Take a moment to imagine a real estate investor. What sort of person comes to mind? If you’re like most people, you probably conjure up an image of a greedy billionaire operating as a slum lord in a city.
However, while that might be the case for some real state moguls, the truth is that people from any background can start investing in real estate. In some cases, you can even get started with as little as a few hundred dollars!
Today we’re going to look at the different ways to invest in real estate. By the time you finish reading, you’ll have the knowledge you need to make your first investment.
Read on to learn how you can get started with buying properties.
Understand Your Options
Real estate investments aren’t difficult to understand. At its core, investing in property has you buying, selling, or renting out property in the hopes to generate profit. However, it’s important to know the options you have to choose from.
Generally speaking, all property can fall into one of three categories. These include:
- Residential properties: Anything from houses and apartments to vacation homes—places people live
- Commercial properties: Office buildings, storefronts, and any other buildings that people use for business
- Industrial properties: Storehouses, warehouses, and other similar types of buildings
Most new investors find residential properties the easiest to invest in. They require the least capital!
Get to Know the Market
Before you start looking at property to invest in, researching the market is a must. Doing so before putting down capital can help ensure that the investments you make are smart.
If you’re thinking about investing in rental properties, researching the market can help you decide on a fair price to offer tenants. Pricing your property too high will scare away interested people while pricing them too low won’t earn you a profit.
There are many great websites and apps that can help you learn more about local market conditions. These also feature communities of experts who can help you out.
Look Into REITs
REIT stands for real estate investment trust. These are similar to stocks and bonds and are also one of the easiest ways to generate profit.
With REITs, you pay money into a real estate corporation. They then do all the work for you, and when they generate a profit, you get part of the returns.
One of the best parts about REITs is that your investments are liquid. If you want to sell them at any point, you can. You have no connection to the actual properties you’re making money off of.
Consider Short-Term Rentals
If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of buying entire pieces of property, look into renting out parts of the ones you have. Short-term rentals can be an easy way to get started with investing.
Renting out an extra room in your house for weekends is something that many people can do. You can even rent out your couch to people traveling who need a place to crash for a night. If you’re ever out of town, you can rent out your entire home while you’re gone.
If you live in a high-traffic area, short-term rentals can be an easy way to generate serious profits.
Vacation Rentals
Vacation rentals are a type of short-term rental that many people find easy to get into. Provided you live in an area with a lot of tourists, making money should be easy.
After a certain point, you can also look into buying a separate piece of vacation property. Doing so gives you and your family a place to stay while traveling, as well as a place you can rent out when you’re not there.
Most people who invest in vacation rentals do so on sites like Airbnb and VRBO.
Join an Investment Group
Investment groups provide you with another way to enter the real estate market. They also allow you to avoid being a landlord, which is something that many people appreciate.
In these groups, investors pool their resources together to buy pieces of property through a larger real estate company. The company then handles all of the busy work while the investors make a profit.
As any rental investor knows, vacancy is always a risk. To combat that, many groups require investors to pool a portion of the rent they earn. By doing that, they ensure that there’s always a stream of income, regardless of whether someone occupies the space.
Flip Real Estate
Flipping real estate is something that takes a lot of skill and market knowledge to get good at. Because of that, it’s best to wait until you have some investment experience.
Flipping is when you buy property that’s damaged or undervalued, fix it up, then sell it for a higher price. It also refers to buying property in market downturns then selling it once conditions improve.
If you’re unable to sell your property after flipping it, that’s on you. You still have to pay the mortgage, regardless of whether you find a tenant or buyer.
If you’re interested in finding a good mortgage to start investing, check out this website.
Investing in Real Estate Made Easy
Whether you’re looking to make some money on the side or completely transition out of your current job, investing in real estate is an option to consider. Of course, taking the time to learn about buying properties beforehand is essential.
Use this guide to help you do just that. By following the investing tips mentioned, you’ll have no problem building a solid investment foundation that eventually nets you serious profits.
Are you looking to learn more about how to invest in real estate? If so, check out the rest of our site for more helpful guides and tips.