Is Real Estate Investing For You?

Real estate investing is an ideal way to secure your financial freedom, and the Triangle area is ripe for investing. Investing is not, however, a get rich quick proposition.    Building a portfolio of income-producing properties takes time. 

The Benefits

1. FREEDOM. Real estate investing provides freedom.  As an investor, if you want to go out of town for a few days, you go. You don't have to ask for vacation time. While you're out of town, your rents keep ticking away 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, whether you're on the job or not.

2. EQUITY GROWTH.  Equity is the difference between what your property is worth and what you owe on it (your loans).  Real estate is one of the few assets you can buy that can go up in value (appreciate) over time.  As an added benefit, your tenants pay down your loan for you, creating even more equity!

3. YOU CAN WORK FROM HOME. All you need for successful investing is a computer, fax machine and a solid team to support you.  Gone are the days of suits and ties. (Unless that's your preference!)

4. TAX ADVANTAGES.  Owning real estate with the goal of making profit allows you to deduct interest payments and other expenses at tax time. But, don't be fooled into buying real estate for the tax advantages; buy real estate because it makes economic sense to do so.

5. STABILITY.  Real estate has exhibited less price volatility than stock and bond markets, especially in years past.  With real estate investments, in general, your returns are easier to approximate and are not as susceptible to steep rises and falls in the market.

The Drawbacks

1. REAL ESTATE INVESTING REQUIRES A TOLERANCE FOR RISK.  Fortunately, much of this risk can be mitigated with sufficient due-diligence.  Not everyone is willing to take the additional risk that real-estate investing involves. And these are the same people or renters that will make you (the investor/landlord) rich. The little secret is that there are hundreds of individuals who choose to procrastinate for every one individual who has a vision and chooses to take the risk with real-estate investing.

2.  ADDED RESPONSIBILITY. As your investing activities progress, they may require additional liquidity (cash), management responsibilities, and the specialized expertise necessary to buy and manage properties.