Think You Can’t Make Money In This Real Estate Market? – Follow The Artists
By: Paula Stone

Finding good affordable real estate in cities can get really difficult. Finding the right neighborhoods for an investment in a home may seem overwhelming for those of us who like city life. The hope that we may find something near restaurants, work places and good environments for small businesses can get complicated and prohibitively expensive.

Living over the store is a good lifestyle with a long and distinguished history. Small business owners can save and thrive with this basic money saving strategy of working and living in the same space. It just seems really hard to find the right location.

But there is a way to find the affordable locations and the quality of life urban dwellers want and set yourself up to make very good money if you ever sell.

Follow the artists.

Why?

Artists usually don’t have much money early in their careers. They are also motivated by more than just the need for some place to live. They have to look for a lot of quality of life needs that real estate developers would ignore. They need to be near other artists, places to work and venues for their art.

Developers want the neighborhoods to be limited too much in a wrong-headed quest to guard property values in the same way as gated communities and suburban life styles do. City lifestyles want and look for coffee shops and restaurants and movie houses and galleries within walking distances of homes, not 10 or 15 miles away.

The atmosphere of creativity that comes from the artistic and entrepreneurial encourages other businesses to spring up around such communities, further enhancing run down neighborhoods and improving the quality of life for everyone living nearby.

While the payoff in such areas may be slow to develop, the value of real estate could go up significantly over the long haul and generate good places to live and do business.

Such mixed-use neighborhoods can revitalize degenerating places and push out crime by attracting more involved and demanding residents that municipalities want to please because of their contribution to the tax base.

Many municipalities encourage such revitalization with tax incentives, government loans and other perks. Municipalities want a good healthy tax base instead of a bunch of abandoned properties harboring criminals and will work to get things going. Money and investment follow the improving business climate.

As things start to improve, people come to shop, business notices, values go up slowly at first and then faster. All the businesses and homes feed the revitalization. For those of us who don’t cook it’s the best of all things…restaurants and coffee shops and work all near and dear.

Part of the attraction may be old buildings with special character and architectural detail. Huge old mansions may turn into multi family housing or mixed-use buildings. Big buildings could serve as homes and businesses both. A savvy investor might have a restaurant or antique store or rental units AND a home in one building.

The next thing you know you’re living in a desirable location. We have old friends who have lived their entire life in such surroundings. Sure the neighborhood wasn’t great when they first moved there shortly after they married. But now they live in an old house with lots of its original character and quaintness. It had to be remodeled, of course. Restaurants and shopping are very close. No need to crank the car. Best of all, the sale of the house could make their retirement very comfortable. It’s worth WAY more than it was when they first bought it. A beautiful city park is just 2 blocks away.

Are they happy? You bet!

If you can handle some risk and the danger for a few years, it just might pay off big for you and your new neighbors.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleJoe.com

Paula Stone is a black belt home remodeler and former Realtor. She works with her husband Ron in his mortgage business. Their website is full of Free information about the mortgage process and real estate. Visit it at www.alabama-mortgage-specialists.com“>Alabama Mortgage

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