{"id":2437,"date":"2013-02-03T10:05:01","date_gmt":"2013-02-03T10:05:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/?p=2437"},"modified":"2013-02-03T10:05:01","modified_gmt":"2013-02-03T10:05:01","slug":"investing-in-an-apartment-what-to-look-for-by-rafael-amoranto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/?p=2437","title":{"rendered":"Investing in an Apartment: What to Look for  by Rafael Amoranto"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>What features make a great apartment that renters will love and will make you money when you sell?<\/p>\n<p>Unique appeal<\/p>\n<p>Look for a feature that sets your apartment aside from others, whether it is larger floor size, a view, hallway entrance or hardwood floors that could be polished up.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Older-style low-rise apartments are often considered a good choice by investors because this means there are fewer units the same as yours and greater opportunity to add value via renovation.<\/p>\n<p>New apartments also have their advantages as they can attract higher rent and depreciation benefits. If you can&#8217;t decide between old or new, study the rental yields and capital growth history of other apartments on the block (request figures from the agent or use online property research reports).<\/p>\n<p>Small blocks<\/p>\n<p>Blocks with fewer apartments compare favourably to a lot of units in a large block because each owner owns more of the land \u2014 which is important when you consider that land value accounts for a significant part of the capital growth prospects of a property.<\/p>\n<p>Good location<\/p>\n<p>Have a look at what&#8217;s around the area \u2014 is there public transport in walking distance? Shops nearby or a cafe culture? Avoid apartments that are next to busy roads, train lines or petrol stations. A good location will not only bring higher rent but also stronger capital gains.<\/p>\n<p>In-demand amenities<\/p>\n<p>A car space broadens tenant appeal and gives you a valuable marketing point when it comes time to sell. Other attractive amenities include an outdoor area and a private laundry.<\/p>\n<p>Look at the area&#8217;s demographics to help you profile your target tenants \u2014then think about what amenities they would most like.<\/p>\n<p>Security features<\/p>\n<p>Apartment complexes that provide security doors and intercom systems are a better choice than those where anyone can walk into the building off the street.<\/p>\n<p>Pleasant aspect<\/p>\n<p>Living areas that face north or north-west bring in the sunlight and have greater tenant appeal, as does a pleasant outlook (i.e., not looking on to a brick wall). It might be worth paying a little extra for a good aspect.<\/p>\n<p>Low body corporate fees<\/p>\n<p>Check out the body corporate fees. A building with lifts or other bells and whistles that have to be maintained will bump up the body corporate fees and eat into your rental returns. ? (<strong>Financial Genius: Tel. No. 9858 2446<\/strong>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What features make a great apartment that renters will love and will make you money when you sell? Unique appeal Look for a feature that sets your apartment aside from others, whether it is larger floor size, a view, hallway entrance or hardwood floors that could be polished up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2437"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2437\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}