1. Need for Housing

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Pro

Literally everyone wants to have a place to live. A roof over your head is something just about everyone would list as a top priority in life. Yet homeownership in America is below 64%. So close to a third of the population still needs a place to live, and where do they find that place? A rental.

The need for housing will never go away. Some areas might get overcrowded, but there is always a need somewhere for more available living quarters. A huge bonus would be if you lived in or near a college town. Students are always looking for a good deal on housing, so if you are nearby to campus, you’re in business. For instance, if you were near Knoxville it could be worth consulting with West Knoxville real estate experts and looking for property nearby to invest in. There are around 8 colleges in the area, so no shortage of students looking for accommodation! You would need to check local university and college websites to see if they require anything specific from students or landlords.

Con

While just about every industry is hurt by a dip in the economy, people will still need a place to live. That isn’t to say that property investment is immune, there have been several real-estate market issues over the past 20 years. So do your due in knowing market trends before jumping in, perhaps consider consulting a real estate expert!

2. Control

Pro

Is anyone ever really in control? There are so many factors outside our control. As a property owner, you can take control of a number of things. You get to control things like rent, whether you provide any utilities or furniture, and who your renters are. This gives you a feeling of comfort and control that buying other investments can’t provide. Unless you own a large portion of stocks, your opinion is not going to matter to a company.

Con

While you are in control, that puts a lot of responsibility on your shoulders. You have to ensure that the apartment is a decent place to live, or it won’t be filled. You have to be responsible for repairs, insurance, and other fees. Owning a rental property comes with a number of costs, and you need to be prepared for that. Thankfully the experts at residential lettings doncaster can help you out if you are having difficulty getting started in the rental business.

3. Cost of Rent

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Pro

Like warm air, rent rises. Well, it usually does. That is a definite pro for property owners, as they can make more money off their investment. Raising the price of your rent will allow you to potentially see an increase in your cash flow, which is the whole point of investing, right? Seems like a win for the owner, although as a renter I can verify that increasing rent is not cool.

Con

Usually, when rent goes up there is a reason for that. It may be a higher cost on your lot fee or another unexpected fee. That seems logical, you get hit with a higher fee, so you raise the rent to compensate. The problem is that you aren’t actually making any more money. A very rudimentary example would be if you charging $900 a month for rent and your average monthly costs are $500, you are making $400 a month. If one month your costs go up to $600, you may raise your rent to $1000 monthly, but as you can see by doing simple math, the profit is still $400.

Note: These numbers are just figures and I am not claiming in any way they are realistic. There are a lot of costs and fees that go into owning property and this does not reflect those, these numbers are simply being used to prove a point.

4. Save Costs

Pro

As a property owner, you have the ability to cut some significant costs. If you are handy, you can do necessary repairs and avoid having to hire someone to do them. Even if the part is pricey, you are still saving on the labor costs. You can even help your tenant maintain their own washer dryer rental as to give them some independence as well as cover the cost of repairs and maintenance on those appliances without doing it yourself.

Many property owners hire a management company to handle this side of things for them, this can be a great way to have complaints, queries and any other property related qualms handled in one place and let’s you focus on other things. When things like repairs do arise, the management company will forward you a list of what needs doing, at this point you can decide to action the repairs yourself or get in professionals to do the job, which is the more common option when landlords have multiple properties. Doing a search online for property management near me can give you a list of suitable partners online, the decision of which one to go with will likely depend on the kind of properties they have experience with. So for instance if you own a flat or several apartments, you’d want to find one who specialises in these so that they have the right knowledge to aid in maximising your rental income.

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Con

The downside to this is simply that you will be spending more time at your property, Being a hands-on property owner isn’t bad, and many people prefer to do it that way. If you are already a busy individual, having to visit your property all the time is not going to help your schedule or attitude.

Property investment is a great way to go if you are looking for a solid investment to last over many years. If you are smart and do your research well property ownership could suit you very well. Some people buy a little house and rent it. Others build apartments. Regardless of the size of your property, it can be profitable if you invest the necessary time and effort into your investment.

The post 4 Pros and Cons of Property Investment appeared first on InstantELLA.

Many people are either renting their apartment or home nowadays, meaning they might not necessarily own they space they live in.

This can sometimes make it feel like their rental isn’t exactly their forever home, and therefore it can be hard to make it feel comfortable and homey.

But just because you aren’t going to be there forever doesn’t mean you can’t add your own personal touch to where you live and really make it feel like your home while you are there.

Here are the top five ways to make a rental feel like you own the place and leave your mark, without actually leaving any trace at all (because we all want our deposits back at the end of our stay!)

1. Put things on the wall

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It might seem like a hassle to put anything up on the walls in the home or apartment you are renting and just one more thing you have to take down when you move, but putting up art or pictures of you and your family is a great way to make it feel like home.

You can get creative and put up a gallery wall or classic by putting up a couple of beautiful paintings in all the rooms.

But it will pleasantly surprise you the difference between a blank wall and a wall with something on it.

2. Add shelves

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Shelves are a great way to customize a space and make it looked lived-in in a good way in your rental home.

You can customize it even more by re-arranging what you have on the shelf with cute knick-knacks and some more nice pictures or paintings.

Shelves also make for great extra storage, especially if your rental apartment or home lacks for storage space.

Just make sure you ask your rental manager to make sure you can put holes into the wall or if your shelving units need to be unattached.

3. Add some light

Whether it’s a light fixture or some nice looking lamps, adding light to any of the rooms in your living space not only brightens it but adding light adds warmth and comfort as well.

The nice thing is that if you replace any of the light fixtures while you are living there you can keep the originals and just replace them when you need to move out.

4. Add some life

Things like plants and flowers are a great way to make space more personal and homey, plus fresh flowers can make it smell great as well.

If you want to save some money and are worried you don’t have enough of a green thumb, you can also have the look of plants and flowers but without the responsibility by buying fake ones.

5. Create interest with rugs

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Rugs are a great way to cover some not-so-nice-looking floors as well as make a rental home or apartment more inviting.

You can find some beautiful rugs that can become a focal point for each of your rooms.

The great thing as well is when you decide to move you can just roll them up and take them to your next place.

The post Top 5 Ways to Make a Rental Feel like Your Forever Home appeared first on InstantELLA.

Now, most amenities you could probably do without, but if you’re in a position where you’re moving long distance or pretty frequently, having a furnished space may be one of your must-haves, but a furnished apartment will come with its own downsides.

Moving

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Getting a furnished place is great if you want to avoid the heavy lifting of moving furniture in. It also means you can move in and out more quickly since you won’t need to spend time finding extra hands and vehicles to help you move everything.

However, getting a furnished place may become more of a hassle if you already have some or all of your own furnishings. You may have to find a space to store them in and, depending on your choice of storage, pay a storage fee you hadn’t been planning on.

Costs

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If you don’t have your own furniture already, you likely won’t need to worry about any storage costs, but you may see higher expenses elsewhere. If a home comes furnished, it will likely have a higher monthly rent, and if you choose to rent from a furnishing company, that will come with its own monthly charge.

You’ll want to compare this expense against the amount you would need to spend on purchasing any items you don’t have. You may find that it’s cheaper for you in the long run to have a furnished apartment.

Durability

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Trying to furnish your own space may mean scouring charity shops for pieces that are well-used but still in decent condition, but there’s no guarantee you’ll find what you’re looking for.

One major benefit of getting a place that comes furnished is someone has already invested in nice, updated pieces that will last. The only real downside here is you’ll be expected to take care of those pieces so they’ll continue to be in good shape, which may mean specific rules or care that come along with your lease.

Style

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Last but not least is the style and vibe of your space, and your furniture plays a big role in this. Chances are, if the apartment comes furnished or you’re outsourcing to a furnishing company, there will be a consistent style with each piece, meaning your home will look put together will very little effort on your part.

But it doesn’t mean that style will be to your taste. If the owner is furnishing it, you’re stuck with that style, but if you’re using a furnishing company, you may be able to choose from several style options to fit your own taste.

Open Communication

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Most property listings, like those on rooftoprentals.net, will tell you what items are and aren’t furnished. If you find a place you absolutely love that doesn’t fit your furnishing needs, it never hurts to reach out to the owner or property manager.

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You can find out if they would be willing to furnish some pieces that you don’t have or remove pieces to make way for your own.

The post Renting a Furnished Apartment or Home appeared first on InstantELLA.

Of course, the largest influencer in the decision is finances. If you don’t have the money for it, you won’t be able to buy a home, plain and simple. You’ll need a large enough income to cover a mortgage, plus homeowner’s insurance, and other expenses like utilities and an HOA fee.

But money isn’t the only deciding factor. When it comes to buying a home, you need to also account for your lifestyle, future career changes, your goals and dreams, whether you are ready to settle down or not, and more when making the choice.

Are You Ready to Settle Down?

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Buying a place, whether it’s a condo, a home, or something else, is a way of settling down for a long time. When you rent a place, you can move away after the contract is up, or even leave during your contract period for a fee. When you buy a home, you can’t just up and leave, you have to sell the place first. Depending on where you live, that could be somewhat easy or very difficult, but usually you are looking at around a 3 to 6 month process.

If you aren’t ready to make a commitment to living in a specific area or city, or think your career might take you to other places, buying a home is not right for you. Renting gives extra flexibility to be able to up and leave at a moment’s notice and move across a city or the world. If your job or even personal preferences mean moving from place to place on a regular basis, don’t buy a place, rent.

Similarly, if you want to see the world, or live in exotic places, don’t buy a home. Pursue those dreams and put your extra money towards them instead of putting it in savings for a home. Get the travel bug out now, because once you have a home, it becomes a lot harder to spend a few months backpacking through Europe.

Comfortable with Home Maintenance?

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When renting a place, if something in the home breaks, you can call the landlord to fix it. Leaky sink? Call them up to contact a plumber for you. Wasps building a nest outside your front door? It’s your landlord’s job to get rid of them.

But when you buy a home, all of these problems, and more, become your responsibility. If you are swimming in cash, then sure, you can call specialists for each problem that needs fixing, but that’s probably not the case. That means getting comfortable with fixing things when they break and managing disasters when they strike. These are all things to keep in mind when looking at homes for sale on a Saturday afternoon.

Another point to consider if you are buying your first home, is whether to buy a fixer-upper home or spend more to get something nicer and newer. A new home will cost more, but have less maintenance needs and costs. A fixer-upper though will have more updating and maintenance, meaning you’ll need to be comfortable working on the home.

Making a Place Your Own

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While having to perform maintenance on a home is kind of a bummer, there is a major upside of not having a landlord: You have complete control over the home. There is no landlord telling you not to hang pictures using nails, prohibiting burning candles, or requiring permission to paint the walls. You can do whatever crazy things you want when you own a home, short of violating HOA standards in your neighborhood. To begin your quest to find a home, search online for ‘homes for sale in mount vernon il‘, or set to your preferred location.

Want to paint every wall hot pink? Go for it. Any type of home renovations or improvements are yours to do. That can be as small or large as you want, ranging from a simple paint job to knocking down walls. Home improvements don’t even have to be costly, just be smart about how you do them and you can make your home look great on a budget.

If you’re tired of living under the thumb of a super controlling landlord, consider buying your own home. That way, you have nobody to answer to but yourself (…and maybe the other people you live with).

Taking the Leap, Buying a Home

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Again, the most important factor in buying a home is finances. If you don’t have the income to cover a mortgage and extra home-owner costs, don’t buy a place. But if you can afford it, have a stable income, and the renting life is starting to become too much to bear, buying a home might be the solution.

Don’t let your first time owning a home become a headache. Plan ahead for everything, from the home buying process, to having a stress free move, to deciding early on what kind of remodels and decoration to do. That way, everything goes as smoothly as possible, and you can quickly adjust to the homeowner lifestyle.

The post How to Know Whether You Are Ready to Buy a Home or Keep Renting appeared first on InstantELLA.

But now one big question comes to mind: where will you live? On campus or off campus is the question, which one is the best option for you? Should you choose on-campus housing or off campus? And what does that even mean?1

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Here are a few pros and cons for housing on campus and off campus from some student apartments for BYU-I housing, which can hopefully make the decision process a little easier.

On-Campus

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The definition of on-campus housing is that the housing is considered to be on the actual campus, the most well-known type of on-campus housing being dorms.

Pros

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There are many pros to living on campus, especially if you are new to college and this is your first semester. Also, a lot of on-campus housing includes a meal plan, meaning you won’t have to worry about cooking.

The first pro is that you are on campus, meaning you are close to all the amenities that campus offers such as the school cafeteria or gym.

Another is that you most likely won’t need a car because you will be within walking distance for most parts of the campus.

Cons

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One con that many attribute to on-campus housing are that the people who tend to live there are mostly first or second semester students, so there isn’t a lot of variety in age and experience.

Also, some may find concentrating a little more difficult due to a large amount of activity in or outside the rooms.

Another con is that most of the on-campus housing means having more roommates than some of the off-campus housing.

Off-campus

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Off-campus housing is most apartment complexes that are around or very near the school but are technically not in school housing. Some colleges even have an approved housing list, which differs from just the community housing for that city.

Pros

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The off-campus housing means a little more independence and freedom, which can give the student more opportunity to learn responsibility and accountability.

Off-campus housing can also offer a little more variety of students, as well as more freedom for activities and such.

Another benefit of off-campus housing is that it can sometimes offer the student more privacy than on-campus housing can, with opportunities for private instead of shared rooms.

Also, there are instances where off-campus housing can be a little more cost-effective than on-campus housing just because there are more price options to choose from.

Cons

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One of the cons of off-campus housing is that depending on where you live it can be more of a commute to campus and may even require a car.

Sometimes with off-campus housing, you may need to make a little more effort to get involved in social activities on campus.

Also, there may be times off-campus where the tenants may be more rambunctious and noisier than on-campus housing.

Even though there are pros and cons for both on-campus and off-campus housing, either way, there is a great option for you and your needs.

The post Off-Campus Versus On Campus: The Pros And Cons of Choosing Student Housing appeared first on InstantELLA.