When you picture someone investing, you might first think of stocks and mutual funds. If you’re getting closer to retirement age, the idea of high-risk stocks might have been replaced with index funds, bonds, and dividends. Real estate investing is on the fringe of investment strategies for any age group, and it can look like anything from flipping a home like you’d see on TLC to being a nearly identical scene to traditional stock and index fund investing. Here are three strategies to consider as you’re getting started.
Get down in the weeds with direct property ownership.
If you have a cushion of either time or money before you need to have a stable retirement fund, consider going straight into investing in individual properties. There’s a lot of profit in renting properties once you know how to decide what’s a good deal. But this functions far more like a traditional business than an investment account, so you’ll want an accountant to walk you through keeping the books and all of the technical tax moves for buying and exchanging properties without losing too much in taxes.
Explore online crowdfunding.
Once you move out of direct property ownership, you’ve navigating back into the territory of spreadsheets and number crunching. You’re also moving away from buildings and more towards mortgages and debts. Online crowdfunding is a tool where you can invest percentages of your total allocation into small slivers of other (direct) investors’ mortgages and property improvement loans. There’s still a great deal of risk involved, but finding the right platform can give you high returns.
Invest in REITs.
With this third option, you’re investing in elements that are most similar to stocks and bonds. REITs, or Real Estate Investment Trusts, are similar to mutual funds. They’re also a good tool for diversifying your real estate investments, especially compared to direct investments.
No matter what strategy fits your strategy, Roberts Tax and Retirement Planning in Gilbert is here to help. Set up an appointment to start crystallizing or growing your investment strategies.
