Personally, I have done real estate investing in the past, and have
decided I don't want to do it anymore. It doesn't fit with where I am
in my life, or what I want to do anymore.
The main disadvantage I see with real estate is that it is an illiquid
investment. If you want to get the cash out of it you either have to
put a second mortgage on it (and the current mortgage crisis drives
home the fact that that isn't always such a great idea) or you have to
sell it (which can take months).
About a decade ago I switched to mutual fund investing simply because
of liquidity. You can sell your holdings most any day of the week and
get your cash the next day.
Liquidity is a big issue to me - it may not be such an issue for you.
The second issue I have is that real estate isn't one BIG market, but
rather a large collection of little local markets. I live in a section
of the country where real estate values are almost static. In the past
20 years the price of the average house has risen by only 30%, or 1.5%
per year. While this means that the recent FALL of housing prices
nationwide hasn't noticeably affected us, it also means that I can get
a much better return for my investment elsewhere.
You could argue that I should be investing outside of my area. But I
don't KNOW the RE markets outside my area. I prefer to invest in
things that I already know about and can easily follow.
The last issue I have is the whole landlording bit. It's no fun having
to go unclog someone's toilet at three in the morning. I looked into
hiring companies to manage the properties for me, but THEY would wind
up profiting from the rents, NOT ME.
Yes, I'd still get the tax write-offs, but the financial gain simply
wasn't worth the headaches.
I think EVERYONE should invest in real estate as early in their lives
as possible. The education they'll get from it is GREAT. But for me,
part of that education was that I really don't like real estate. I'd
rather rent, let my landlord mow the yard, plow the driveway, and fix
the plumbing, and invest the bulk of my money in something else.
Like learning how to sell scooters! ;-)
Kurt Schweitzer
Urban Village Scooters
http://urbanvillagescooters.com
--- In entrepreneursathome@yahoogroups.com, Rhea! <rhea@...> wrote:
>
> Forgive me for questioning this but I don't understand
> something and I sincerely want y'all's feedback.
>
> I am hosting a real estate event where 10 very successful
> experts will teach at least 10 different ways to make serious money
> in real estate using the Internet.
>
> Most of these folks are millionaires. Most of them are Christians.
>
> Most real estate investors do not know how to use the Internet
> to automate their businesses like these guys and girls do.
>
> So here's my question.
>
> Why on earth are thousands of people not racing to get this
> information and taking their teens? ("Kids" are not usually
> allowed at professional events like this.)
>
> The registration is only $347.
>
> Do people not realize that the knowledge they will get at an event
> like this will enable them to purchase property at 50 to 10 cents on
> the dollar with no money down?
>
> If they just buy one property with what they learn, they could earn
> an entire year's salary in just one deal.
>
> (That means they would get their $347 back.)
>
> I am simply amazed.
>
> I know it takes a lot for folks to leave home for the weekend, but
> with the economy like it is, I think if I were facing hard times, I'd be
> doing everything I could to get the education I don't have to do
> something to better my situation.
>
> Can someone explain to me how anyone could decide to miss this
> one-of-a-kind event?
>
> In case you don't know what I'm talking about, here's the website:
>
>
http://www.RealEstateDays.com.
>
> So many books, so little time...
>
> Rhea!
> who really wants to hear what you think
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
------------------------------------
Need help? Contact Vickie at vics4us@yahoo.com .
http://www.educatingforsuccess.com .
To subscribe: entrepreneursathome-subscribe@yahoogroups.comYahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/entrepreneursathome/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/entrepreneursathome/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:entrepreneursathome-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto:entrepreneursathome-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
entrepreneursathome-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
