Investing in real estate is an excellent way to diversify your portfolio and ensure that you do not put all of your eggs in one basket. It can also be pretty lucrative, but only if you do it right. With that in mind, here are some tips to help you get started in real estate investment…

Buy Real Estate Investment Trusts

One of the easiest ways to get started in real investment is to buy into a Real Estate Investment Trust, or REIT as it is more commonly referred to. These are sort of like mutual funds where you can invest your money in a company that buy up commercial real estate. That means that you do not actually own any physical real estate yourself, rather you own shares in sometimes numerous property ventures. That means you don’t have to worry about things like maintenance, renovation, and finding renters which can be quite an attractive prospect. Dividends for REIT investors can be pretty high too, which makes them a great option for anyone who is just dipping their toes in.

Online Investment Platforms Are Ideal

There are numerous online platforms, like Prosper, that enable you to buy real estate and invest in land for sale (as an aside, investing in land upon which to build can often be even more lucrative than investing in real estate) from the comfort of your computer screen. They work by putting investors and borrowers together to meet each other’s needs. So, you could lend some of your money to someone who wants to buy up real estate or build new houses, for example, with the understanding that they pay you back with interest. These kinds of arrangements can work well, but you really do need to do your homework to ensure that you stand a real chance of seeing a return.

Flip a Property

If you’re willing to be more hands-on, you might find that buying a doer-upper and spending your time and money renovating it to a higher standard is a good way of making money from property. The key is to find good properties, that may have been a little neglected, in up and coming neighborhoods. With a little TLC, you can easily make thousands of dollars in profit, but you do need to know the market well to succeed.

Become a Landlord

If you have lots of disposable income to invest, you should definitely consider buying one or more properties with a view to renting them out. Becoming a landlord won’t net you thousands of dollars in one fell swoop, but it will give you a regular income, and real estate assets that you can liquidize should you need to in the future.

If you aren’t sure about renting, you could try dipping your toes in by renting out a room in your house for a while to see what it’s like, but you need to bear in mind that it’s not exactly the same as renting out an additional home.

Have you invested in real estate? How did you get started?