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How To Write A Real Estate Business Plan

apartment investing business plan

What is a real estate business plan?

8 must-haves in a business plan

How to write a business plan

Real estate business plan tips

Success in the real estate investing industry won’t happen overnight, and it definitely won’t happen without proper planning or implementation. For entrepreneurs, a  real estate development business plan can serve as a road map to all of your business operations. Simply put, a real estate business plan will serve an essential role in forming your investing career.

Investors will need to strategize several key elements to create a successful business plan. These include future goals, company values, financing strategies, and more. Once complete, a business plan can create the foundation for smooth operations and outline a future with unlimited potential for your investing career. Keep reading to learn how to create a real estate investment business plan today.

What Is A Real Estate Investing Business Plan?

A real estate business plan is a living document that provides the framework for business operations and goals. A business plan will include future goals for the company and organized steps to get there. While business plans can vary from investor to investor, they will typically include planning for one to five years at a time.

Drafting a business plan for real estate investing purposes is, without a doubt, one of the single most important steps a new investor can take. An REI business plan will help you avoid potential obstacles while simultaneously placing you in a position to succeed. It is a blueprint to follow when things are going according to plan and even when they veer off course. If for nothing else, a real estate company’s business plan will ensure that investors know which steps to follow to achieve their goals. In many ways, nothing is more valuable to today’s investors. It is the plan, after all, to follow the most direct path to success.

real estate investing business plan

8 Must-Haves In A Real Estate Business Plan

As a whole, a real estate business plan should address a company’s short and long-term goals. To accurately portray a company’s vision, the right business plan will require more information than a future vision. A strong real estate investing business plan will provide a detailed look at its ins and outs. This can include the organizational structure, financial information, marketing outline, and more.  When done right, it will serve as a comprehensive overview for anyone who interacts with your business, whether internally or externally.

That said, creating an REI business plan will require a persistent attention to detail. For new investors drafting a real estate company business plan may seem like a daunting task, and quite honestly it is. The secret is knowing which ingredients must be added (and when). Below are seven must-haves for a well executed business plan:

Outline the company values and mission statement.

Break down future goals into short and long term.

Strategize the strengths and weaknesses of the company.

Formulate the best investment strategy for each property and your respective goals.

Include potential marketing and branding efforts.

State how the company will be financed (and by whom).

Explain who is working for the business.

Answer any “what ifs” with backup plans and exit strategies.

These components matter the most, and a quality real estate business plan will delve into each category to ensure maximum optimization.

A company vision statement is essentially your mission statement and values. While these may not be the first step in planning your company, a vision will be crucial to the success of your business. Company values will guide you through investment decisions and inspire others to work with your business time and time again. They should align potential employees, lenders, and possible tenants with the motivations behind your company.

Before writing your company vision, think through examples you like both in and out of the real estate industry. Is there a company whose values you identify with? Or, are there mission statements you dislike? Use other companies as a starting point when creating your own set of values. Feel free to reach out to your mentor or other network connections for feedback as you plan. Most importantly, think about the qualities you value and how they can fit into your business plan.

Goals are one of the most important elements in a successful business plan. This is because not only do goals provide an end goal for your company, but they also outline the steps required to get there. It can be helpful to think about goals in two categories: short-term and long-term. Long-term goals will typically outline your plans for the company. These can include ideal investment types, profit numbers, and company size. Short-term goals are the smaller, actionable steps required to get there.

For example, one long-term business goal could be to land four wholesale deals by the end of the year. Short-term goals will make this more achievable by breaking it into smaller steps. A few short-term goals that might help you land those four wholesale deals could be to create a direct mail campaign for your market area, establish a buyers list with 50 contacts, and secure your first property under contract. Breaking down long-term goals is a great way to hold yourself accountable, create deadlines and accomplish what you set out to.

3. SWOT Analysis

SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. A SWOT analysis involves thinking through each of these areas as you evaluate your company and potential competitors. This framework allows business owners to better understand what is working for the company and identify potential areas for improvement. SWOT analyses are used across industries as a way to create more actionable solutions to potential issues.

To think through a SWOT analysis for your real estate business plan, first, identify your company’s potential strengths and weaknesses. Do you have high-quality tenants? Are you struggling to raise capital? Be honest with yourself as you write out each category. Then, take a step back and look at your market area and competitors to identify threats and opportunities. A potential threat could be whether or not your rental prices are in line with comparable properties. On the other hand, a potential opportunity could boost your property’s amenities to be more competitive in the area.

4. Investment Strategy

Any good real estate investment business plan requires the ability to implement a sound investment strategy. If for nothing else, there are several exit strategies a business may execute to secure profits: rehabbing, wholesaling, and renting — to name a few. Investors will want to analyze their market and determine which strategy will best suit their goals. Those with long-term retirement goals may want to consider leaning heavily into rental properties. However, those without the funds to build a rental portfolio may want to consider getting started by wholesaling. Whatever the case may be, now is the time to figure out what you want to do with each property you come across. It is important to note, however, that this strategy will change from property to property. Therefore, investors need to determine their exit strategy based on the asset and their current goals. This section needs to be added to a real estate investment business plan because it will come in handy once a prospective deal is found.

5. Marketing Plan

While marketing may seem like the cherry on top of a sound business plan, marketing efforts will actually play an integral role in your business’s foundation. A marketing plan should include your business logo, website, social media outlets, and advertising efforts. Together these elements can build a solid brand for your business, which will help you build a strong business reputation and ultimately build trust with investors, clients, and more.

First, to plan your marketing, think about how your brand can illustrate the company values and mission statement you have created. Consider the ways you can incorporate your vision into your logo or website. Remember, in addition to attracting new clients, marketing efforts can also help maintain relationships with existing connections. For a step by step guide to drafting a real estate marketing plan , be sure to read this guide.

6. Financing Plan

Writing the financial portion of a business plan can be tricky, especially if you are starting your business. As a general rule, a financial plan will include the income statement, cash flow, and balance sheet for a business. A financial plan should also include short and long-term goals regarding the profits and losses of a company. Together, this information will help make business decisions, raise capital, and report on business performance.

Perhaps the most important factor when creating a financial plan is accuracy. While many investors want to report on high profits or low losses, manipulating data will not boost your business performance in any way. Come up with a system of organization that works for you and always ensure your financial statements are authentic. As a whole, a financial plan should help you identify what is and isn’t working for your business.

7. Teams & Small Business Systems

No successful business plan is complete without an outline of the operations and management. Think: how your business is being run and by whom. This information will include the organizational structure, office management (if any), and an outline of any ongoing projects or properties. Investors can even include future goals for team growth and operational changes when planning this information.

Even if you are just starting or have yet to launch your business, it is still necessary to plan your business structure. Start by planning what tasks you will be responsible for, and look for areas you will need help with. If you have a business partner, think through your strengths and weaknesses and look for areas you can best complement each other. For additional guidance, set up a meeting with your real estate mentor. They can provide valuable insights into their own business structure, which can serve as a jumping-off point for your planning.

8. Exit Strategies & Back Up Plans

Believe it or not, every successful company out there has a backup plan. Businesses fail every day, but investors can position themselves to survive even the worst-case scenario by creating a backup plan. That’s why it’s crucial to strategize alternative exit strategies and backup plans for your investment business. These will help you create a plan of action if something goes wrong and help you address any potential problems before they happen.

This section of a business plan should answer all of the “what if” questions a potential lender, employee, or client might have. What if a property remains on the market for longer than expected? What if a seller backs out before closing? What if a property has a higher than average vacancy rate? These questions (and many more) are worth thinking through as you create your business plan.

How To Write A Real Estate Investment Business Plan: Template

The impact of a truly great real estate investment business plan can last for the duration of your entire career, whereas a poor plan can get in the way of your future goals. The truth is: a real estate business plan is of the utmost importance, and as a new investor it deserves your undivided attention. Again, writing a business plan for real estate investing is no simple task, but it can be done correctly. Follow our real estate investment business plan template to ensure you get it right the first time around:

Write an executive summary that provides a birds eye view of the company.

Include a description of company goals and how you plan to achieve them.

Demonstrate your expertise with a thorough market analysis.

Specify who is working at your company and their qualifications.

Summarize what products and services your business has to offer.

Outline the intended marketing strategy for each aspect of your business.

1. Executive Summary

The first step is to define your mission and vision. In a nutshell, your executive summary is a snapshot of your business as a whole, and it will generally include a mission statement, company description, growth data, products and services, financial strategy, and future aspirations. This is the “why” of your business plan, and it should be clearly defined.

2. Company Description

The next step is to examine your business and provide a high-level review of the various elements, including goals and how you intend to achieve them. Investors should describe the nature of their business, as well as their targeted marketplace. Explain how services or products will meet said needs, address specific customers, organizations, or businesses the company will serve, and explain the competitive advantage the business offers.

3. Market Analysis

This section will identify and illustrate your knowledge of the industry. It will generally consist of information about your target market, including distinguishing characteristics, size, market shares, and pricing and gross margin targets. A thorough market outline will also include your SWOT analysis.

4. Organization & Management

This is where you explain who does what in your business. This section should include your company’s organizational structure, details of the ownership, profiles on the management team, and qualifications. While this may seem unnecessary as a real estate investor, the people reading your business plan may want to know who’s in charge. Make sure you leave no stone unturned.

5. Services Or Products

What are you selling? How will it benefit your customers? This is the part of your real estate business plan where you provide information on your product or service, including its benefits over competitors. In essence, it will offer a description of your product/service, details on its life cycle, information on intellectual property, as well as research and development activities, which could include future R&D activities and efforts. Since real estate investment is more of a service, beginner investors must identify why their service is better than others in the industry. It could include experience.

6. Marketing Strategy

A marketing strategy will generally encompass how a business owner intends to market or sell their product and service. This includes a market penetration strategy, a plan for future growth, distribution channels, and a comprehensive communication strategy. When creating a marketing strategy for a real estate business plan, investors should think about how they plan to identify and contact new leads. They should then think about the various communication options: social media, direct mail, a company website, etc. Your business plan’s marketing portion should essentially cover the practical steps of operating and growing your business.

real estate investor business plan

Additional Real Estate Business Plan Tips

A successful business plan is no impossible to create; however, it will take time to get it right. Here are a few extra tips to keep in mind as you develop a plan for your real estate investing business:

Tailor Your Executive Summary To Different Audiences: An executive summary will open your business plan and introduce the company. Though the bulk of your business plan will remain consistent, the executive summary should be tailored to the specific audience at hand. A business plan is not only for you but potential investors, lenders, and clients. Keep your intended audience in mind when drafting the executive summary and answer any potential questions they may have.

Articulate What You Want: Too often, investors working on their business plan will hide what they are looking for, whether it be funding or a joint venture. Do not bury the lede when trying to get your point across. Be clear about your goals up front in a business plan, and get your point across early.

Prove You Know The Market: When you write the company description, it is crucial to include information about your market area. This could include average sale prices, median income, vacancy rates, and more. If you intend to acquire rental properties, you may even want to go a step further and answer questions about new developments and housing trends. Show that you have your finger on the pulse of a market, and your business plan will be much more compelling for those who read it.

Do Homework On The Competition: Many real estate business plans fail to fully analyze the competition. This may be partly because it can be difficult to see what your competitors are doing, unlike a business with tangible products. While you won’t get a tour of a competitor’s company, you can play prospect and see what they offer. Subscribe to their newsletter, check out their website, or visit their open house. Getting a first-hand look at what others are doing in your market can greatly help create a business plan.

Be Realistic With Your Operations & Management: It can be easy to overestimate your projections when creating a business plan, specifically when it comes to the organization and management section. Some investors will claim they do everything themselves, while others predict hiring a much larger team than they do. It is important to really think through how your business will operate regularly. When writing your business plan, be realistic about what needs to be done and who will be doing it.

Create Example Deals: At this point, investors will want to find a way to illustrate their plans moving forward. Literally or figuratively, illustrate the steps involved in future deals: purchases, cash flow, appreciation, sales, trades, 1031 exchanges, cash-on-cash return, and more. Doing so should give investors a good idea of what their deals will look like in the future. While it’s not guaranteed to happen, envisioning things has a way of making them easier in the future.

Schedule Business Update Sessions: Your real estate business plan is not an ironclad document that you complete and then never look at again. It’s an evolving outline that should continually be reviewed and tweaked. One good technique is to schedule regular review sessions to go over your business plan. Look for ways to improve and streamline your business plan so it’s as clear and persuasive as you want it to be.

Reevauating Your Real Estate Business Plan

A business plan will serve as a guide for every decision you make in your company, which is exactly why it should be reevaluated regularly. It is recommended to reassess your business plan each year to account for growth and changes. This will allow you to update your business goals, accounting books, and organizational structures. While you want to avoid changing things like your logo or branding too frequently, it can be helpful to update department budgets or business procedures each year.

The size of your business is crucial to keep in mind as you reevaluate annually. Not only in terms of employees and management structures but also in terms of marketing plans and business activities. Always incorporate new expenses and income into your business plan to help ensure you make the most of your resources. This will help your business stay on an upward trajectory over time and allow you to stay focused on your end goals.

Above all else, a  real estate development business plan will be inspiring and informative. It should reveal why your business is more than just a dream and include actionable steps to make your vision a reality. No matter where you are with your investing career, a detailed business plan can guide your future in more ways than one. After all, a thorough plan will anticipate the best path to success. Follow the template above as you plan your real estate business, and make sure it’s a good one.

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While to some, apartment investing may sound like a passive hobby, for most successful real estate investors, it’s a highly involved business endeavor. So, if you want to give yourself the greatest chance of succeeding in the multifamily investing game, writing an effective business plan is key. No matter the size of your potential investment, a business plan can help clarify your goals, as well as bringing potential obstacles to your attention.

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Related Questions

While to some, apartment investing may sound like a passive hobby, for most successful real estate investors, it’s a highly involved business endeavor. So, if you want to give yourself the greatest chance of succeeding in the multifamily investing game, writing an effective business plan is key. No matter the size of your potential investment, a business plan can help clarify your goals, as well as bringing potential obstacles to your attention. 

However, if you plan to purchase multiple properties, or if you’re considering bringing in business partners or outside investors, creating a business plan is even more important, as you’ll likely need to share it with them in order to get their approval. Plus, the simple act of creating a business plan may help you gain ideas and insights that can make your investments even more lucrative. And, if you already own a multifamily property and are looking to upgrade it, refinance it, or simply make it more profitable, having a solid business plan is equally essential. While some of the below, such as choosing the market you want to invest in, may be redundant, most of the information is still highly relevant.

Depending on the nature of your investment goals, you may want to have a specific business plan for each property you acquire, as well as an overarching business plan for acquiring a larger number of properties. While multifamily business plans can vary significantly in nature, they generally have a few shared components. These include: 

A mission statement is generally a one to two sentence explanation of why you are doing business. Ideally, this statement should include both what you plan to get out of the business arrangement, as well as what you hope to provide others. For an individual apartment building, a mission statement could be “Our building will generate wealth for my investors and I while creating a safe, comfortable, and enjoyable place to live for our residents.” For a larger-scale investment plan, a mission statement could be “I will utilize multifamily investing to generate wealth for my investors and I by acquiring 200 units over the next 5 years, while providing residents great places to live and excellent customer service.”

In essence, the investment strategy summarizes what type of property you will invest in and how you will make it profitable. This is a bird’s eye view, and can also include mentions of your plans for financing, property management, renovations, exit strategies, and other important elements, which you can elaborate on in future sections. 

For instance, a specific plan could say “We plan to acquire a class C 15-25 unit property in the Atlanta, Charlotte, or Charleston markets, upgrade it to a class B property, and raise rents by 10-15%. We will hire an outside property management company to take care of management responsibilities, and plan to finance the property with a 70% LTV loan.”  

Choosing a target market, or markets is essential, both from a geographic and demographic standpoint. Geographically, you’ll want to answer questions such as: What markets do I want to invest in? What submarkets? Which are the best neighborhoods to invest in those locations? Demographically, you’ll want to answer questions such as: Who is our ideal customer? How old are they? How much money do they make? What do they look for in a place to rent? How do we best market to them? 

For instance, a plan could say “We will be investing in a property in the Dallas, Texas market, in the Arts District submarket. Our target demographic will be singles and young couples making between $65,000 and $85,000 per year. We plan to reach them with targeted online video ads, local morning radio ads, and posters throughout the local community.” 

This section should describe how you will finance your property using debt and equity. Equity includes all sources of cash that will be used to finance the property, and should include details any GP/LP investments and/or joint ventures that are planned. In terms of debt, details could include the amount and type(s) of debt that an investor plans to use on the property, the anticipated LTV, and the expected interest rate of the debt. For instance, a plan to purchase a $4 million apartment building might say “I, as GP, will contribute $100,000 of equity. LP investors are expected to contribute an additional $900,000 of equity, for a total of $1 million. We plan to take out CMBS or small agency loan of $3 million at 75% LTV, with an expected interest rate of around 5%.” 

Marketing is very important to the apartment investment process, especially if the property you want to acquire currently has occupancy issues, or you want to rehabilitate and rebrand it in order to raise rents. Potential marketing efforts could include online paid advertising and social media, local radio and television ads, fliers, and sponsorships of local organizations and events. For apartments geared toward college students, campus-wide promotions may also be ideal. 

A good business plan should include which marketing efforts you plan to use, how much you plan to spend, and what your expected/desired result is. A plan might say “We will use paid online advertising and local fliers, posters, and banners, some which may be the result of sponsorships. We plan to spend $10,000 on paid online ads and $5,000 for fliers, banners, posters and associated ad costs over a 3-month period until we reach 98% occupancy.” 

Without making financial projections, you won’t be able to measure your profitability goals against your actual progress. Even more importantly, lenders generally require detailed financial plans before approving a borrower for a loan, so if you want financing, you’ll need to create a reasonable estimate of what the future may hold. This typically takes the form of a pro-forma profit and loss (P&L) statement that you will present to your lender. However, for your own purposes, you may wish to create both best and worst case scenarios of your statement, in order to create backup plans and determine how to best respond to various opportunities or setbacks. In addition, you will want to list the basic assumptions you have made in your projections (i.e. rents will increase by 1% over the next 5 years, occupancy will stay at approximately 95%, etc.). 

How long do you intend to hold your property or portfolio of properties? If you’re the GP, and you have LP investors, how and when will you return their funds? Will you engage in tax deferral strategies, such as utilizing a 1031 exchange to exchange your property for another piece of multifamily or commercial real estate ? The exit strategy part of your business plan should answer all these questions and more. 

Property management is another essential part of the apartment investing process. For very small properties (i.e. 5-10 units), some investors will take care of this themselves. However, most investors hire an external property management company to take care of this. In other cases, the owner or GP (or one of them) already owns a property management company and that company will take care of the management. Your business plan should state which of these options will be used and how much property management is expected to cost. 

If you’re involved in a deal where one of the other partners will be using their company for property management, beware of overcharging and make sure that all fees and financial arrangements are specifically detailed in writing. 

Every apartment investor needs both a good real estate attorney and an experienced accountant. In addition, larger investors with multiple properties may also want to retain the services of an asset manager, who can take a high-level view of an investment portfolio, monitor its health, and suggest ways to cut costs and increase profitability. So, who will you use? If you don’t know, how will you locate them and decide? How much will they cost, and are these costs reflected in your financial projections? Answering these questions will help put you on solid footing when it comes to assembling a professional team to assist you with your investment. 

In the same way that 19th century Prussian military commander Helmuth von Moltke said “No plan survives first contact with the enemy,” no multifamily business plan will ‘survive’ contact with the real world. Markets change, lenders change requirements, and service providers adjust their costs all the time — and your apartment investing business plan should reflect that. If you’ve realized that a new type of marketing could benefit your property, or that you want to look for properties in an entirely different market-- simply change your plan. Having a business plan is great, but it’s a template, not a stone carving, so allow it to guide you on your journey while not letting it restrict your choices.

What are the benefits of having a business plan for apartment investing?

Having a business plan for apartment investing can help you gain clarity on your goals, identify potential obstacles, and gain ideas and insights that can make your investments more lucrative. It can also be essential if you plan to purchase multiple properties, or if you’re considering bringing in business partners or outside investors, as you’ll likely need to share it with them in order to get their approval.

Your business plan should include your investment strategy, which summarizes what type of property you will invest in and how you will make it profitable. This is a bird’s eye view, and can also include mentions of your plans for financing, property management, renovations, exit strategies, and other important elements.

For example, a specific plan could say “We plan to acquire a class C 15-25 unit property in the Atlanta, Charlotte, or Charleston markets, upgrade it to a class B property, and raise rents by 10-15%. We will hire an outside property management company to take care of management responsibilities, and plan to finance the property with a 70% LTV loan.”

What are the key components of a business plan for apartment investing?

The key components of a business plan for apartment investing include:

The investment strategy summarizes what type of property you will invest in and how you will make it profitable. This is a bird’s eye view, and can also include mentions of your plans for financing, property management, renovations, exit strategies, and other important elements, which you can elaborate on in future sections.

For instance, a specific plan could say “We plan to acquire a class C 15-25 unit property in the Atlanta, Charlotte, or Charleston markets, upgrade it to a class B property, and raise rents by 10-15%. We will hire an outside property management company to take care of management responsibilities, and plan to finance the property with a 70% LTV loan.”

For more information on financing your apartment investment, please visit Multifamily.loans Apartment Financing .

How can I create a business plan for apartment investing?

Creating a business plan for apartment investing requires a comprehensive understanding of the investment strategy, legal, accounting, and asset management. The investment strategy should include the type of property you will invest in, how you will make it profitable, financing plans, property management, renovations, and exit strategies. You should also consider who you will use for legal, accounting, and asset management services, and how much they will cost. These costs should be reflected in your financial projections.

For more information, please see Do You Need a Business Plan for Apartment Investing? from Multifamily.Loans.

What are the best practices for creating a business plan for apartment investing?

The best practices for creating a business plan for apartment investing include having a mission statement, investment strategy, target market, property financing, marketing strategy, financial projections, exit strategy, and legal, accounting, and asset management. Your investment strategy should summarize what type of property you will invest in and how you will make it profitable. This is a bird’s eye view, and can also include mentions of your plans for financing, property management, renovations, exit strategies, and other important elements. For instance, a specific plan could say “We plan to acquire a class C 15-25 unit property in the Atlanta, Charlotte, or Charleston markets, upgrade it to a class B property, and raise rents by 10-15%. We will hire an outside property management company to take care of management responsibilities, and plan to finance the property with a 70% LTV loan.”

For more information, please visit this article .

What are the risks associated with apartment investing without a business plan?

Without a business plan, apartment investors may not be able to accurately measure their profitability goals against their actual progress. Additionally, lenders generally require detailed financial plans before approving a borrower for a loan, so if you want financing, you’ll need to create a reasonable estimate of what the future may hold. Without a business plan, investors may not be able to accurately assess the risks associated with their investments, and may not be able to respond to opportunities or setbacks in the market. Source

What resources are available to help me create a business plan for apartment investing?

Creating a business plan for apartment investing can be a daunting task. Fortunately, there are a number of resources available to help you get started. The Multifamily.loans blog is a great place to start, as it provides an overview of the legal, accounting, and asset management considerations you should take into account. Additionally, the blog provides guidance on how to create an investment strategy that outlines the type of property you will invest in and how you will make it profitable.

Other helpful resources include the Small Business Administration's guide to writing a business plan , which provides a step-by-step guide to creating a business plan, and the Investopedia guide to creating a real estate investment business plan , which provides an overview of the key elements of a real estate investment business plan.

Finally, you may want to consider working with a professional business plan consultant to help you create a comprehensive and effective business plan. A professional consultant can provide valuable insight and guidance to ensure that your business plan is well-crafted and meets your investment goals.

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Rental Properties Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Rental Properties Business Plan

Rental Property Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 10,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their rental property business. On this page, we will first give you some background information with regards to the importance of business planning. We will then go through a rental property business plan template step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here >

What Is a Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your rental property business as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategy for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.  

Why You Need a Business Plan

If you’re looking to purchase a rental property, multiple rental properties, or add to your existing rental properties business, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your rental property business in order to improve your chances of success. Your rental property business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.  

Sources of Funding for Rental Property Companies

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for rental properties are personal savings, credit cards, mortgages, and angel investors. With regards to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to confirm that your financials are reasonable. But they will want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business.

The second most common form of funding for a rental property is angel investors. Angel investors are wealthy individuals who will write you a check. They will either take equity in return for their funding, or, like a bank, they will give you a loan. Venture capitalists will not fund a rental property company. They might consider funding a rental property company with a national presence, but never an individual location. This is because most venture capitalists are looking for millions of dollars in return when they make an investment, and an individual location could never achieve such results.

How to Write a Business Plan for a Rental Property Company

Your business plan should include 10 sections as follows:

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of rental property you are operating and the status; for example, are you a startup, or do you have a portfolio of existing rental properties that you would like to add to?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan. For example, give a brief overview of the rental properties industry. Discuss the type of rental property you are offering. Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers. Provide a snapshot of your marketing plan. Identify the key members of your team. And offer an overview of your financial plan.  

Company Analysis

In your company analysis, you will detail the type of rental properties you are offering.

For example, you might offer the following options:

In addition to explaining the type of rental property you operate, the Company Analysis section of your business plan needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to question such as:

Industry Analysis

In your industry analysis, you need to provide an overview of the rental properties industry.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the rental property industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.

Secondly, market research can improve your strategy, particularly if your research identifies market trends.

The third reason for market research is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your rental property business plan:

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your rental property business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: households, tourists, etc.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of rental property you offer. Clearly, vacationers would want different amenities and services, and would respond to different marketing promotions than long-term tenants.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, include a discussion of the ages, genders, locations and income levels of the customers you seek to serve.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can understand and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.  

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Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other rental property companies.

Indirect competitors are other options customers may use that aren’t direct competitors. This includes the housing market, or hotels. You need to mention such competition to show you understand that not everyone who needs housing or accommodation will seek out a rental property.

With regards to direct competition, you want to detail the other rental properties with which you compete. Most likely, your direct competitors will be rental properties in the vicinity.

rental property competition

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their businesses and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as:

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.  

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a rental property business plan, your marketing plan should include the following:

Product : in the product section you should reiterate the type of rental property business that you documented in your Company Analysis. Then, detail the specific options you will be offering. For example, in addition to long-term tenancy, are you offering month-to-month, or short-term rental?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your marketing plan, you are presenting the properties and term options you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the location of your rental property. Document your location and mention how the location will impact your success. For example, is your rental property located in a tourist destination, or in an urban area, etc. Discuss how your location might draw customer interest.

Promotions : the final part of your rental property marketing plan is the promotions section. Here you will document how you will drive customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your rental property business, such as customer service, maintenance, processing applications, etc.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect 100% occupancy, or when you hope to reach $X in sales. It could also be when you expect to acquire a new property.  

Management Team

To demonstrate your rental property business’ ability to succeed as a business, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company.

Ideally you and/or your team members have direct experience in rental property management. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act like mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in real estate, and/or successfully running small businesses.  

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statements.

Income Statement

An income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenues and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

sales growth

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you have 1 rental unit or 10? And will revenue grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets

Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $200,000 on purchasing and renovating your rental property, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a bank writes you a check for $200,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement

Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and make sure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt.

In developing your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a rental property business:

business costs

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your property blueprint or map.  

Putting together a business plan for your rental properties company is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will really understand the rental property industry, your competition and your customers. You will have developed a marketing plan and will really understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful rental properties business.  

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Rental Properties Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my rental properties business plan.

Growthink's Ultimate Business Plan Template  allows you to quickly and easily complete your Rental Properties Business Plan.

What is the Goal of a Business Plan's Executive Summary?

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of rental property business you are operating and the status; for example, are you a startup, do you have a rental properties business that you would like to grow, or are you operating multiple rental property businesses.

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