Real estate investing software :: what does it bring to the investor?
Real estate investing software is what EquityScout is all about. Ironically, it’s not something that I talk about a lot in this blog. There’s a reason for that. In my view real estate investment software is a tool - one of many - that can help investors to reach their goals. Much more important that the tool is the thought process that it supports. That’s what I write about - the though process - and readers who identify with the thought process and the philosophy end up check out the tool.
So that said, what are real estate evaluation tools useful for? Here’s a few thoughts:
Real estate investment software adds discipline to the investment process. Buying real estate, by its very nature, can be an emotional process. And that’s ok; gut feel and intuition are qualities that are crucial to successful investing. But discipline is equally important. Software can bring some structure to your decision making process. Real estate investment software forces investors to explicitly state their assumptions. GIGO :: garbage-in-garbage-out. You can punch in assumptions to make any investment look like a barn burner - but if you’re buying a starter duplex in Los Angeles for $500k that rents for $2,500 per month then you’re actually going to have to assume a 20% appreciation rate for the investment to break even. And you’re actually going to have to type those numbers - “20%” - into the model. Being forced to explicitly articulate your assumptions in this way can be a good gut check - and sometimes can be just the wake-up call you need to get you to take off those rose colored glasses. Software helps investors to compare dissimilar investment opportunities. Should I buy a fourplex, that duplex around the corner, or a couple of single family homes? I have a different view on each, how do they stack up? Real estate investment software helps geeks to pull the trigger. This, for me, is the big enchilada. I’m an engineer by training, which means that sometimes I can’t spell too good (as some of you will have noticed from the occasional typo on this blog) and that I need to see some numbers before I can get off of the fence and take action.
Read here to see more pros and cons of the real estate software approach.
Look before you Leap Five Things to Remember when Running Economic Analysis Is a Real Estate Investment Software package right for you?
equityscout.com