real estate investing

Can You Still Make Money In Real Estate?

January 17, 2020 By Tamila McDonald Leave a Comment

Most adults today were told, at some point in their youth, that real estate was always a good investment. However, after the crash in 2008, people quickly learned that making money in real estate isn’t a guarantee. But, it also created a new opportunity, and many house flippers began raking in cash. As the markets recovered, which forms of real estate investment were lucrative shifted again. This makes for a confusing situation, leaving many wondering, can you still make money in real estate?

Can You Still Make Money in Real Estate?

If you’re trying to figure out if real estate can still be a sound way to make money, the answer to the question is yes. It is possible to earn quite a bit through various forms of real estate investing, including in today’s market.

For example, house flipping can still be lucrative. As long as the market supports an improved property and the numbers are in your favor, it can work. That’s why it is important to do your research into where the best real estate markets are.

Similarly, securing a property and using it as a rental can be a solid source of income. As long as the rent is competitive for the area and it allows you to come out ahead after dealing with related costs, you could end up in the green.

If actually buying property doesn’t appeal to you, there are potential alternatives. For instance, real estate investment trusts (REITs) have become an increasingly popular way to get involved in real estate without having to buy property yourself. Also you might want to consider a real estate crowdfunding option such as Roofstock.

Is Real Estate a Safe Place for Your Money?

It’s important to understand that real estate isn’t a foolproof way to earn money. If anything, the 2008 financial crisis was a great example of how even a bastion of investing can topple.

Whether it’s through purchasing actual properties or investing in REITs, mortgage-backed securities, or anything else, it’s critical to understand that nothing is guaranteed. Additionally, the housing market has been cooling in many cities. While that doesn’t mean there won’t be any growth, overall, it may be significantly slower than in previous years.

As with all forms of investing, whether short- or long-term, doing your research is a must. While no investment is ever completely safe, some may be less risky than others. You’ll need to explore the options that are available and see if any of them align with your risk tolerance. Just keep in mind that growth or profits are never a sure thing, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t money to be made in real estate.

Do you think there is still money to be made in real estate? Why or why not? Share your thoughts in the comments below or you can check GroundFloor, a wealthtech company that let’s you make money in real estate.

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Why Real Estate

July 31, 2018 By Michael George Leave a Comment

It’s hard to live in any major city in the US at this point in time and not recognize the vast amounts of money there are to be made via real estate investment. That being said, whether its venture capitalism, stocks, and bonds, or cryptocurrency, you also undoubtedly recognize that there are other profitable investment strategies and models to be explored. So in a time when there are so many options, how is it that you decide which strategy is best for you? And when there seems to be so much inherent risk involved, why real estate? Below, we go over a few major points of what makes real estate an amazing investment strategy and why it could be the ideal option for you!

CONSISTENT RETURNS: You’ve heard that over 75% of millionaires attribute at least 90% of their wealth to real estate investment. Or is it over 90% of millionaires attribute at least 75% of their wealth to real estate? Well whichever statistic is more accurate, one thing is clear: more millionaires have been created and more millionaires have extended their wealth through real estate investment than through any other investment strategy. This fact alone should show you that no other strategy produces as consistently high results as real estate.
YOU CAN GET STARTED WITH LITTLE TO NO MONEY: While it may be true that you have to have money to make money, the reality is that it doesn’t have to be YOUR money. And there is no business where this is truer than real estate investment. Whether its bird-dogging or wholesaling with no money out of pocket or rehabbing and building using other investors’ financing, you simply don’t have to be a millionaire to become one in real estate.
IT’S-A SIMPLE BUSINESS: While real estate is not easy, it is simple. It is a systems-driven business, and while it takes hard work, once you get your systems set up there’s really no limit to the amount of money that you can make or the number of markets that you can work in.
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF WAYS TO MAKE MONEY IN REAL ESTATE: There are few investment strategies that offer as many venues for making money as real estate investment. You can bird dog, wholesale, rehab, build residential homes, develop neighborhoods, buy rentals, and much more! In this way, you can decide which technique best fits your lifestyle and long-term goals.
IT’S-A MOBILE BUSINESS: As mentioned previously, given that real estate is a system driven business, it’s also very mobile. By this, I mean that it’s quite manageable to run your real estate business in many cities, if not nationwide, at any given time. Once you have your systems in place and have partners and/or assistance that you can trust, the vast majority of the business is easily outsourced. This leads me to my last point…
REAL ESTATE IS EASILY SCALABLE: Given that you can easily run your business in more than one city, scaling up your business is a relatively straightforward process. When you have people in place you can rely on, it’s really just a process of continuously moving forward to extend the size of your business, and in that, the size of your income and the amount of your wealth. You may start with little to no money, but there’s no reason you can’t be the next self-made millionaire via real estate.

Are these all the reasons that real estate investment? No. However, they should be enough to show you that the investment strategy is only highly profitable but highly attractive to many different lifestyles. That being said, if you’re still not sold, please check out my book The Get Rich Scheme: The Secrets to Making Fast Real Estate Cash in Any Economy on Amazon today for just $.99, or FREE August 6th-August 10th.

3 Key Tips to Follow When You’re Entering the Real Estate Market

December 19, 2017 By Susan Paige Leave a Comment

When it comes to investing, these days there are lots of options to choose from, including launching or buying a business, putting money into stocks, buying bonds, investing in art, currencies or other assets.

However, one method that has been a tried and true investing strategy for millions of people over the years is real estate. When you buy properties you are putting your money into something tangible, which historically has always been a good option for investors, particularly when it comes to capital gains.

If you have saved enough money to buy your first property, either alone or with others, it’s important to go about the process in a smart way. Read on for three key tips you can follow today to help you join the real estate market.

Understand the Various Types of Real-Estate Options

For starters, before you invest any money, look into the various types of real-estate options which are available. While you might originally think about investing in the standard single-family home, apartment, townhouse or the like, keep in mind that you can also look at many different types of commercial properties. This list includes warehouses, office blocks, parking garages, industrial estates, hotels, retail spaces, vacant land, blocks of units, housing for seniors (e.g. retirement villages), and more.

If you want to pool your money with other people, you can also consider real estate investment trusts – or REITs as they’re called. These involve putting money into funds (which can be traded on the stock exchange or be non-traded REITs, such as Roofstock), which are specifically used to buy properties for long-term holdings. Investors in these types of trusts earn money from the rental incomes generated by properties and distributed over the years.

Get All Your Paperwork and Finances in Order

The next step is to get all your paperwork and finances in order ahead of time. After all, there’s nothing worse than finding a great real-estate deal and then missing out on it because the bank denies your loan application due to lack of proof of income, for example, or because of some other paperwork issue. To avoid this situation, spend time preparing things before you’re actually looking at investments.

There are various types of documents you’ll likely have to have ready for lenders to see. For example, your last few years’ worth of tax returns; proof of your income and/or accumulated savings and other assets; details of any loans or other liabilities you may have; and information on your business if you’re self-employed. Don’t forget you may also need to move money around to make it available for a deposit. If this will involve selling assets to free up funds, give yourself plenty of time to get this finalized.

Another task you might want to do before you look at properties is check your credit score. While you might think it’s really high, it’s quite possible you have one or more outstanding bills that have accumulated over the years without you realizing. If so, this could be causing an issue on your credit report and mean a bank or other lender ends up denying your loan application, or offers you a smaller amount or worse rates, because of it.

Act Like You’re Running a Business

Lastly, if you want to be a successful, long-term real estate investor, it’s important to act like your investment is actually a business you’re taking care of. Proper investing shouldn’t involve spontaneous decisions to suddenly buy properties for the first time, or casual hobbies that you don’t treat seriously (unless, perhaps, you have millions of dollars and don’t mind losing money).

Before you part with money, it’s helpful to develop a detailed business plan for your property investing so you have a strong direction and can make better, more informed decisions for yourself as time goes on. This plan can cover things like your goals for the next few years; your plans for getting funding, if necessary; where you’re thinking of buying properties; the type of properties you want to purchase, and the investing strategy you plan to use; and details of any people you may want to partner with.

In addition, it often pays to create a separate legal entity (e.g. a company or trust) for your real estate holdings to be purchased in, rather than your own personal name. Make sure you speak with your accountant and potentially also a real estate attorney in advance to determine what the best choice will be for your individual needs and goals.