Five Questions With: Mike Pereira

Mike Pereira, a real estate agent with HomeSmart Professionals Real Estate in Warwick, has been selected by the 2,000-member Greater Providence Board of Realtors to serve as its 2021 president.

A real estate professional for almost 17 years, Pereira has held numerous leadership positions with the organization. He spoke to the Providence Business News this week about his career.

PBN: Tell us a little about your background.

PEREIRA: I’m going to be celebrating my 17th anniversary in December. I work across the board with just about any type of real estate, residential sales, investments, even commercial acquisitions. I do, on occasion, do some leasing.

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PBN: On investment purchases, are you working with people who buy multifamily homes or who buy single-family homes and then flip them?

PEREIRA: Generally, it is about flipping homes. On occasion, when the market calls for it, it is multifamily investments. I facilitate the transactions, negotiate the offer. Typically, in a buyers’ market is when you get your investors to come out because prices generally drop.

PBN: What makes a good investment property?

PEREIRA: Most of my clients that do investment properties are driven by their children; they want to leave something behind. Or they want to earn additional income for their families. That would probably be the No. 1 investor I run into. I have some investors that have larger portfolios. There are others that enjoy doing [management] themselves.

PBN: What are the target areas where you hope to find something?

PEREIRA: Usually the Providence metro area and the surrounding cities and towns, because of students especially. You get your best return on investment per bedroom with students than anyone else. Usually you charge per room or you set the rent based on how many rooms there are. It could be $500 per bedroom, $600 per bedroom. The reason why they pay a premium is because it’s still a lot cheaper than to pay for housing at the actual … schools.

PBN: Is there a lot of competition for these properties?

PEREIRA: Yes, the competition is very fierce right now. You have seasoned investors who are more conservative who want a better deal, in buyers’ markets. But in sellers’ markets, it motivates everyone to try to be an investor. Believe it or not, you can still get great return on investment in a market like this because the interest rates are so low. The buying power increases.

Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at MacDonald@PBN.com.