Invest In Real Estate

Real Estate Investing – A Money Making Proposition?

Real estate is the basis of all wealth – Theodore Roosevelt

One of the main topics of conversation at dinner and cocktail parties invariably is what kind of investment business is the best? The two front runners always seem to be stocks and real estate. So which one is better?

Well, personally I have not bought any stock that has done well, but I have bought lots of properties that have put several hundreds of thousands of dollars in my pocket. So I know real estate works.

It’s not that stocks and other investments don’t work; it’s just that I have not taken the time to study and work them.

Is real estate a potentially good investment then? I think so, for a few very good reasons: -

1. Shelter is a basic human need. As the local population increases, so does the need for housing.
2. Use of leverage. There are a number of lending institutions that will lend a large percentage of the purchase price of the property. On the other hand, I do not know of any lenders that will lend you $90,000 to purchase $100,000 worth of IBM stock.
3. Virtually complete control over your investment. If you purchase stock in the traditional way, you have no way to control which way the prices are going to go or have any say whatsoever in day-to-day running of the operation. You just hope the company’s board of directors does the right things to make the stock price go up, or that some major disaster doesn’t occur, or that earnings reports are what “expert analysts” expect.

More Control With Real Estate

With real estate, however, you make the decisions and you ultimately generate and keep the profits.

Historically, real estate has been an excellent investment vehicle for both immediate and long term, steady profits.

As a case in point, I have friends in the movie producing industry, an industry that requires huge amounts of capital in order to complete projects. Virtually all of them turn to real estate when they need to fund their movie projects.