Last week, we started a series on the steps to take before investing while also delving into types of investment, we will conclude this series by talking about investing in real estates.
Investing in Real Estate
Real estate investing is nearly as old as mankind itself. There are several ways to make money investing in real estate, but it typically comes down to either developing something and selling it for a profit or owning something and letting others use it in exchange for rent or lease payments. For a lot of investors, real estate has been a path to wealth because it more easily lends itself to using leverage. This can be bad if the investment turns out to be a poor one but, applied to the right investment, at the right price, and on the right terms, it can allow someone without a lot of net worth to rapidly accumulate resources, controlling a far larger asset base than he or she could otherwise afford.
Something that might be confusing for new investors is that real estate can also be traded like a stock. Usually, this happens through a corporation that qualifies as a real estate investment trust or REIT. For example, you can invest in hotel REITs and collect your share of the revenue from guests checking into the hotels and resorts that make up the company’s portfolio. There are many different kinds of REITs; apartment complex REITs, office building REITs, storage unit REITs, REITs that specialize in senior housing, and even parking garage REITs.
The Next Investing Step Is to Decide How You Want to Own Those Assets
Once you’ve settled on the asset class you want to own, your next step is to decide how you are going to own it. To better understand this point, let’s look at business equity. If you decide you want a stake in a publicly-traded business, do you want to own the shares outright or through a pooled structure?
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Outright Ownership: If you opt for outright ownership, you are going to be buying shares of individual companies directly. To do this right requires a certain level of knowledge.
To invest in stocks, think of them as you might your privately held businesses, and remember there are three ways you can make money investing in a stock. Plainly, this means focusing on the price you are paying relative to the risk-adjusted cash flows the asset is generating. Discover how to calculate enterprise value, calculate the gross profit margin and operating profit margin, and compare them to other business in the same sector or industry. Read the income statement and balance sheet. Look at the asset management companies, which hold large stakes, to figure out the types of co-owners with which you are dealing.
Pooled Ownership: An enormous percentage of ordinary investors do not invest in stocks directly but, instead, do it through a pooled mechanism, such as a mutual fund or an exchange-traded fund (ETF). You mix your money with other people and buy ownership in a number of companies through a shared structure or entity.
These pooled mechanisms can take many forms. Some wealthy investors invest in hedge funds, but most individual investors will opt for vehicles like exchange-traded funds and index funds, which make it possible to buy diversified portfolios at much cheaper rates than they could have afforded on their own. The downside is a near-total loss of control. If you invest in an ETF or mutual fund, you are along for the ride, outsourcing your decisions to a small group of people with the power to change your allocation.