In “The Empire Strikes Back”, villainous Darth Vader tells Lando Calrissian: “I am altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it any further.”
Darth wanted to renege on his agreement, taking Princess Leia and Chewbacca captive. He lied, cementing his evil status.
But as a real estate investor, once you possess property, you’re in control. You could even be encouraged to alter the deal. Nothing nefarious here.
Let’s look at five ways you can alter deals to your advantage without being a grifter.
Refinancing: If you buy a property and then later, mortgage interest rates rise, you can simply hold on with what you’ve got. Compared to others, it soon feels like a low rate.
But if rates fall, you can refinance.
You’ve altered your deal. No one is going to call you a stormtrooper with the evil Empire.
Altering the deal is within the rules. So tilt them your direction.
During the refinance, you even have the option of harvesting accumulated equity, tax-free, all while retaining the property.
Tenant structure: Say that your short-term rental strategy (AirBnB, VRBO) becomes too much to manage and is less profitable than you had expected.
You can sell the furniture and convert it to a more stable, long-term rental.
There are myriad other tenant structure strategies.
Perhaps you can convert your single-family home into a duplex or turn it all into an assisted living facility.
If your life took some odd twist, you could even transform a rental property into your own home.
Lease-Option: Let’s say that you have a stable, long-term tenant that really likes your place.
You can give them the alternative of having them pay you higher rent in exchange for a rent-to-own option.
Improvements: Alter your deal by making it more attractive through adding a carport, upgrading vinyl floor with hardwood floor, or adding a foyer. You could simply replace an appliance.
Now you’ll attract a better quality tenant and can often raise the rent too.
Sell: You can sell long before your 30-year loan comes to term, altering the deal.
Your sale can effectively be a tax-free event via a 1031 Like-Kind Exchange.
Once you own property, you can make the rules.
Higher mortgage rates mean lower homeowner affordability. This has made rental demand surge.
Landlords are have a galaxy full of options.
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