What is the best way to invest in real estate? While an investor can utilize numerous strategies and approaches to pursue financial freedom, it starts with one debate: active versus passive investing.

Imagine this: you’re a new real estate investor. You want passive income. So you set your sights on a turnkey property requiring no renovations or lead time before you find a resident and start earning sweet, sweet cash flow. Only one problem: you decided not to use a property manager.

You may think to yourself – is that really a big deal? People landlord for their properties all the time! How hard can it be?

While taking on landlord responsibilities is something people do, you must be sure it fits into your vision of investing in real estate. Going in unprepared is a recipe for failure. You can have a pristine, beautiful turnkey property, but without proper management, it can all be a big waste of time and money.

Resident retention is the investor’s best avenue to reliable cash flow. Vacancies cost money – costs for lost rental income, preparing for the next resident, and marketing the property, to name a few! As a real estate investor, one of your top priorities – regardless of your strategy – is to keep good residents for the long haul.

But how do we do that? What do retention rates mean? How are they calculated? Keep reading to find out more!

How Retention Rates Work

We can talk about metrics all day, but they’re useless if we don’t understand how to calculate and interpret the data! Generally speaking, your rental property retention rate is calculated by dividing the number of residents (or renter households) that moved out during a twelve-month period by the total number of residents/households you had over that same period. Then, multiply that result by 100. 

Passive and active real estate investing are two distinct approaches to this business, each with advantages, drawbacks, and considerations. The strategy you choose often comes down to personal financial goals and preferences, but there’s no denying that passive investing offers a few distinct advantages for all investors.

Right now, investors want to ensure that any property they own or acquire maximizes its potential. After all, the investment market is less forgiving these days. Every decision counts!

Everyone has their reasons for investing in real estate but investing for retirement is by far the most common. That’s for good reason, too – real estate is widely regarded as the best way to build passive wealth!

No matter your financial circumstances, inflation is taking a toll on all of us. If you’re investing in real estate, you’re off to a good start in protecting your wealth from shrinking. After all, real estate is a hedge against inflation! However, it’s not enough to grow your wealth through equity and appreciation.

So, you’ve purchased an investment property. The renovations have been completed, the residents have signed a lease, and you’re ready to start earning some sweet, sweet passive income.

What’s the best way to save for retirement? Unfortunately, many of our traditional strategies don’t cut the mustard anymore! Relying on pensions, Social Security, or personal homes as an investment isn’t enough. There’s good news, though – you can still build and earn passive wealth to fund your dream retirement. 

Sustainability is a term we hear most often in relation to environmental efforts rather than wealth management.