Saturday, February 28, 2009

Invest in REITs Online and Don't Worry About the Estate Taxes

How to Get Involved in Business Real Estate

Many people want to learn how to make the big bucks when it comes to investments. Generally this means knowing how to get into commercial real estate and how to do it right. This is how people like Donald Trump made their fortunes. But are you ready to be the next Donald Trump?

For most people the answer is no. Not because they don’t want to be the next Donald Trump, but because they don't have the cash on hand to get started like Donald does. That's ok. You can start small. One way to start small on commercial real estate is through REITs. A REIT is a real estate investment fund. This is a fund that that works much like a mutual fund but in the area of real estate. You can purchase shares of this fund and then that money is used to purchase, build or maintain properties.

As those properties make a profit, you will get a good percentage return on your investment. By US law, 90% of the profit from a REIT has to be returned to the shareholders in dividends, so if a REIT investment goes well, there could be major earnings.

As you wonder if this is the right way to go for you, why not take on this quote from Will Rogers, "Buy land, they aren't making anymore of it."

That is a very true assessment! There is only so much land to go around and with a growing population, more and more people are going to want a piece of it.

While you may think this only impacts residential properties, if you think a little harder you will see how it could also have an impact on commercial real estate.

While all those people in the growing population will indeed need places to live, they will also need places to shop, have their hair done, buy cars, and for any number of other services that they expect these days. That means commercial ventures that are going to serve this growing population are going to need commercial real estate to work from. If you are a part of a real estate REIT that owns that property you can have a tenant that is paying you profits for years and years to come.

Beginning your venture in to commercial REITs is easy. Start by going to REITBuyer.com. This is a website that focuses specifically on REITs instead of all the other types of investments out there.

Now take a little time to research the REITs that are available. You can look into the portfolio of a REIT to see what type of property is in its holdings. Some are residential and industrial as well as commercial, so if you want just commercial, make sure to weed out the rest.

Next, you should take a little time to see what that REIT has done in the past. See if it has been steady (give or take a few tough market seasons) and if the area where they are located is a good market for future revenue.

If so, it only takes a few steps to purchase the REIT through the site and enjoy your first step into the world of commercial real estate.

REITs - Stable Investments

Attain Stability By Investing in Real Estate

If you have been watching the regular investment world like the stock market and mutual funds, you may think you don't want to let your money get anywhere near those fund stealers. In recent months you have seen stocks plummet. Many companies have been completely wiped off the map and all those investment funds with them.

But at the same time, you would love to have an option to make a little more money with that extra cash that you have. What can you do? This may be a time to look into real estate investing.

Historically, real estate is a pretty safe investment field. 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 tank and fall apart, real estate tends to be the constant that holds strong as some of your other investments may be failing.

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

While you may not want to go 100% into real estate, if you are building a well-diversified portfolio, you should try to have at least 10-20% of that portfolio real estate related. This will give your investments a strong backbone that helps you in case you need to hedge against a bad day on the market.

The best way to get into real estate investing is through REITs or real estate investment trusts. These are essentially real estate development or real estate management groups that want to purchase, build and then maintain property units. These could be 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 maintaining. In return, as they make profits, you will get a portion of those profits sent to you as a dividend. As a matter of fact, REITs must 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 once people rent homes, business buildings, etc, they tend to stay there, meaning the profit will keep coming in year after year.

Getting in on the REIT game 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 you need to begin the process and research the REITs out there to being able to make the purchases for you, they can do it all as they are a real estate broker as well. Once you have made the purchase, you can even use their tools to monitor your investments and keep an eye on how that new portfolio is doing.