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There are several ways to invest in real estate.
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Investing in real estate can offer individuals both immediate income and longterm appreciation.
REITs, RELPs, and crowdfunding are indirect ways to invest in real estate, without requiring hands-on management.
More direct real estate investments include buying your own home, a rental property, or a property to fix up and flip.
Real estate often proves to be a lucrative investment, offering both income — in the form of rents and appreciation — when you sell appreciated property at a profit. It’s also a good way to diversify your portfolio, as an asset that’s subject to different influences than stocks and bonds.
And for the everyday individual, it may be more accessible than you think. Although it requires considerable time, patience, and (of course) cash, almost anyone can invest in real estate.
Here are six ways you can get in on this investment strategy.
1. Real estate crowdfunding
Real estate crowdfunding is a strategy that allows enterprises to raise capital from large groups of individuals. It’s done via online platforms that provide a meeting ground/marketplace between real estate developers and interested investors. In exchange for their money, investors receive debt or equity in a development project and, in successful cases, monthly or quarterly distributions.
Not all real estate crowdfunding platforms are available to everyone: Many are reserved for accredited investors — that is, high-net-worth, and/or highly experienced individuals. Still, there are several less exclusive platforms like Fundrise that allow newbies to invest a small amount.
Through these real estate investment platforms, you create an account and either select a portfolio strategy based on your goals, with brokers diversifying your money across a series of investment funds, or browse and select investments yourself, keeping up with their progress through a 24/7 online dashboard.
Despite their convenience, crowdfunding offerings come along with considerable risk. As private investments, they’re not as liquid (easily sold) as other publicly traded securities, like stocks. Think of your funds as being tied-up over the long-term. Fundrise recommends investors have a time horizon of at least five years, for example.
2. Real …read more
Source:: Business Insider