Singing the Song and Dancing the Dance

Singing the Song and Dancing the Dance

Have you noticed that every week there is a NEW pundit on TV asking the same OLD question, "Is now a good time to buy real estate or not?" And have you noticed that there are countless articles in print and even more online asking the same exact question? I think you may know my answer to that tired old question and to support my belief, I saw a very interesting article this week on Trulia indicating that it now it is cheaper to buy versus rent in most cities in the United States! Philadelphia is one of those cities.

Ok. Ok. I know what you are thinking. I am a Realtor®. Trulia is a Real Estate website. We have an agenda. We can spin the data and manipulate the numbers to say anything we want. Perhaps you are right, but, for those of you who know me and Stephanie, we have a pretty good sense of the market. We have been blogging about this Hot Real Estate Market for the last 2 years and echoing the same positive message - prices are attractive, interest rates are low, buyers have many properties to choose from and so forth... in essence YES! IT IS A GOOD TIME TO BUY!

For those of you who are already in a recently purchased home, you may be wondering, where am I going with this article? I want to share with you what we are doing right now. Stephanie and I don't just "talk the talk". We "walk the walk". In fact, lately we have been singing the song and dancing the dance. Thus, last week, we settled on another property in Old Kensington. Notice I said ANOTHER property hence we personally have been buying homes as investments. We believe that the "buy and rent" strategy that we adopted for the most recent property we purchased is just an example of what many of you might be interested in exploring. Some of the benefits of investing and the attributes we look for in an investment property are listed below.

• Tremendous cost basis on the purchase price or in simple terms- Great Price
• Terrific cash flow- meaning the rent income will be greater than the mortgage
• It is real- we can touch it, drive by it, manage it, improve it, versus intangible investments like in the stock market
• We are improving the community that we love
• We will be providing housing which is something that we take pride in
• Our investment will appreciate since we buy in up-and-coming areas of Philadelphia.
• Retirement planning through real estate (if we hold the property for 20 years) as the property will be paid off and we can potentially live off this property's income in addition to other real estate assets. Not to mention the equity that will be in the property as well.

So our opinion of the Philadelphia Real Estate market is no secret and as Jim Cramer says on "Mad Money", "BUY BUY BUY"!!!! But before you jump onto the dance floor with both feet, it is important to have a qualified dance instructor to teach you "the moves". Get a trusted adviser who knows the market and your goals, evaluate the property, the contracts, and make sure the numbers make sense etc.. That is good advice for anyone, whether you are buying as a primary residence or an investment.

Stephanie and I thought it would be good to share our thoughts on investing in Real Estate in hopes that some of you, who perhaps never considered it, may want to explore the possibilities. Admittedly, we may not be the best dancers in the world but but we know Real Estate. And speaking of bad dancers, we found another bad dancer with a message of inspiration.