INVESTMENT STRATEGY
RENTALS
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The Evolution of the American Dream: From Buying to Renting SEVERAL FACTORS HAVE CONVERGED TO MAKE RENTING MORE ATTRACTIVE THAN PURCHASING A HOME.
by PlanOmatic
he past couple of years have changed us. Americans have reprioritized their lives, and the traditional lifestyle no longer fits. We don’t want to be rooted in one place. Companies have evolved, offering many people a work-from-anywhere option. So, more people are choosing to rent rather than to purchase a home. If you bought a condominium in the city and had kids, that may no longer be the lifestyle you want. You need to deal with selling, mortgage approvals, and finding a new home in the right school district. The rental lifestyle, however, allows people to pick up and move anytime. Do you want to try living in a farmlet in rural Wisconsin? Go for it. Do you want to move to the top school district in your state? You do you. Want to move to a premium home with all the amenities? You can! Renting provides the flexibility to evolve. Besides freedom, why is there a trend toward renting over buying? Here are the top five. NO. 1 Buying Is Hard In the microeconomic environment we’re in, buying is more complex than ever before. Prices are soaring, and loan approvals are more difficult. The Great Recession taught mortgage lenders you can’t approve everybody without consequences. The popularity of subprime mortgages T
between 2007-2010 allowed buyers to get approval for higher sums than they could truly afford, causing foreclosures to skyrocket. Since then, the mortgage industry has tightened up, and it has become more challenging to get approved for a loan. NO. 2 Pandemic Perspective Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, perspectives have changed. People want freedom and space. Many em- ployees can work from anywhere and are no longer tied to the location of their company. So, why be tied down at all? Renting offers the flexibility to try new cities, move out to the coun- try, or live a nomadic lifestyle. NO. 3 Renting Up You can enjoy a better lifestyle by renting because it allows you to live in a home you couldn’t afford to buy. Based on your mortgage approval limitations, you might not be able to afford a home in a great school district, with lots of acreage or expansive square footage. However, you can have all those things when you choose to rent. NO. 4 Salaries Are Increasing Employees are earning higher wages, which means they no longer need roommates. So, what used to be four people in a
four-bedroom house is now four separate rental houses. NO. 5 Premium Rentals More real estate companies are investing in single-family rentals (SFR) and taking rentals up a notch. They’re no longer just a house to live in, but a home with amenities. These more prominent SFR investors have the means to bring in technology to streamline processes like tenant leasing, onboarding, rent collection, and service. Owner-operators, property managers, and startups make renting an affordable and convenient lifestyle choice. The rental trend is likely to continue for some time. Housing inventory is low, and loan approvals are complex. There is no sign any of this will change. The low vacancy rates prove this is a lifestyle that people want. • PlanOmatic provides quality photos, floor plans, and 3D nationwide to the single-family rental industry, with speed and at scale. With a mission to show a million people their homes for the first time, PlanO- matic is a tech-enabled service company serving single-family rental owners/operators, property management companies, and iBuyers through a client-centric approach. Offering integrations and business intelligence solutions for its partners to streamline their operations and marketing work- flow, PlanOmatic continuously improves its services to lead innovation in the real estate industry.
32 | think realty magazine :: september - october 2022
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