Buying a rental property and becoming a landlord may be a good investment … or not. But either way, it’s a job.
In this week’s Ask the Expert,which is part of CNN’s Savings Challenge,Douglas Boneparth, certified financial planner and founder of Bone Fide Wealth,offers a few questions to gauge whether the move would be right for you.
Reader:Is an investment property worth it?
DOUG: The honest answer? It depends! And anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.
Investment properties can absolutely build wealth over time. The combination of rental income, appreciation and tax advantages like depreciation has made real estate a meaningful part of a lot of people’s financial lives. I get why it’s appealing.
But here’s what the highlight reels on social media tend to leave out. Owning rental property is a job. You are a landlord. That means tenants, vacancies, maintenance calls, repairs you didn’t budget for and the occasional nightmare scenario that no spreadsheet prepares you for.
Before you pull the trigger, I’d want you to honestly answer a few questions.
-
Can you carry the mortgage if the property sits empty for two or three months?
-
Do you have the liquidity to handle a major repair without it derailing your broader financial plan?
-
Are you buying in a market where the rent covers your costs (mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance) with something left over?
-
And are you doing this because it genuinely fits your goals, or because it sounds like a good idea at dinner parties?
If the numbers work and you have the stomach for it, real estate can be a legitimate wealth-building tool. If you’re stretching to make it work on paper, it’s probably not worth it.
Run the numbers (not just the optimistic ones) and let those be your guide.
Tip of the week: Quick ways to up your credit score
Many factors go into a score, but one way to raise yours quickly is to lower the utilization rate on your credit cards. That’s the percentage your outstanding balances together representrelative to yourcombined credit limit.
