Can you think like an investor while buying a house for end-use?

While buying a new home for yourself can be a fulfilling experience, you don’t have to just stop at that. You can – and certainly should – think of it in terms of an investment too. You are already going to be saving money, paying the down payment, and making instalments. While there are differences between an approach to investment and genuine home buying, there are similarities too. Here are some of the approaches you can take where you can buy a home for yourself but, at the same time, generate income through it too.

Investing in a house you don’t want

You know you want to buy a home, you also know where you want it, but for whatever reason, you don’t – or can’t – buy it yet. Perhaps you simply don’t have enough money at that time. What you can do, instead, is invest in a different place, house, or plot. Learn to think like an investor, and invest in a place that has a lot of potential for growth, but is relatively cheaper. Plan ahead about the duration before you buy your house, and research about whether the place where you are investing in would be ready for sale by then.

On the other hand, you can even make a short-term investment in plots and houses that you sell, and then use the profits for building your dream home. The usual rule is that a genuine buyer shouldn’t buy a house looking at the price appreciation of a place, but why can you not if there is a potential for its growth? If it doesn’t suit you, you can always sell it and buy a different place, and probably with profit if you choose wisely.

Renting a Portion

You are buying yourself a house, and you have more savings than you need for a home to meet your needs. Or alternatively, you already made a home which exceeds your needs. Why not rent it out? Just invest those savings into your own home. Buy a bigger one, with two storeys, perhaps. Rent a portion, or rent the upper floor.

On the other hand, you can even plan ahead, plan the map even, in such a way, that you are able to have a place, which you can rent out to a paying guest. Having a paying guest is, indeed, a better option than renting out your space, relatively speaking, since you can usually earn greater rent for lesser space, particularly in bigger cities like Lahore, Karachi or Islamabad.

Commercial or Semi-commercial Use

This isn’t something that can be done in the newer, more organized housing societies and projects since it usually isn’t allowed due to their bylaws or it goes against their very NOC. However, in other places, it can be done. The lower portion of the house can be used for a variety of commercial activities.

Some people rent out the lower portions, or even use it themselves for commercial activities, like shops etc. You can, in turn, even plan this beforehand if you aren’t making your home in a planned society. Similarly, if you don’t want to be disturbed by the noise that may be generated by, say, a shop or other form of more noisy commercial activity, portions of the home can be rented as warehouses too.

Do you know of any other ways that a home bought for end-use may be used for investment as well? Share with us in the comments.