Buying rental properties at the end of the year

[Ian Bautista]

Hello BPeeps!

I currently live in southern California and am working with a realtor and lender in Florida to purchase a rental property out of state.  I've also partnered with my best friend who is a local.  This will be our first investment property and we've found some promising leads which we're excited to pursue.  However, I'm now wondering if it's getting too late in the year to pull the trigger on buying.  Let's just say we find a property within the next week and it takes us 30 days to close and 30 days to rehab.  That has us finding tenants in the November timeframe at the earliest.  All my research has told me that November-January are the hardest times to find tenants.  If that's the case, is it still smart to buy this late in the year?  Or is this just another one of my excuses to stay in my analysis/paralysis stage?

-Ian 

[Scott Weaner]

I would not let the time of year dissuade you. I have rented properties in many different months.