority of individuals consider purchasing a vacation house to be more of a consumption than an investment decision. That’s not to argue that owning a second property won’t bring in money. However, purchasing a second property shouldn’t be primarily motivated by possible investment gains.

As many people discover, there are a variety of drawbacks to owning a vacation house, including:

Expenses: With a second house, you have access to almost all of a primary home’s expenses, including mortgage interest, property taxes, insurance, upkeep, utilities, and so on.

Property management: Mistakes might happen when you’re away from your vacation home. For instance, if a sewage pipe bursts, the waste may not be discovered for days or even weeks. You might have to spend extra money hiring a property manager to watch the property for you unless the property is close to a kind individual who is willing to watch it for you.

Lack of rental revenue: Since most people don’t rent out their vacation homes, the income stream from investment properties that supports the profits realized by real estate investors is negated.

Mandatory usage: We are aware of some second homeowners who feel compelled to use their vacation properties.

A few tax hints from the present tax code are in order before we wrap up this discussion on vacation homes:

  • You can still earn a little amount of money on the side tax-free if you keep your second or holiday home as personal property rather than renting it out and renounce the significant income streams and tax deductions for depreciation and running costs that come with rental properties.
  • The property owner may utilize the rental property as a holiday home for up to 14 days annually, or a maximum of 10% of the days gainfully rented, whichever is larger, as long as the property is maintained as a rental (you rent it out for more than 14 days annually).

Paying for Timeshares and Condo hotels

House Home Ownership

The idea of timeshares, which dates back to the 1960s, is a type of property ownership or usage right. Condo hotels are a relatively recent development in real estate investing and, in many ways, are just a fresh take on the timeshare concept. With the exception of each room being a different owner, a condo hotel is identical in appearance and operation to any other first-class hotel. The owners of the rooms are unknown to the guests.

Both timeshares and condo hotels frequently include opulent resort settings with extras like golf courses or spas in the compound. The duration of the unit’s availability differs between a standard timeshare and a condo hotel; condo hotels operate on a daily availability schedule, whereas timeshares often have longer periods of availability.

More about Timeshares

There are many other methods to package timeshares; some resorts offer fixed units, where you can stay in the exact same place every year for a specified number of weeks or specific dates (though the actual calendar date may change). There are certain timeshares that are available on a biennial basis (every other year), giving you some diversity. Some companies provide fixed weeks, where you may stay in a different apartment yet have the same week every year.

Timeshares require ongoing maintenance and service costs that can be paid monthly or annually. Each year, the homeowner’s association or resort management business establishes these funds. Timeshare interests can be owned in a variety of ways, including fee simple, right of use, and leasehold being the primary options:

  • An estate in real estate that grants absolute ownership subject to local, state, and federal regulations is known as fee simple ownership.
  • The term “right-to-use” refers to the ability to occupy the property for a specific period of time but not to really own it.
  • A leasehold agreement outlines the lessee’s (tenant) right to use the leased property and is made between the lessee (tenant) and lessor (owner or landlord).

Typically, the timeshare sector uses a color-coded system of pricing to indicate the seasonal there is demand for a specific timeshare property. Although the idea is generally consistent designation of specific hues can range from resort after resort. Typically, the demand is separated into three groups:

  • Red indicates a top or in-demand item.
  • Yellow or white for the medium or intermediate season
  • Blue or green for a low season or off-peak demand

Home Couple Mortgage

The expectations of the condo hotel investor are frequently considerably higher than the reality because these assets are frequently over hyped. The possibility for gain and income flow, as well as expert management, draw investors to condo hotels.

For many potential buyers of timeshares, their first encounters are with enticing promises of a free meal, a fantastic deal at a theme park, or even a complimentary one- or two-night stay at the resort, subject to them spending some time listening to an instructional presentation.

However, timeshares can make sense for you if you enjoy taking annual vacations at the same resort and the annual service or maintenance costs are less expensive than just booking a room at a comparable resort. But keep in mind that if an offer appears too good to be true, it probably is. The only people who often profit from condo hotels, similar to timeshares, are the developers rather than those who purchase certain days of ownership.

Sweta Mor
Sweta Mor
Content Writer at Gupta & Sen
Sweta is a real estate professional, a proficient content writer and a journalist who also conducts soft skill training & motivational lectures. She holds a BE in Engineering and a Masters in Business Management.
Sweta Mor
Latest posts by Sweta Mor (see all)