A home is not just a place to live in and make memories, although that’s a huge part of it. It’s also probably one of the biggest investments someone will ever make. For this reason, there are many variables to consider when purchasing real estate.
“Sometimes people look at a home with a ‘right now’ perspective,” says Mark Rood, partner and vice president of lending for Modern Lending in Franklin. “Say there’s a home that’s a little cheaper, but it doesn't check as many boxes as you would like. While you may be able to get a great deal on this one today, think about its saleability factor years from now when you put that house on the market.”
What if you already have the perfect home, but want to invest in a vacation home to both live in and rent out? “Being in Nashville, we have a lot of clients who buy homes in Florida and on the Alabama coast. With these homes, practicality is second or third in line. It's a complete want.”
Do they want walkability to the beach or a place with lots of privacy? “Just like your primary residence, it's going to be location, location, location,” he says. If the location is highly desirable, your return on investment is going to be greater and you’ll also be able to ask for a higher rental fee.
“We run an exercise called AirDNA™ that will show what the rentability factor is for that actual home. Also, are you wanting to cover 100% of the costs of owning the home, or are you okay with 75%?” Those are important factors in making a decision.
Another real estate option is a straight investment rental property. “You look at that from a business perspective only,” says Mark. “You want to go with what's trendy and not necessarily what you like. You take all the emotion out of it. Instead, what do the masses want and where are you going to recoup all of your costs and then some?”
Even though interest rates are up, Mark still encourages people to get into real estate as soon as they can. “The sooner you get in, the more money you’re going to be making instead of the person who owns it now.”
Interest rates are starting to trickle down and have been since late summer, and he believes they will continue to decrease. “So, my confidence is coming back because what we do know is that when interest rates go down, appreciation goes up. The other thing we know is that although you may not get a 10% year-over-year appreciation, it's very, very hard to find a decade where a home did not appreciate.”
Regardless of the type of property being considered, the team at Modern Lending is first and foremost going to do a full analysis of their clients’ needs and goals. “We'll also take a look at their entire financial portfolio and may dive even deeper,” he says. “Then we’ll start looking at properties and mortgage options.”
Mark wants to make sure everyone is comfortable with their decisions before moving forward and making an offer; he doesn’t want them to have any regrets. “We want to have clients for a lifetime, so we take a very white-glove approach.”
With over 25 years of experience, he has been in the top 1% of mortgage professionals in the country for many years. He and his wife, Melissa, along with their dogs Lily and Paul, live in Brentwood, and Mark loves having his friends and neighbors as clients. He and his business partner, Chad Anderson, founded Modern Lending because they wanted a company with a truly local feel, and they believe they have accomplished that goal.
ModernLendingMortgage.com
“We want to have clients for a lifetime, so we take a very white-glove approach.”