How to invest in real estate 2023
Real estate investing may seem intimidating at first, especially for beginners who do not know how to invest in real estate. Not everyone has the time or experience to build or repair homes or deal with tenant problems. What everyone doesn’t know, however, is that there are options available for every level of investor, each catering to different goals, skill levels, and time constraints.
Investing in real estate is a great way to diversify your investment portfolio and be an additional source of income. If done properly, real estate investing can be very profitable.
If you do not know how to invest in real estate, this article will provide you with what you should know, starting from the basics and ending with how to invest in real estate and actually start making gains and profits.
How to invest in real estate in 2023
Investing in real estate is absolutely essential for anyone looking to secure their financial future. Real estate should be one of the main pillars of your investment portfolio.
There are dozens of paths that can be chosen to get into real estate investing. With so many ways to invest in real estate, almost anyone can find an investment strategy that is suitable for their abilities and the amount of money they want to invest initially.
The common traditional investment model
The simplest way to invest in real estate is to buy or lease an asset for the long term and then rent it out to tenants – residential or commercial.
The operation is simple, but it needs a large investment in the beginning and involves maintenance costs. Ensure that the original is free from any legal hassles. Once the property is registered, you can rent it out and then the monthly rents will be your passive income from the property.
It is a good idea to have tenants with staggered lease terms on the same asset so that the entire property does not remain vacant. It also helps with timely maintenance costs. You can even get a property management company to handle all this for you but you have to pay a commission fee.
Rent out part of your existing property
Even if you don’t want to bear the burden of a huge investment cost outright, you can start small like renting out a room to commercial or residential tenants. If you have an entire floor in your current home that is not being used, it is best to rent it out.
However, you will have to deal with the resulting additional burdens. If it’s a business you rent out the part of, depending on what their product or service is, the conditions may not be conducive to living in the same place. All of your terms and conditions should be placed in your rental agreement.
Buying a property, renovating it, and then selling it
This style of investment has gained popularity with people who have experience in general contracting.
If you have good capital, you can invest in a commercial or residential property that needs a lot of maintenance, repair it well and sell the asset at a better price. Ownership of the asset is for a relatively shorter term, but if one has done his homework in the market beforehand, this type of investment can generate good returns.
Compared to owning a forever property, this method has fewer restrictions in terms of regular maintenance and the like. However, it requires you to be aware of the demand and supply of real estate in the market, and the cost of the renovation and maintenance work that you will be carrying out.
Investment funds and real estate funds
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds that are invested in real estate can be purchased. It is possible to buy ETFs that invest in real estate stocks such as publicly traded homebuilders. There are ETFs that invest in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) as well. You can find mutual funds that invest in real estate development companies and property management companies. While ETFs are managed passively by the fund manager, mutual funds are actively managed.
ETFs and mutual funds offer high liquidity and low costs. The main advantage of ETFs and mutual funds is the low investment cost.
REITs, on the other hand, allow investing in multiple real estate assets through a single fund. Think of it as a mutual fund made entirely of real estate assets or mortgages secured by real estate. Multiple investors can pool their resources together in a REIT and the profits earned are split among the investors based on the percentage of their investment in the fund.
While REITs also allow for a relatively smaller investment ticket size, they rarely provide returns that can match or be better than stock-oriented products. In addition, the investor has no control over how the investment is distributed across all of the assets in the REIT.
5 ways to invest in real estate
There are many ways you can start investing in real estate, but there is no best way to invest in real estate. What matters is finding the method that fits your budget and the amount of time you can spend managing your investment.
Let’s take a look at your options for investing in real estate, the pros and cons, and how you can get started.
1- Real estate investment funds
REITs allow you to invest in real estate without having to own actual real estate, and are often compared to mutual funds. These real estate investment funds may be a good investment, but they can be diversified and sometimes complex. The type of real estate investment fund that you buy can be huge in the amount of risk that you are exposed to. Non-traded funds, for example, are not sold easily. New investors should generally stick to publicly traded REITs, which you can purchase through brokerage firms.
You will need a brokerage account which takes no more than 15 minutes to open. You will not need an initial investment except in some cases, but real estate investment funds are likely to have a minimum investment.
2- Investing in rented real estate
Tiffany Alexie had no intention of becoming a real estate investor when she purchased her first rental property at the age of 21. I went on Craigslist and found a four-bedroom, four-bathroom apartment that was set up in the student residence style. She bought it, used one room and rented the other three, which helped her cover all her expenses, in addition to earning an additional $100 monthly income. Alexy is now 27 years old, has five leases and is a broker and owner of Alexy Realty Group.
You can occupy your investment property either by renting out rooms or renting out units in a multi-unit building, or you can even buy and rent an investment property outright. You may want to hire a property manager if you don’t want to do customer communication tasks.
3- Buying a property, then renovating it and reselling it
You will have to invest in a lower priced home and then renovate and resell it to make a profit. This strategy is called house flipping. This investment requires a lot of accuracy, so you must get a contractor who is good at estimating expenses and managing the project.
The downside to this option is that the longer you hold the property, the less money you will make because you are paying off a mortgage without making any income. But you can reduce this risk by living in the home you repair.
4- Renting rooms
Last on the list of how to invest in real estate is renting rooms. You can rent part of your home through a site like Airbnb. Like all investment decisions, real estate investments are the ones that best serve you as the investor.
Think about how much time and money you want to invest, and whether you want to be the one dealing with customer problems. If you don’t have DIY skills, consider investing in real estate through mutual funds or a crowdfunding platform instead of investing directly in a property.
Summary
Like any type of investment, investing in real estate is a risky journey. Whichever path you choose, you will learn from your mistakes along the way as long as you leave yourself enough financial space to get through an unfortunate experience. In this case, you will be steps away from building real long-term wealth.
If you’re just learning about real estate or want to take a totally passive approach, consider real estate investment trusts (REITs) and real estate stocks. These REITs have managers who look after the asset’s performance after purchase, sell at times of benefit, and pay the income in the form of a dividend, usually on a quarterly basis.
Disclaimer: The content of this article is for informational purposes only. The information provided should absolutely not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation. No warranty is made, express or implied, as to the accuracy of the information or data contained herein. Users of this article agree that Money Secrets does not accept responsibility for any of their investment decisions. Not every investment or trading strategy is suitable for anyone. See the risk warning statement.