Buying an investment property in current environment

[Ramaranjan Ruj]

Hello,

I'm considering purchasing an investment property in Glen Allen, VA . The the property is a townhome listed at 400,000. However, the builder is offering incentives worth $20,500 ($12.5k discount on purchase price + $8,000 off on closing cost) which brings the sale price to $387,500 and almost zero closing cost. I expect the rent to be between $2,600 and $2,750.

Considering 8% interest rate for the mortgate at 25% downpayment, i expect it to barely breakeven if i manage the property by myself. Would you recommend to buy the property now or wait for a while? I certainly see the trend that home prices have been dropping and it appears to me that i will drop even further if the interest rates continue to stay high. I don't mind managing the property but would you recommend to invest the money somewhere else for now (stock market?) given there is hardly any cash flow. My goal is to generate cash flows in the future (15+ years time horizon).