Nearly 10 years after the worldwide financial crash of 2008, which wiped billions of dollars off the property market, many countries are still in recovery mode. One area which appears to have fared better than most over the last five years is Asia, especially in real estate. China’s continuing outflow of equity capital continues to play a large part, but buoyant domestic economies in India, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines are also significant factors.
With heavy government expenditure to improve the country’s infrastructure, investing in real estate in the Philippines is becoming an increasingly attractive proposition for small investors. But what do you do with those properties that are underperforming? Sell, maybe at a loss, or throw more money at them, speculating to accumulate?
Even if you took time to do significant market research to get the best condos for sale or for rent on Zipmatch, it is recommended for you to re-evaluate, and have a closer look at properties in the surrounding area.
While you may have bought the property at a knockdown price due to its shabby appearance, have you bothered to give it a lick of fresh paint? It may just be in need of redecoration and furniture replacement to have prospective tenants beating at the door. On the other hand, you may be trying to let the property furnished in an area where prospective tenants are looking for unfurnished accommodation – or vice-versa.
What type of property is performing well in the local rental sector? You might think keeping an apartment basic and asking lower rent would attract prospective tenants, but that’s not always the case. Adding air conditioning units, insect screens to the windows and doors, and increasing the security may do it, even with a moderate increase in rent.
Consequently, a little more financial outlay may be required. If the property is in a more affluent area of the metro, you can convert one or more bedrooms in a large apartment with en-suite and improve the decoration and fittings to attract higher earners. You should be able to recoup the outlay with higher rental incomes.
Does the area have a high student population? Whether living on grants or with help from parents or benefactors, students are notoriously hard-up. Converting the property to bed-sits, where each tenant has their own room with shared kitchen and bathroom facilities can be a win-win situation for both tenants and landlord. Students gain from the lower cost of a room, while the landlord gains from the additional number of tenants in the property.
Improving the renting potential of a property can also result in a few hundred to thousands of dollars. As mentioned previously, copious in-depth research needs to be undertaken before deciding which road to take. If additional capital required has to be raised by additional loans or remortgaging, then you need to make sure the outlay can be recouped from increased rents and, over the long term, increased property values.