A significant part of using data effectively is using it regularly and systematically. Several rental real estate investors who are profitable put to use the Automated Valuation Method to calculate current home values. Zillow creates algorithms that calculate the estimated or “suggested price” of properties around the country. But you don’t have to be a real estate giant to leverage the data they collect and offer to the public. Platforms like Trulia and Realtor regularly create and share data from individual property histories to neighborhood trends and more. You can even employ tools like mortgage payment calculators to really help your number-crunching go faster and be more accurate.
One other way to obtain and use existing data in your real estate investing is to study foreclosure reports. Not only can you take appropriate information in relation to property values in an area or even for an individual house, but you can also look at foreclosure reports over time for market patterns. If the most up-to-date report exhibits an immediate spike in foreclosures, that might be a clue of economic trouble in that area.
You can further utilize foreclosure reports to help you detect flourishing markets at the very beginning of their growth phase, giving rise to accelerated appreciation as the market strengthens. Still, though, it’s imperative to bear in mind that foreclosure reports are pictures of the past and not necessarily current market conditions. Despite that the facts may be truly valuable, it isn’t constantly a good place to detect up-to-date market data.
Granted with the limitations of foreclosure reports, it’s crucial to reference a wide range of sources in your data collection process. Apart from government sources, for instance, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Labor, you should, watch local newspapers, county registers, and similar data sources. Each of these sources gives a part of the complete picture, which is then up to you to put together.
With all that data in hand, the next best action you can do is to make use of it to narrow your property search to a specific area or property type. Only if you do, you put at risk wasting a good deal of time seeking properties that will not add up to solid profits or looking at markets that are moving downwards.
Making use of the information gotten from websites, reports, the MLS, and local sources, you can more properly ascertain prospective properties for further analysis. This strategy uses service data as a tactical tool to make better your investing ventures the same way the big investors do it. Conclusively, you may find that leveraging data the right way, indeed, will help you get to do more than you ever consider possible.
If that all looks as though it’s too time-consuming, Real Property Management Metro Detroit offers a free market rent analysis to get you started on your investment journey. Contact us online or call us at 248-808-6550.