4 Simple and Easy Ways to Invest in Real Estate

If you’re considering investing in real estate, you may not be aware that there are actually multiple ways to do it. Whether you want to actively own property or you simply want to diversify your investment portfolio, you can choose from a number of different ways to make money by investing in real estate. Better yet, real estate investing can actually be very simple. Check out a few of the easiest ways to invest.

Invest in Turnkey Rental Properties

Turnkey properties are move-in ready for your tenants. Depending on the property, you can even buy houses or condos that come complete with property management and tenants. Some properties will require you to find your own property management firm, and while you will have slightly lower profit margins when you pay monthly property management fees, your income form these properties will be entirely passive. This will give you more time and opportunity to go looking for more investments and to increase your monthly cash flow even more.

Invest With an REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust)

An REIT is a corporation or trust that is dedicated to real estate investment. The trust will decide on one or more investments to make and will use its investors’ capital to buy those properties. In exchange for your investment capital, you’ll get shares in the REIT, which you can sell or trade at any time. You’ll also usually see quarterly payments based on how much equity you own in the property or properties you’ve invested in.

Invest Through a Real Estate Crowdfunding Platform

If REIT investing sounds attractive to you, but you would like a bit more control over the properties and developments you invest in, you may want to consider investing through a real estate crowdfunding platform. Basically, you’ll log in to a real estate crowdfunding site, and then you’ll choose the development(s) that you want to invest in. This will give you the opportunity to spread your investment over several properties, giving you more stability and a greater chance of success. Like REIT investments, once the developments are complete, you will generally receive quarterly payments based on how much equity you own.

Wholesale Investment Properties

A lot of investors today are making good money flipping houses, but this is a very active, hands-on approach to real estate investing. For those who are less interested in the construction side of real estate investing, wholesaling might be a better option. With this method, you’ll find distressed, foreclosure, and/or short sale properties, and you’ll purchase the contracts on them. Then you’ll turn around and sell those contracts to other real estate investors. It’s a fast and simple way to make money in real estate without ever taking possession of the houses you purchase and sell.

These are four of the simplest and easiest ways to invest in real estate today. Do your homework on each of them and be sure that you research the properties you invest in before you commit to them, and you’ll see significant success in surprisingly little time.