The Purpose of Real Estate

One of the big buzz words in modern vernacular is ‘intentional’. We should have intentional programming to support education. We should be intentional with our tax dollars. That all makes sense.

Your real estate strategy should also be intentional. Of course, in order to determine the content of one’s intent, one must have some purpose in mind. So what is your purpose? Once you figure that out, you need to ask yourself one more question: does your purpose align with the purpose of the properties you’ve been searching?

Never thought of it that way? You should.

Consider this: for a time, it was common in Chicago for new homebuyers to search for two-flats. It was their intent to purchase a two-flat as a first step toward ultimate single family homeownership. The idea was that the additional rental income would help them offset costs while they built equity and learned a little about how to take care of a property. In other words, their intent was temporary, part of a larger, longer-term real estate ownership strategy.

But not every property lends itself to a temporary ownership. Some two-flats – many, in fact – are located in neighborhoods among rows and rows of two-flats. In those areas, too many turnovers in a period of time can depress (and has, in Chicago, depressed) all the home values around them. So what’s the purpose of these two-flats? Part of it is to accomodate the upward-moving homeowner, to be sure. But a larger portion of these properties are intended to be held by occupying homeowners.

The ratio of owner-occupied to non-owner-occupied properties in a given area can give you a read on whether the purpose of the real estate is being met. If it is not, or it’s in transition, that’s an indicator to you about the health and potential for instability of a particular asset.

These are all things to consider when you’re making a property purchase.In order to gain access to the data you need to figure these things out, it’s important to work with a professional team – your agent, attorney, inspector and lender – should all understand your purpose and also that of the property you wish to purchase. It is, after all, a good idea to be intentional in your real estate strategy.

For more information on how we can help you accomplish your real estate goals with the right strategy give us a call or visit www.carmenandtony.com. For all of your real estate needs, we’re here to help.