Real Estate Investment Business 101: What You Need to Consider Before Selling

Most buyers consider real estate to be a long-term investment. You will likely hold on to your property for upwards of 5, 10, even 15 years. The decision as to whether you will sell an investment property will be based on many different factors.  It’s far different than when you sell a private home. This is particularly true as it relates to financial implications and capital gains. 

There are ultimately going to be many unique situations that lead to investment properties being sold by real estate investors. But, the considerations that many take are typically similar.

Considerations to Make When Selling Real Estate Investments

When you sell your real estate investments, you will need to make concessions. This is especially true with homes that have been flipped, The people who buy these properties will expect there to be home protection plans in place in case there are any problems due to the original condition of the homes. 

When people are buying a property, they consider the overall disrepair.  They focus on what type of long-term investment is going to be necessitated. A warranty can get expensive. This can also be a consideration when deciding to sell. 

There are several other considerations to think about, as well.

There are advantages to tax codes.

There is a tax-deferred exchange known as IRC Section 1031 for which investors can take advantage. This will allow investors to sell one property and buy another, which will enable them to avoid capital gains temporarily. 

Get Started

Claim up to $26,000 per W2 Employee

• Billions of dollars in funding available
• Funds are available to U.S. Businesses NOW
• This is not a loan. These tax credits do not need to be repaid

The ERC Program is currently open, but has been amended in the past. We recommend you claim yours before anything changes.

An investor must find another property within a 45-day timeframe and then purchase it within 135 days with a total time restriction of 180 days, but the taxes are indefinitely deferred. People opt to sell as a means of moving the capital from one business deal to the next.

The loan terminates

A lot of real estate investors put up some level of personal debt, and a majority will use term loans that won’t fully amortize as a residential mortgage does. They might have a term of perhaps ten years. At the end of this term, they need to decide whether to refinance or sell.  And, they are given very high prepayment penalties. These penalties force investors to wait out the term to sell.

The market

Selling looks appealing when the price points are high.  This is even the case for those who had not intended to sell. There is a fear as to what the next cycle may hold, mainly due to the recession and what some went through when they decided to wait, see, and lost.

Cheap real estate sectors

Investors have the option of claiming depreciation of buildings on taxes.  Many investors will dedicate a portion of their real estate portfolio as a means to reduce tax liability. 

In a typical scenario, a piece of real estate can depreciate over a few decades. Still, cost segregation studies allow for certain interior parts to depreciate much sooner if you want to use a more complicated route of depreciation processes.

Increasing taxes

There is a greater incentive to sell for investors when the municipalities decide to assess higher values to buildings increasing the property taxes for the developers. The rent that a landlord receives pays for the expenses incurred for the property, including fees. 

This means that any extra taxes will take away from the owner’s net proceeds unless they decide to raise the tenant’s rent. Raising rents could result in the loss of the tenants altogether. The investor has the option to lose money on the property or sell.

Stagnant rental income

If an investor sees the building’s property value has grown significantly, but the rental income is significantly low by comparison, this would be a good reason to sell. If you see an opportunity to get a much better return on a passive investment such as a tax-free municipal bond, it’s time to let go.

Conclusion

Deciding to sell your investment property doesn’t have to be about giving up or quitting. It’s strategic and part of the real estate development ‘game.’ In a lot of instances, developers choose to sell their smaller properties to level up. Investors outgrow the single-family homes and want to see how they do with the multiplex. It all hinges on having a keen sense for when is the right time to buy and when is it that they’re given the appropriate opportunity to sell to develop a useful, long-term strategy.

Priorities and strategies may change many times throughout investing. You learn to get better, rearranging the portfolio to reflect and serve the various new goals that you set for yourself as you go. No matter what reasons you may have for selling properties, what is critical is to be confident and decisive in following through on the process and knowing that you need to based on the considerations as outlined. If you want to get results from your investment, you must be proactive. You have to go after what you want for your financial future with drive and ambition, understanding that if the things that you’re doing aren’t producing the desired effect, you’ll need to try something else instead. But always keep going.