SMART Investor eGuide

3. SMART Property Search

Starting the Search

Working with your identified search criteria, we will start the property search using our SMART Residential Income Property Search Engine^©. Other useful information we provide you:

Comparative rents for area
Heat Map
Ability to Enter Total Investment Amount

Check out this complete description of How It Works.

Candidate Properties

We will come up with candidates, analyze them, refine them, throw many out, and identify those you may want to review. Then, you can analyze the Candidate Property Package (see below), and start the decision making process.

Talk To Listing Agents

Here are several things we go over with the listing agent on these candidate properties:

Drive-by Only?
Subject to:

Offer presentation?
Offer acceptance?

Property condition?
How long have tenants been in there?
Good tenants?
Paying on-time?
Complaints?
How accurate are the rents?

Current
Pro Forma (we will know the answer to this question in advance! by doing rent comps; it will give you an opportunity to gauge the knowledge and forthrightness of the listing agent)

Optional:

Condo: known restrictions?
Why has it been on the market so long?

Candidate Property Package

We provide the following information property package for each search:

List of Candidate Properties with Investment Decision Points Highlighted
Map of Property Locations
Each Property:

MLS Listing
SMART Opportunity Analysis Report
Price Comps
Rent Comps
Recommendation
Market Conditions

Client Review of Candidate Properties

After you review the Candidate Property Package, you will likely have questions, need explanations, discard some, select others, and then we go back to the drawing board.

We will refine help refine your search criteria along the way, and hopefully select one or more candidate properties to view and/or make an offer on. Here's what you can expect:

Preview/View Selected Properties

Since many income properties are "drive-by only", you should be reassured that you are under no permanent obligation when we submit an offer "subject to buyer inspection", and can back out of the offer with no penalty if you are not satisfied with the property after inspecting the interior.

If we can get into one or all units before submitting the offer, great. If not, you will have plenty of opportunity once the offer is either presented or accepted (usually the latter). When you do get in, get a feel for the property, the tenants (if you should meet them), the neighbors and the area. Some things a single family buyer may be unwilling to overlook (such as proximity to commercial areas) may be more acceptable in a rental situation.

Some specifics to look for during the viewing:

Meters (usually gas meters are separate per unit; rarely electric; water virtually never)
Common areas
Unit separation/privacy

Information Accuracy

Here's a good thing to remember: The closer you get to completion, the better and more accurate the information will be.

Here's what you may or may not know before the offer or Close of Escrow (more on these coming up):

Tenant lease terms/rents (or even if they have leases)
Expenses
Meters
Property condition

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3. SMART Property Search