If you’re about to retire and looking for an alternative income you should consider investing in a rental property for retirement. Rental properties can provide you with a reliable stream of passive income. Purchasing one investment property can be enough to allow you to live comfortably when you retire. In some cases, you might be able to retire before you reach sixty!
Retirement used to mean working for forty years and then living off of one’s pension and savings. The “retired person” stereotype used to refer to someone in their sixties who finally had the opportunity to live like a millionaire…
Unfortunately, retirement in the 21st century isn’t that simple.
Today, Americans are faced with the challenge of planning for their retirement. This means finding ways to continue generating income through investments. If you’re nearing retirement, one of the investments that you should consider looking into is real estate. Let’s go through some of the key benefits!
Benefits of Investing in Rental Properties for Retirement
#1 Ongoing Income
Planning for retirement used to mean saving a portion of your income for forty years or so. When it’s time to retire, you spend what you save, rely on your Social Security benefits, and cross your fingers that you don’t run out of funds.
Relying on that “model” simply won’t work anymore, considering how expensive the cost of living has become. With rental properties, you don’t have to worry about how much you’re spending each month. Investing in rental properties lets you generate ongoing income. Instead of gradually exhausting your finances, you’re actually adding more zeroes to your bank account.
#2 Protection From Inflation
Inflation does not work against rent prices. In fact, it helps drive it higher. Since rent and housing prices rise with inflation, this means that your returns won’t be negatively affected by it. If you buy a property today, you can adjust its rent accordingly. Year after year, you can continue to raise your rent depending on the current inflation rate.
#3 Predictable Cash Flow
Buying stocks always involves a lot of guesswork. You buy stocks today and hope for the best, but there’s really no guarantee that you’ll double, triple, or quadruple your initial investment. In comparison, with rental properties, you can confidently estimate your returns. Although your rental income may differ each month, especially when you’re faced with vacancies, you can still calculate the projected cash flow with accuracy.
This is because expenses related to property management and property management services are predictable. Whether it’s expenses for repairs, maintenance, or advertising, all of these are anticipated costs. Some of the expenses that you’ll be dealing with include:
- Repairs and maintenance
- Property management company fees
- Tenant placement fees
- Property taxes and insurance
- Property utilities
- Legal services
- Administrative services
- Accounting services
- …and so on.
#4 Appreciation
The market value of your rental property will most likely appreciate over time. This means that you can raise your rent and count on the fact that you can sell the property for a much higher price when the time is right.
However, this is just the cherry on top. Whether or not the property appreciates depends on several factors, such as its location, developments in the area, the physical condition of the property, and supply and demand.
#5 Flexibility
You can rent the property out during the summer and use it as a vacation home for the rest of the year. You can use it as a source of income now and turn it into a primary residence in the future.
Investing in real estate allows you to become your own boss. No one is going to tell you what to do with it — because let’s face it, forty years of that is more than enough! Whether you want to be completely involved in the day-to-day activities of property management, or if you want to sit back and let a property management firm do it, it’s entirely up to you.
#6 Tax Advantages
Nearly every expense related to your rental property is deductible from your annual income tax return. Maintenance costs, property management fees, travel expenses, legal services, mortgage interest, and so on, are all deductible. Keep in mind, however, that deductions apply only to necessary expenses. What this refers to are the costs for services, supplies, etc. that are deemed essential to keeping your property in good condition. This might include the labor costs for plumbing, painting, and so on. Consider hiring a property manager to help you navigate the rental property tax deductions that you may qualify for as a landlord.
#7 Risk Mitigation
Investing in real estate comes with risks, too, but they can be easily mitigated. For instance, you can mitigate the risk of property damage by thoroughly screening tenants and requiring a security deposit. You can mitigate expensive repairs by conducting frequent inspections and proactive maintenance. You can mitigate long periods of vacancies by hiring a property manager with local expertise.
#8 Diversification of Your Portfolio
Any investor will tell you that it is extremely important to diversify your investment portfolio. By investing in rental properties, you reduce the risk of losing your income and assets. Instead of putting all of your faith in stocks and bonds, you’re safeguarding your finances by investing in real estate. Since real estate is less volatile than stocks and bonds, you’ll always have something to fall back on when things go south.
While housing prices can decline, they rarely do so on a national level. This means that you can rely on your rental properties if the stock market isn’t looking so good.
Before You Invest
If this is your first time investing in rental properties, it may be best to consult with a licensed real estate agent or property manager. He/she can help you purchase the ideal property for your specific investment goals. Whether you want to retire and get rich, or if you just want to retire and live comfortably, the team at Luxury Property Care can help you find the investment property of your dreams.
What’s more, is that our property managers have the experience to help turn your investment into a money-making success. Once you partner with us, we can take care of everything, from advertising your property to making sure it generates profit month after month.
Ready to get started? Call us today at (561) 944 – 2992 or fill out the contact form on our website.
