When you require to add variety to your investment portfolio, you would do well to look at real estate to provide you with an additional income stream. Many people feel that investing in property, will leave you at the mercy of your tenants, but there are ways that you can invest in property and still be free of its hassles.
Real Estate Investment trusts, or REITs, are one safe way of making your investment in property. These trusts and the companies manage and own office buildings, apartments, hotels, and retail spaces and manage this property so that it gives them sufficient returns that they then distribute to all the investors in the trust. You can reinvest any dividends given out or use it as income. It is not necessary for you, the investor, to layout large sums of money to buy into these REITs. But most of them have a minimum level of investment that you will have to meet. Some companies are in the business of lending money for home renovation and other construction projects, and you can buy into them and become partners in their lending business and profit from it. But most of these companies require you to be accredited as an investor, and this can require you to show proof of very substantial incomes in the previous years.
You can always invest in rental properties and consider the rental income as part of the returns on your investment. But this will often require you to manage the property to maintain it so that is is attractive to tenants. Finding good rent paying tenants can also be quite a problem. You can always pass on these problems and the one of finding suitable tenants to professional property managers, but this can mean you having to pay them some commission, while you will also have to pay for any expenses on maintaining the property.
Another way to invest in property is to buy a property outright, make any necessary changes or improvements in it, and then sell it immediately to buyers, and thus make a profit. This is easier if you can buy properties at lower than market prices, and is often possible when you look at foreclosed properties. This way of investing, also referred to as flipping, does require substantial amounts of money for investing in property and good judgment that allows you to balance buying, improving, and selling so that you make a substantial profit.
