Investors ask: Improving cash flow
Q. I need to balance out my portfolio, so – other than waiting for the rental market to improve and paying down my loan ahead of time – is there anything creative I can do to turn a cash flow-negative property into a cash flow-positive one?
A. When it comes to creating positive cash flow, a great strategy is tapping into student accommodation.
Now, I don't mean specifically-built, tailor-made student accommodation. I'm talking about a house near a university where you can rent out each room to students.
So, four bedrooms, four students, four lots of rent. But here's the exciting part. What you could do is add a vending machine into that property.
Obviously, you'd also provide internet, because students need it for their studies, but that vending machine? Well, I know investors who make more money out of that vending machine than they do the rent, because what don't students like doing? Cooking.
So, if you're looking for some smart and out-of-the-box ways to create cash flow, have a look at houses around universities where you can put students in, put in some internet, maybe throw in a cleaner to make sure your property is well maintained, and a vending machine, and watch the cash flow in.
Helen Collier-Kogtevs, director, Real Wealth Australia