Being single usually means having to get what you want or need on your own. It means being self-reliant and becoming strong by having to become self-sufficient. Investing in real estate is just another example of how this works in practice. Now, a lot of people believe that buying real estate is similar regardless of your goal and purpose. In other words, they believe that buying a house is buying a house, regardless if you’re purchasing a home or an investment property. Needless to say, nothing could be further from the truth. With that in mind and without further ado, here’s a brief guide to investing in real estate that every single woman should read.
1. Start by learning about this field
The first thing you need to understand is the language of the real estate industry. You can start with some investment basics like net operating income, return on investment and capitalization rate. Then, you can proceed to terms like debt coverage ratio, loan to value and REIT (real estate investment trust). Nonetheless, it’s not enough for you to just figure out how and when these terms are used but to fully understand why you need them and how they will be relevant in your particular scenario.
2. Set your investment goals
Knowing what you want to achieve is probably the first step towards getting what you want. In order to be valid, your real estate goals need to be SMART. The acronym smart stands for S (specific), M (measurable), A (attainable), R (relevant) and T (time-bound). This way, you’ll always be able to tell how close you are to achieving your goals and what you need to work on to get a step closer to them. Most importantly, these metrics have ratios that are easy for you to understand.
3. There are so many ways to invest in real estate
One of the reasons why it’s so great to invest in real estate is due to the fact that there are so many ways to invest. For instance, the most traditional way of investing is to buy a whole property but you can also invest in REITs, real estate mutual funds or find an online real estate investment platform to work with. Other than this, there are always real estate partnerships willing to work with potential investors, which is a concept that you should definitely check out. When it comes to buying a property, you can fix and flip it, rent it out or sit on the investment for a while. So many options.
4. Creating a passive stream of income
Life has many restrictions preventing us from fully exploring all that we need and want. The necessity to work for a living takes a lot of time and energy. However, this can be worked around if you were to create a passive stream of income instead. Investing in real estate gives you such an opportunity. Once your investments reach a certain critical mass, you’ll be able to live completely off this passive income, which will leave you A) with a secured financial future and B) free to pursue other interests. This can give you a chance to sense what true freedom looks like.
5. Consider the issue of taxes and depreciation
Real estate investments are tax-friendly but not as simple as you may want to believe them to be. Therefore, you might want to consider finding a reliable specialist in the area where you intend to make an investment. For instance, if you were to purchase a property in NSW, finding a reliable tax agent in Sydney would be your best course of action. Such a professional or an agency would be familiar with local laws, customs, and real estate trends, which would make them quite efficient at what they do.
6. Diversifying your portfolio
Chances are that if you decide to invest, real estate will be just one of many options. In that case, diversifying your portfolio keeps your investments safe. In general, real estate tends to be quite a stable market (with a couple of historical financial anomalies as exceptions) and it is, overall, a safe way for you to safeguard your funds. So, try diversifying your portfolio by keeping a part of your assets in real estate, even if you don’t want to go all-in.
7. Self-growing through learning new skills
Before we even start, you need to understand that being a real estate investor creates more than just financial gain. You see, being a real estate investor is a task that will require you to adopt a plethora of new skills. What you get is an opportunity to expand your knowledge, test your patience, learn how to think far in the future and try to stay focused despite all the distractions. All of these skills are invaluable and applicable in every single field of your life.
8. Taking the risk
Even though investing in real estate is one of the safest forms of investment, no investment is ever 100 percent risk-free. This means that you’ll get an opportunity to do something daring and rely on your own wits and courage when making your success. You’ll get an opportunity to get rewarded for your actions. Sometimes the gains will be in money, at other times, they’ll come in the form of a new experience. Either way, it’s a positive thing that’s more than worth considering.
9. Starting early on has its benefits
Like with any other form of investment, the sooner you start, the sooner you can see potential returns. Sure, starting off is hard but you need to understand that, when it comes to real estate, it often takes years for the first returns to start arriving. Also, like with most investment types, it’s often suggested that you should start with some minor investments (play it safe for a while) and work your way up. This is yet another reason why you need to start as soon as possible.
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Conclusion
As you can see, there are many benefits to getting involved in this field but you need to ensure that your reasons are the right ones and that your approach to the issue as a whole is systemic. Being an investor is not just a full-time job. In fact, it’s dangerously close to what being an entrepreneur is like. Therefore, it deserves all your attention and commitment. For those who are willing to make this sacrifice, the returns are more than worth it.
This article has been contributed by Amelia Atkins.