Real Estate Information

Residential Income Property Financing: Part 2 of 3


Welcome to the second segment of a three-part series about income property. In this second segment we will be discussing financing options for residential income properties as well as the upside (and downside) of owning this type of property.

Financial Concerns

Financing options for residential income property vary widely from commercial or industrial properties. For one thing, most private lenders place size requirements on the apartment complexes they are willing to finance, usually five units or more. Smaller complexes just don't have the revenue generation potential required to make your loan officer feel comfortable.

The good news is that residential income property loans usually carry a higher LTV ratio than other property types. If you recall from the first segment of this series, LTV (loan-to-value) ratio indicates the percentage of money your lender will lend you to the property's market value. An 80% LTV is the maximum most lenders will provide for residential income property.

Loan terms usually range from 25 to 30 years with a maximum loan amount of up to $3 million. Current competitive interest rates can range from 4.70% up to 6.625% depending on several factors including your credit rating and the size of your down payment.

Most loans for residential income property are termed as 'recourse loans'. This means that the lender has 'recourse' to your personal assets in the event you default on the loan. Needless to say, you need to make sure you are ready to assume the financial responsibility of making your payments in a timely fashion.

Managerial Challenges

Besides financial responsibility, residential income property management brings with it other unique challenges. Likewise, it demands certain skills above and beyond investment savvy and experience. To successfully manage your residential income property, you'll need a good combination of street smarts, interpersonal, and handyman skills.

More than any other income property type, residential property will bring you into close contact with those renting or leasing your property. Possibly the most important part is screening those you rent to. Background checks, calls to previous landlords, and searching interviews can save you a lot of headache and money down the road.

It's likely that at some point in the tenancy something will break or malfunction. If you have the ability to replace windows or wiring, know how to fix an A/C or refrigerator, or have rudimentary plumbing skills, chances are you will save some money by performing these tasks yourself.

Sometimes dealing with tenants can be the hardest part of owning residential income property. How well can you deal with angry, demanding people? Do you stay cool, calm, and collected in tense interpersonal situations? If so, you'll be prepared to deal with some of the issues likely to crop up during your management experience.

Conclusion

It's important to keep your goals in sight when managing a residential income property. Sometimes it's easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day duties of running the property that you lose sight of making a profit. Know your rights as a landlord; know your bottom line as an investor. As with any investment, having an accurate idea of your time horizon will, to a large extent, dictate the amount of effort and money you should put into your income property.

Cameron Brown is an internet marketer specializing in investment property. For more information about residential income property, please visit Security National Capital.


MORE RESOURCES:

Voice of America

CEO of embattled Hypo Real Estate to step down
BusinessWeek - 1 hour ago
The embattled German lender Hypo Real Estate AG announced Tuesday that its chief executive, Georg Funke, was stepping down, following intense pressure from ...
Video: Wall St.'s worst week in 7 years ReutersVideo
Hypo Real Estate Chief Quits, Succeeded by Wieandt (Update1) Bloomberg
UPDATE 1-Hypo Real Estate names Wieandt as new CEO Reuters
International Herald Tribune - Bloomberg
all 1,453 news articles


ING Clarion Global Real Estate Income Fund and ING Clarion Real ...
MarketWatch - 2 hours ago
... costs than the current default rates being paid on the ARPS," said Ritson Ferguson, Chief Investment Officer of ING Clarion Real Estate Securities. ...


Inland Real Estate Corporation Announces Date of Third Quarter ...
MarketWatch - 2 hours ago
Inland Real Estate Corporation is a self-administered and self-managed publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns interests in 146 neighborhood, ...
NorthStar Realty Finance Announces Third Quarter Earnings ... FOXBusiness
all 20 news articles


Washington Post

LRG Capital Real Estate Partners I Fund Purchases California ...
MarketWatch - 5 hours ago
LARKSPUR, CA, Oct 07, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- LRG Capital Real Estate Ventures, a subsidiary of LRG Capital Group, is pleased to announce that the ...
Value Added: Federal Capital's $230 Million Fund Washington Post
LRG Capital Real Estate Partners I Fund Purchases California ... PR-USA.net (press release)
all 9 news articles


Canada.com

US Stocks Drop, Led by Banks, Real-Estate Investment Trusts
Bloomberg - 4 hours ago
Banks and real-estate companies then led the market lower as the S&P 500 Financials Index slumped below its lowest closing level since 1997 even after Fed ...
Traders May Shy Away as Credit Crisis Spreads Trading Markets (press release)
World sharemarkets plunge Stuff.co.nz
US Stocks Drop; S&P 500, Dow Post Worst Retreats Since 1937 Bloomberg
Bloomberg
all 177 news articles


Seligman LaSalle International Real Estate Fund, Inc. Adjourns ...
MarketWatch - 6 hours ago
Investments in real estate securities may be subject to specific risks, such as risks to general and local economic conditions, and risks related to ...


Mercury Multimedia Wins Platinum PR Award for Real Estate TV Show
MarketWatch - 6 hours ago
At one point in the fall, Virtually Open House scored a 6.0 Nielson rating, an unprecedented high for a local real estate television program. ...


Dividend.com

Real Estate Examiner
Examiner.com - 2 hours ago
Michele Lerner has been gathering expertise about real estate for the past two decades, writing for regional, national and international publications for ...
Bank of America announces rescue plan for Countrywide borrowers San Jose Mercury News
Accord aims to save homes Sacramento Bee
BofA OKs foreclosure relief for Californians San Francisco Chronicle
all 1,309 news articles


Wachovia uncertainty fuels calls to real estate brokers
WCNC (subscription), NC - 1 hour ago
Uptown real estate broker Randy Cernohorsky tells NewsChannel 36 reporter Rad Berky he has had about 15 calls from Wachovia employees in the last week alone ...


Real estate agent tied up, robbed
Greensboro News Record, NC - 4 hours ago
GREENSBORO — A real estate agent was robbed and tied up by two men this past weekend. The Guilford County Sheriff's Office said a man entered the Allen Tate ...
Real Estate Agent Tied And Locked In Bathroom WFMY News 2
all 2 news articles

Real-Estate - Google News

home | site map
© 2006