With an ever growing job market, a real estate market that’s at it’s best since 2005, and a steady spillover of people looking for more affordable rentals from the Seattle, Bellevue, and Kirkland areas, Bothell looks like one of the perfect places for a new investor to purchase property in King County. With the average 2-bedroom single bath single family home currently renting out for around $1,000 ($950-$1154) a month, both purchases and rental rates work in your favor, meaning that now is definitely the time to invest in Bothell real estate. While there is a great deal to consider including the type of rental, the location, and whether or not you need a Bothell property management company to help out with the details, the following includes a quick overview of what you need to know before you purchase your first investment home.
Multi-Family Homes Offer More Value While it is true that any type of real estate is an investment, including empty land, some types of property are more valuable than others. Purchasing a multi-family home gives you a greater potential for income, mainly because it allows you to rent out more units at once, thus making more on the rent. While condos can technically rent for more per unit, multi-family units can cost as much as 40-80% less per unit than a condo, giving them a much stronger potential for ROI.
Location, Location You probably know that the location of the home does affect your ability to rent it, but if it’s reasonably nearby things to do or a school, then you don’t have to be too hung up on it. However, you should try to pay attention to what is nearby at each of your available options and choose the one with the most amenities. While the vacancy rate is low enough to make it harder for potential tenants to choose, you still want to have something great to offer potential tenants. Great amenities include nearby recreations like restaurants and bars, nearby waterfront access (areas around 19th Ave SE, Maple CT, Lake Pleasant, and Woodinville Drive all count), nearby location to bus stops, nearness to one of Bothell’s many parks (Blythe, E. Norway Hill, Stipek, Cedar Grove, or North Creek Forest), or even proximity to a school or college (Bothell High School is located on N.E. 180th, the Kenmore Jr. High School is between Locust Way, Cartel Rd, and 68th Ave. and so on.) Because there are more than ten schools in the Bothell area, you have plenty of locations to choose from. The local colleges, Cascadia Community College and the University of Washington, Bothell both operate off of the same campus, between Interstate 405, Woodinville Drive, and Beardsley Boulevard. It is also important to keep in mind that Bothell lies in two different counties (Snohomish and King) so you may want to purchase according to where you live.
ROI The most important consideration with any investment home, especially a first one, is that it have the correct potential for ROI. Return On Investment is important for obvious reasons, but to be able to calculate it, you have to calculate your potential interest, your average monthly income from it, upkeep and maintenance costs, and even the rate of inflation. While these factors can be difficult to keep up with, you can focus on the most important elements and use them to calculate whether or not the property is worth investing in.
Do You Need Help? It’s always important to take the steps to get help if you need it because managing property is no easy thing. Consider hiring a qualified Bothell property management company to help you with filling your new units, advertising, paperwork, collecting rent, and maintenance. Just do your research to make sure that you’ve got a good one. For starters, we’d like to suggest you take a look at our property management services or give us a call to find out what we can do for you.