When trying to determine what makes a good investment property you should keep in mind that regardless of the market real estate is always a good investment. While it may seem that there is an overabundance of available real estate now, keep in mind that after a recession those properties will be in high demand again. And the market will change again. It always does. And since there's only so much usable real estate on the planet no matter what piece of property you want to buy someone will eventually want to buy it from you when you're ready to sell. The key though, to determining what makes a good investment property, is not to think about making a profit when you sell the property, you need to make your profit when you buy it.

Buying an investment property is different than buying a home for you and your family to live in for the next 20 or 30 years. When you buy that home you look for certain amenities - a backyard for the kids to play in, an extra bathroom and a guest bedroom, a den or family room, new appliances, etc. But buying a home is more often than not an emotional decision. You find a home that your family likes first and then you worry about the financial details. You walk into the place and say, "Yes! This is the one!" and THEN you look at the roof and the pipes under the sink and check the basement for leaks. You're not the least bit concerned about how much you'll be able to resell that house for because you plan to live there for years so you buy it for the best price you can get and move in. You'll worry about making a profit off of it if and when you decide to sell it.

But if you buy an investment property with your heart instead of your head you're going to be in big trouble. With investment property you can't always count on someone who makes even worse decisions than you to come along and buy that property at a high enough price for you to make a profit. So you need to buy it for a low enough price to begin with. There are a lot of things you need to think about to determine what makes a good investment property.

One thing that you need to consider is how long you plan to keep the property. If you're planning to sell it after five years or so you may only have to make a few minor repairs while you own it. And patching a roof or repairing some plumbing pipes are tax deductible. But if you plan to own the property for twenty years you already know that during that time you're going to probably have to replace the roof, replace the plumbing and replace the appliances at least. None of which are tax deductible and if you want to recoup that investment you'll have to be able to get it out of the sale of the property. So the length of time that you plan to own the property is just one of the many decisions you'll have to make in order to determine what makes a good investment property.