Buying real estate usually implies being stuck with a mortgage and living on the cheap to pay it off. But investing has changed over the years and today, there are actually plenty of ways to invest in real estate, even with no money!
You might think real estate investing requires much cash and a lot of time and effort.
While some strategies do require applying for a loan, there are also a few ways to start investing in real estate even if you don’t have access to a lot of money.
There isn’t a “best way” to invest in real estate.
Every strategy is unique in it’s own way and can either turn a profit immediately or you can realize that particular strategy isn’t for you. It all depends on how much effort you invest in real estate opportunities and, well, call it timing, call it luck, either way it sometimes can make or break a deal.
5 ways to invest in real estate
1. Owner occupancy (renting your own home)
First and easiest way to dip your toe into real estate investing: rent out your own home.
If you’re thinking of buying a second house or have inherited a property, consider renting out the home you’re not going to live in, instead of selling. You can even rent out space in your own home and have a roommate paying you rent on a regular basis.
This investing strategy is called owner-occupancy and it’s a first step to treating a house as a rental property. And the investment should be really small if the place is ready for tenants to move in.
Becoming a landlord isn’t that difficult. Find out what your rights and obligations are, make sure you comply with federal and state laws and start looking for tenants!
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2. Real estate wholesaling
Wholesaling allows you to earn money with real estate, without having to spend.
How does wholesaling work?
The wholesaler (you) finds someone who wants to sell their property. The wholesaler (still you) then finds a buyer, puts the property under contract (meaning the seller accepts the offer) and resells it, keeping part of the selling price to himself.
This usually works for properties that need serious repairs and can be sold quickly.
While you don’t actually need any money to become a wholesaler, you do need to do extensive networking and invest a lot of time into finding sellers and buyers.
Related article: Reckless mistakes to avoid when buying your first home
3. Flipping houses
Find and buy properties under their market value, make small and necessary repairs, then sell them for profit!
The positive aspect of house flipping is the low buying price. The bad part is, you’ll need time and money to fix the house up and the longer it takes, the more monthly expenses will add up.
However, fix and flips are overall a great real estate investment opportunity!
To save money, you can make some of the repairs yourself or hire a team of contractors you can trust and maybe get some discounts if you can provide them with regular work in the long run.
4. Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)
Real Estate Investment Trusts are similar to investing in stocks. You earn dividend income by investing money into real estate.
Real Estate Investment Trusts use investors money to buy property (land, homes, commercial buildings etc.), use said property to generate income and, just like stocks, reward ‘share-holders’ in the form of dividends.
The bad news is, just like stock investing, the market can suddenly fluctuate and you could lose money. The good news though, is that you could generate a nice passive income without much effort.
5. Crowdfunding
It is now possible to get into crowdfunding real estate investing even if you’re not an accredited investor. And you can start by investing as little as $1,000.
The way crowdfunding works is, you join others into pulling money together to invest in rental property and share the profits. The rental property you invest in can either be residential or commercial.
Although not a new concept, crowdfunding is gaining ground in the real estate market thanks to the increasing number of interested investors.
As you can see, investing in real estate can easily be done with little to no money at all.
If you’re looking for ways to diversify your investment portfolio, then you should definitely look into investing in real estate. Start small and work your way up as you earn more profit.
Have you tried investing in real estate? How did it work out for you?
I live in NYC and real estate is expensive here so I invested in property out-of-state. I’ve also invested in REITs and crowdfunding which is a lot more passive. When you said investing with no money, I was thinking about “creative financing” deals with no money down that I’ve read some real estate pros talk about. It’s possible but a little too complex and risky for me at this point.
I *wish* I was a real estate pro. I’d probably have a lot more money in the bank right now 😀 hahah!
Investing in properties out of state makes sense as real estate can be quite expensive in such popular areas.
I have rented out a house that I lived in. There was a bit of stress involved in it since I was the landlord and a tenant. But it worked out fairly well. Tax wise it’s a bit of a mess since you can only claim a percentage of your mortgage on your schedule A and a percentage on your schedule E. Definitely a bit tricky if you’re familiar with it.
Smart move 🙂 My “home back home” is also rented, and my parents did the same when we moved to a different location (years ago, when I was little). Renting property can turn out to be a profitable experience, but yeah, tax wise things can get ‘weird’ 😀 It’s worth the hassle though.
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