Sunday, January 31, 2010

Investing in REITs – Real Estate with Liquidity

Investing in REITs means owning real estate with liquidity: As many people these days are finding out while real estate seems like a wonderful investment, it can also be a painful one if your investment was in a piece of property that you own outright. Many people who had purchased investment properties or homes they were planning to flip for a profit were sent into bankruptcy in the recent housing market crash.

With that said, real estate has long been the solid investment option for those who like to put their money somewhere that it can see results but also remain stable.

So, how does one be able to still be involved in the real estate market and not be caught in that same trap? The answer is by purchasing REITs. A REIT is a real estate investment trust. This means it is much like a mutual fund in that a number of shareholders put money into the fund and that money is used to purchase, finance or manage real estate properties. The profits on the fund then come from mortgage interest, rent or lease moneys that come in.

For the most part a return on REITs averages 6-10%. U.S law dictates that 90% or more of the profits on a REIT go to the shareholders, and that makes them a pretty strong investment option.

The short version of what a REIT is, is a way to be a partial owner in real estate.

But with this said, one of the things that many people fear about real estate, being stuck with a property that will not sell in a down market, is not a problem here. Instead, REITs are totally liquid. If you think things are not going to go well in the future of your REIT, you can sell and get out and then put your money back in when things are looking up again. If you do this right, just this can be a big profit maker for you as you will be pulling your money out when the REIT is high and then putting it back in, and getting more shares, when the market is low.

If you are one of those people that think there's no way to know when the market will do well or fail and that it's all luck, that's not necessarily true. As Smith Barney said, "There's blind luck, dumb luck and then there's get up every morning at 5:30 and sweat the details luck. Few people actually stumble into wealth. It takes persistence, tenacity and a tireless work ethic. In the end, luck has little to do with success."

This is also the case here, by doing your own research and keeping on top of the market you will be able to make wise investing decisions. With the help of REITBuyer.com you will be able to do this. REITBuyer.com has all the tools and resources you need to make wise decisions about investing in REITs. The added benefit by being a part of REITBuyer.com is that not only will you have that information at your fingertips, but also the ability to buy and sell your REITs as they are an investing real estate broker.

Investing in REITs to Hedge the Stock and Bond Markets

Investing in REITs - Have you taken a look at your investment portfolio lately? If you have, and it's filled with the normal stock and bond investments, you may have noticed that there has been a lot of damage to those investments in the past year or so. With the credit crunch and the market crash, most investments are half, or less, of what they should be.

This is when you should consider what you should be doing to hedge those other investments. This is where REITs come in.

REITs are Real Estate Investment Trusts. These are funds where you fund a real estate management company. There are a variety of REITs out there. Some offer a way to back real estate developers who are taking on new ventures in construction. Others are meant to fund management of residential real estate such as apartment complexes, condominiums or even neighborhoods. Still others use the funds put into the REIT to operate commercial real estate interests.

I think Louis J. Glickman said it best when he said, "The best investment on earth is earth.” Real estate is always a wise investment. No matter what happens the land will always be there. Sure it may waiver in value from time to time, but in the long run, it will always be around, unlike businesses that can close their doors and take your investments down with them.

With this said, adding a REIT or two to your portfolio it would offer you a little more diversity and security in your investments.

You never know what the stock market will do. Just in the past few decades we have seen a number of sweeping changes in the market that completely broke some investors. Think of how many people you know who went bust during the Doc.com era.

Often the problem for them was they were too focused on the flavor of the month. They were putting everything they had into the new Dot.coms hoping to continue to ride the boom and make great profits. While they did see some great profits, those did not last forever. For those who kept putting everything they had into the doc.com market, they felt the agony of defeat in a major way when the market fell, many losing everything they had.

While there is nothing wrong with trying to jump in on an up and coming thing and make a great profit, it comes down to the old 'all your eggs in one basket' cliché. You don't want to have everything hedging on one investment. Instead have a diverse portfolio so if there is a drop in one area, you have other investments hedged against it.

In this case, even when there is a drop in the stock market and mutual funds, real estate usually will hold pretty strong through the down times, keeping you from feeling that all of your investments have been swept away.

When you're ready to take a step towards diversity, consider investing in REITs. Going to a website like ReitBuyer.com will help you do just that. They will not only give you the research and information you need to buy wisely, but they are also real estate brokers for these investments and can help you seal the deal.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

REITs – Investing in Real Estate without the Hassles of Owning Property

You’ve been told how great of an investment real estate is, but you don’t care for the idea of owning and managing property. The profits would be nice, but you are not thrilled with being a landlord or complicating your income tax return.

It sounds like REITs are just what you are looking for. REITs allow you to enjoy the profits of owning property without having to hold title, deal with tenants, make repairs and risk liability exposure should something happen that is beyond your control.

REITs – How they Work for You

Instead purchasing and owning a piece of property, you can purchase a share in a real estate management group. There will be at least 100 shareholders that join into the purchase and their money will be pooled to be used for real estate development or real estate management.

When a purchase is made at least 90 percent of the profits from the rent or lease payments will be paid to the shareholders in the form of dividends. The other 10 percent is allocated to maintenance or growing the REIT. This means you will almost always see a good return on real estate through REITs. All you need is a series of places that are rented and you will see regular income.

This kind of profit making on property is essentially what you were thinking of doing on your own through real estate investing. If you were going to buy a piece of property, you would either want to sell or lease it out to make a profit. The only problem is that you would also be responsible for all the work of keeping the place in order and keeping things running. By moving into the REIT market you are able to get all of the benefits of this fund without having any of the headaches.

Now, it's important to note that you may not make a fortune in REIT investing, but it is a pretty steady way to see income, and sometimes you really can hit it just right and make a fortune. As a matter of fact some people, like Ivana Trump, count real estate as the only place to put their money. She was quoted as saying. "I made a tremendous amount of money on real estate. I'll take real estate rather than go to Wall Street and get 2.8 percent. Forget about it."

If you don’t know enough about REITs to make an intelligent investing decision then there are online resources for getting the education your need. Begin by going to REITBuyer.com, a website loaded with resources and education to give you the insight you need. When you are ready to buy, let their real estate investing brokers do the work for you. Once you have added a few REITs to your portfolio use their online tracking and analyzing tools keep an eye on your investments and to see how they are stacking up.

REITbuyer.com is an online brokerage information site specializing In REITs and Real Estate Mutual Funds – The World’s first and only site dedicated to REITs Real Estate Mutual Funds. This is a place for the small investor to own a piece of world class real estate.

Investing in REITs to Stabilize your Portfolio

If you are following the stock market and mutual funds, you may think you don't want to let your money get anywhere near those investments. You’ve watched as the stock market plummets as companies go bankrupt, wiping out all the funds that were invested with them.

So you may be keeping your money in the bank while you decide on the best way to invest it. This is a good time to consider real estate investing.

Historically, real estate has been a safe, profitable investment. Many people see the news articles as of late about the real estate market problems. Sure, there are fluctuations, but over the long term, real estate is a wise investment. When other markets fall apart, real estate tends to be the constant that holds strong.

Additionally, if there were to be a complete market downturn, while your real estate investment may lose some of its value the important thing to remember is that with real estate you have a tangible asset that will always have value. That is much more than you can say for your stock certificates.

This doesn’t mean that you should put all your money into real estate; however, a well-diversified portfolio should contain at least 10-20% of real estate related investments. This will give your a strong backbone to hedge against a bad day in the market.

The easiest way to invest in real estate is by purchasing REITs or real estate investment trusts. These are essentially real estate development and management groups that purchase and manage income producing property, including residential, industrial or even commercial real estate ventures.

Instead of purchasing a piece of property outright, you will purchase a share in the group that is doing the purchasing and managing. In return, as they make profits, they pay you a dividend. REITs are required to return at least 90% of their profits to their shareholders. That means if the REIT does well, you are going to get a great return. Even in a moderate year you will likely get a good return.

Additionally, REITs are generally constant and stable as people rent homes or lease buildings. They intend to stay a while; therefore, the income is consistent year after year.

Getting involved in REITs is not too difficult. Begin by going to a website like REITBuyer.com. They have everything you need to add this type of investment to your portfolio. From the information provided you can research the REITs available and begin investing or have the REITBuyer.com brokers do it for you. They also provide online tools to monitor your investments so you know how your portfolio is doing.

REITbuyer.com is an online brokerage information site specializing In REITs and Real Estate Mutual Funds – The World’s first and only site dedicated to REITs Real Estate Mutual Funds. This is a place for the small investor to own a piece of world class real estate.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Real Estate Investment Trusts – The Time is Right for REITs

Real Estate Investment Trusts, aka, REITs, are quickly gaining the attention of real estate investors. Because of the shifts in the stock investing market, people are worried about putting their money into it at this time. With stock values declining, how does one know where to put their cash?

Perhaps it's time to consider other investing options out there like real estate. I don’t mean to say that you should buy properties. That comes with way too much hassle, putting together the cash to buy the property, fixing it up, maintaining it and managing it. It’s enough just to invest your money; your time may be better spent doing something else, like enjoying the return on your money

Real estate investment trusts are another option for investing in real estate. Real estate investment trusts or REITs are funds where you purchase shares of the investment and a real estate management group buys, develops, maintains and manages the income producing property. You essentially fund a portion of a property acquisition and management group.

In return for your investment, you will be paid a portion of any profit that the company makes, much like a stock dividend.

While you may be wondering how wise it is to consider real estate in today's tough market, this is exactly why it may be a good time to look at a little more investing. Here's why. Sure, there has been a tough time for the markets. Lending has decreased; foreclosures are on the rise. We're in tough credit times.

But now let's look at the positive side of things. Many experts believe the slide has slowed down and things will soon stabilize. Add this to the fact that those capital markets that REITs use to get their funding for expansion and other purchases are low and that means the chances for REITs to get the capital they want to expand has dropped, for now. While you may think this is a bad sign, the truth is this is a time when the value of REITs is lower, meaning you can get in at a lower price. As things settle and go back to normal, your profits will go up and you will see an even greater return on your investment.

This is the time to log onto a website like REITBuyer.com and find out what REITs are available, what they are selling for and get yourself in on this low tide so you can enjoy the ride when the financial wave picks up again.

Your other option is putting all of your money in the bank and seeing little to no growth.

Money Making Guru Robert G. Allen may have said it best saying, "How many millionaires do you know who have become wealthy by investing in savings accounts? I rest my case."

REITs – Going to the Head of the Real Estate Investing Pack

REITs are quickly gaining popularity with real estate investors. In the world of real estate investing there are two kinds of people, those who see a profit and those that don't. Everyone wants to be a part of the first group, but few really know how to do it.

If you are to be successful with investing, you need to take a few lessons from the big dogs. After all, they got to where they are through years of hard work and investing. They are the experts; they make great role models.

The first thing you need to know is where to invest your money. There are many money moguls who will tell you they made their fortune in real estate.

Look at Donald Trump; his whole career was made on the right real estate moves at the right time. One thing to consider is that real estate is an asset, not a fluid commodity that could disappear overnight. What happens during a market downturn? Warren Buffet once said, "Only buy something that you'd be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years." Can you say that about your other holdings? If you have real estate in your investment portfolio, you probably could, as real estate is something that will still have value.

For many people who are accustomed to the more traditional types of investments, they are not really sure where to start when it comes to investing in real estate. Do you have to buy a piece of property? A house? An apartment complex? The answer is no. You don’t have to do any of those things. Purchasing property outright, while still a nice investment, is a much more difficult venture than most people want to attempt. With REITs, the investor owns a part of a fund, with something as liquid as a stock, without having to deal with all the paperwork, responsibility and liability exposure of a property owner.

This is why you should be looking at REITs. REITs are Real Estate Investment Trusts. Essentially these are the mutual funds of real estate. When you purchase shares in REITs you are putting money into a fund for a real estate management or development group to build or purchase real estate which they manage and operate.

Your profits are paid to you as dividends from the income produced by the property. From rent in residential properties to leases of business properties, 90 percent of the profits from REIT investments must go back to the shareholders in the form of dividends each year.

Beginning investing in REITs is simple; you just need to know where to look. A website like REITBuyer.com is a great resource for investors to learn about REITs and see how they are performing. They are also are a full service investing real estate broker that you can purchase your REITs through.