Why investing in Real Estate is better than investing in stocks, bonds, or tax-deferred retirement funds

There are many advantages to investing in real estate that you cannot get from investing in the stock market or other typical investment vehicles.

  1. Real Estate as a Wealth Creator Appreciation on houses has been throughout history (yes even through the depression and our current economic crisis) on average a 10% gain which equates to doubling in value every 10 years.  This is not a bad ROI (Return on investment) particularly when you consider some of the other benefits of investing in real estate which I have listed below.
  2. Real Estate as a Money maker Positive cash flow is a key ingredient to any successful real estate investor whether it is $20 or $2,000, be sure that your investment pencils because you don’t want to end up in a negative cash flow situation.  This income is passive income and is not subject to Social Security and Medicare withholding and is “un-taxed” in other ways such as seen in #4 Tax Advantages.
  3. Intelligent Leveraging Multiply your buying power and earning capability by up to 90% by using the banks money.  This is a huge advantage over other investment types, leveraging +appreciation=exponential growth capabilities.
  4. Tax Advantages You can reduce your tax burden tremendously from depreciating the structures you own, passive losses, and through rolling over profits into another investment through a 1031 tax deferred exchange.  You can write-off business expenses and if you’re a real estate professional (spend more than 50% of your time investing in real estate) there are even greater tax benefits.
  5. Less Risk The risks of investing in real estate can be mitigated through legal strategies, insurance, and other means that are relatively inexpensive and simple to understand and incorporate.  The stock market however can be unpredictable and volatile while real estate on the other hand is fairly predictable if you know what you’re looking for.

The housing prices have fallen and the deal of a lifetime is waiting around every corner so start looking today!