Sunday, May 17, 2009

REIT and Real Estate Mutual Fund Investing – Keep Positive in a Negative Time

If you have been anywhere near a financial news outlet in the past year, you may feel like the whole world is failing. Every story about the stock markets and investments seems to be a doomsday report. All this negativity is horribly contagious. Many people who have seen these stories have started to follow those negative trends and become worried about their own investments. This has caused a number of rash and costly decisions.

Instead of regretting something you do, you need to learn how to keep a positive outlook in this negative market time so you can make sure you are making decisions that are wise for your financial situation.

For those investing in real estate investment trusts (REITs) and real estate mutual funds, the decline in the market in the past year may have you second guessing your investment decisions. Don't. Here's what you need to know about those decisions.

First, understand that there are plenty of historical indicators that show this too shall pass. This is not the first time the real estate market has had a bad year, and probably not the last. But the lesson to be learned is that it will ALWAYS come back. Think about it. There have been crashes in the past, yet right before this recent roller coaster real estate interests were at record prices. That should tell you that even when there are bad times they WILL be followed by good times.

In addition to this making you a little more confident about being a part of the investment market, you also may want to think about the fact that right now REITs and real estate mutual funds are at their lows because of the recent markets lows. That means there is only one way to go for them – up. If you are able to get in at the low end of things right now, you can then sit back and give the market some time to get on it's feet again. As it goes back up and those REIT and real estate mutual fund prices rise, so will your profits.

If you liked the first history lesson, you are really going to like this one. Historically, real estate prices double every 10-15 years. This is especially the case in metropolitan areas. And usually right before there is a large growth in real estate prices there is something that will tune you in to an increase to come, a drop in the market.

Many analysts say now is that drop, which means there are increases to come.

Now is the time to start getting into the real estate market. Before you purchase any REITs or real estate mutual funds, make sure you know what you are buying. Team up with a website like REITBuyer.com. REITBuyer.com is the first and only online brokerage firm that specializes in real estate investment trusts and real estate mutual funds. In addition to letting you buy and sell on the site, they also have research, reports and analysis of the market so you can see the trends coming and know how to act accordingly to see profits on your investments.

This article was written by Earl E. Bird, spokes person for the REITbuyer.com, a site dedicated to educating Real Estate Investors on how to invest in Real Estate Mutual Funds to diversify their investing portfolio. Read more about REITs Investing at http://associationnational.blogspot.com

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Which is the Best REIT to Put Into Your Portfolio

Real Estate - The Wise Investment - REITs for Dividends ilo Real Estate Ownership Worries

In today's touchy economic climate many people want to be doing something to invest their money wisely, but are not sure how to do that. It seems every time you look at the business section all you see is more bad news about markets taking a tumble.

So, what is an investor to do? Well now may be a good time to take on an investment in something that is solid and has assets backing it up like Real Estate. But do you really do not want the pressures of real estate ownership, like "Inc Mortgage"?

Sure, you're thinking that the real estate investment market has taken its share of hits. Yes, it has. But if you compare the hits it takes in a down market to the other mutual funds, stocks, bonds and options out there, you will see real estate is still the way to go.

For example, in one chunk of the market drop the regular stocks were down in a painful way. People then looked to see what the more stable commodities were doing. Even they were down. Utilities were down 4-5 percent. But at this same time real estate funds were down less than a percent. That should tell you something. Even when the rest of the investing building is crumbling, real estate is still a pretty strong corner stone.

Sure, some markets are still rather low for where most investors would like them to be, but if you look at this in a different way you may see the light.

While the funds may be low now, real estate is an asset. That means real estate will never completely lose it's valuable. That tangible piece of land or building will always retain some value. Therefore unlike the regular stock market where a bad day could wipe all of your money away, the real estate investing market will usually allow you to at least keep your investment, although you may not see as much profit as you would like.

How to Invest in Real Estate

The next thing you may be wondering is how to start getting invested in real estate. The first thing you need to do is your homework. You need to know what is best to invest in and how to get your money into those markets.

Begin by going to REITBuyer.com. This is a website that is in the business of real estate investments and real estate investment trusts (REITs).

Unlike other brokerage firms that just want your money, they also want to make sure you know what you are getting into. The website is filled with information about REITs and the real estate market in general. This will give you a good base in the options that are out there and which ones you may want to consider purchasing.

Once you know which ones are the best to put into your portfolio, REITBuyer.com can take care of that part of the process as well, making the purchases for you.

After the purchase has been made, they will also help you keep up with your REITs and follow their progress in the weeks, months and years to come.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Do Well at Investing By Investing in REITS Rather than "Inc Mortgage" Paying on a Mortgage Loan

In the world of investing there are two kinds of people, those who make money and see a profit and those that don't. Everyone wants to be a part of the first group, but not everyone knows how to do it.

If you are truly to do well in investing, you have to take a few lessons from the big dogs. After all, they got to where they are through years of hard work and investing. They must have done something right.

The first thing you need to know is where to invest your money. Many of those money moguls will tell you their fortunes were made in real estate.

Look at Donald Trump! His whole career was made on the right real estate moves at the right time. Another thing to consider is that real estate is an asset, instead of a more fluid commodity that could disappear overnight. What if the market had a tough time? Warren Buffet once said, "Only buy something that you'd be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years." Can you say that about your other holdings? If you have real estate in your investment portfolio, you probably could, as real estate is something that will still have value, but do you really want the pressures of direct real estate ownership to deal with?

For many people who are accustomed to the more traditional types of investments, they are not really sure where to start when it comes to investing in real estate. Do you have to buy a piece of property? A house? An apartment complex? The answer is no. You don’t have to do any of those things. Purchasing property outright, while still a nice investment, is a much more detailed investment than most people want to try. You want to be a part of a fund or have something as liquid as a stock, not be stuck in a situation where you are forced to deal with all the contracts and deeds of property as well as the maintenance of it.

This is why you should be looking at REITs. REITs are Real Estate Investment Trusts. Essentially these are the mutual funds of real estate. When you purchase shares in REITs you are putting money into the pot for the real estate management group or real estate development group to build or purchase real estate with and then manage it and keep it operational.

How you profit from this system is when through the money the management group makes annually. From rent in residential properties to leases of business properties, 90 percent of the profits from REIT investments must go back to the shareholders in the form of dividends each year.

Beginning investing in REITs is simple; you just need to know where to look. A website like REITBuyer.com is a great place as they not only have all of the education and research you need to find out what REITs are out there and see how they are performing, but they also are a full service investing real estate broker so you can purchase your REITs through them as well.