Although the title of her article was “What Will You Do with Your Investment Property?” marketing writer Lynn Pineda’s piece came down to a dissection of a simpler binary choice. It took on the San Diego Downtown real estate investor’s elemental decision: flip or rent? And rather than concentrating on the run-of-the-mill financial analysis you’d expect, it smartly recognized the other dimension that should enter into that choice: the investor’s personality.
Most investors who buy San Diego Downtown homes do so with a strategy already in place. The purchase is usually propelled by the value proposition the property represents: a potential for profit that’s evident from the start. The attractive arithmetic may have been based on a fix-and-flip analysis, or on a traditional rental analysis. Especially for first-time investors, the ultimate success of the endeavor (and probably whether it becomes the first of many to follow) will probably also be determined by how well the temperament of the investor aligns with the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy. A breakdown of the advantages for each makes the point:
For the fix-and-flip strategy, the advantages are well-publicized. Author Pineda lists “Quick Money,” “No Long-Term Commitment,” “No Need to Deal with Tenants,” “Moving On to the Next Project,” and “Forced Appreciation” (that is, making improvements that increase value before selling).
For the renting out strategy, the advantages are quite different. Listed are “Long-Term Rental Income,” “Paying for the Mortgage,” “Ease of Financing,” “Natural Appreciation,” and “Growing Your Portfolio.”
Although an investor might choose either direction, the author suspects that different personalities are more likely to be comfortable with one or the other. There are those who are naturally drawn to “quick cash” versus those “attracted to long-term income.” Likewise, some investors welcome the “passive income” model versus others eager to “roll up their sleeves” to dive into new rehab frays.
Her thesis is that choosing the appropriate personality-appealing niche makes succeeding (and enjoying) the entire process much more likely—something that’s hard to argue with. And with so many San Diego Downtown real estate investment possibilities out there right now, it’s also true that it’s a great time to give me a call!
