How To Find A Good Location For Your Investment Property

When it comes to the real estate people say ‘Location, location, location’. I get that. The location is important from the saying but what decides good location and not so good? Is one particular location good for a particular type of people and not so good for the other type of people?

When you are buying an investment property, it is important to remind that the place is for your tenants, not for you to live in. For an example, a unit next to a pub might be a great location for a bachelor, but probably not for a family with young children. You need to think about what your target tenant types are to choose a good location for them.

My target tenant type is family, possibly with young kids. So I’d check the following points to see if a location is good for them.

Public transport options and distance to the followings (if not in a walking distance) - I’m not saying I like them all close to the property. Some of them are convenient to have near by but being too close to them can be bad (too much noise and night time traffic etc). And there are some places I’d like to avoid having near by.

• Shops - especially grocery stores
• Schools - including child care centers, universities
• Services - libraries, post offices, doctors, hospitals, gyms, major roads (highway), easy access to the street (not many one ways or road restrictions in rush hours)
• Amenities - public swimming pools, parks, bike/running routes
• Views
• Industry area - check out pollutions like chemical smells or big power tower
• Fast food shops
• Cemeteries
• Pubs
• Bottle shops
• Restaurants
• Churches - the bells noise and the traffic for the service might annoy some people
• Function venues - Concert halls or wedding venues might create too much noise
• Water way - dams, rivers, ponds, creeks. Are they securely blocked from public access or risk of flooding?

Other key points to check:

• Local employment rate
• Appearance of the neighboring houses and street
• Capital growth
• Future developments

Whew~!! There are lots to think about aren’t they?
Finding a good location requires lots of research. Even after your research you might not be able to know what makes a location good (or bad) for your tenants. I would make a checklist for a location and pick up a few locations to keep my eyes on them for a while to investigate. If those locations are near by, I would drive/walk around every now and then in different time of the day to see what’s the suburb is really like. I’m hoping that’ll give me some ideas of the location and improve my skills to see a good location to invest in.