Sunday, May 17, 2009

Success With Real Estate Investment Trusts Takes Education

No matter what investment market you are considering getting into there is one thing that differentiates those that make money from those who lose it, being educated. Think about it. Who is going to know when to buy and sell to make the most profit or avoid a major loss? Someone who has been watching the market and knows what is happening will know what may be coming and how to prepare for that eventuality. So, if you want to be a successful real estate investment trust investor or are interested in real estate mutual funds, it's time to start doing your homework.

Real estate investment trusts and real estate mutual funds are a more specialized portion of the investment world. Think of these are large real estate portfolios that can have a number of things inside of them from stocks to bonds to any of a number of other real estate offerings that are offered on the stock market.

While you could study up on these on any number of investment websites, the difficulty comes in finding just the items you are interested in. If you are looking into real estate investment trusts, this is a more specialized market. You could spend hours going through regular websites just to find a few pieces of the information you really need. Instead, why not choose a site that is specifically geared towards your investments.

REITBuyer.com is the first and only online brokerage that specializes in REITs and real estate mutual funds. This means you will not have to wade through page after page of information on the other investments out there that are not a part of your portfolio, you will only be dealing with information specifically related to your industry.

Here are some of the things you need to be looking at:

News – News regarding your industry is always important. After all, it only takes on major news story about something bad happening in the real estate industry to see all of those real estate investments start to drop. On the other side of things a positive story can mean profits are about to be made. The more you know about what may be happening in the real estate world, the more chance you have to sort out what that may mean for your investment future. Noticing what is coming in the news may give you an idea of what action to take with your portfolio.

Trends – Another thing to keep your finger on the pulse of is trends in the industry. If the industry is about to see changes in styles, legislation or other areas, you may be able to use this knowledge to make decisions on wise decisions or sales to make the most out of your portfolio.

Reports – there are always reports coming out about various portfolios or industries as a whole that can help you gauge what may be coming down the pike. Keep up on these as they may help you make wise buying and selling decisions.

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 at http://realestateoh.blogspot.com

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Consistent Returns with REITs - A Part of Your Investment Portfolio

Consistent Returns with Real Estate Investment Trusts

If you're looking for an investment that has proven returns, you may not be sure just where to look in today's ailing economy. What about REITs? REITs, or Real Estate Investment Trusts are known for consistent returns and can be a strong and always positive part of your investment portfolio.

Sure, everyone wants to find the next great investment, an investment that will bring them the big bucks and make them an overnight millionaire. Although this does happen, the cases of that are few and far between. Instead, you need to focus on making sure you have a diverse portfolio that will hold you through all times.

Consider this scenario. You see the next big thing coming. You sink all of your money into that particular thing and wait for it to reach the top. Before you get a chance to pull out, the market plummets, taking all of your profits with it and possibly even some of your principal. That's a horror story that comes true for plenty of investors year after year. The flaw in their thought is that they put all of their eggs in that one basket! When the basket fell, everything went with it.

Now consider this scenario. You see the next thing coming and put a good portion of your investment funds in that arena, while still also putting some of your money into more secure or long-term investments like real estate. You again wait for the investments to reach the top, but the bottom falls before you expect. While you may take a major hit on the one side, that other, long term investment side of things you had also been putting money into will still be there and will give you a little bit of a base to rebuild from. You will still have a portfolio with some strength, versus one that is nearly empty.

Real estate is often considered the rock when it comes to investment, just ask Donald Trump who says, "It's tangible, it's solid, it's beautiful. It's artistic, from my standpoint, and I just love real estate."

The good news is while being solid, REITs can still bring a pretty good profit. Consider that many REITs make a 10-14 percent return every year. That's a nice strong return when it happens for 10, 20 or 30 years without fail! If you look at the overall performance of the stock markets and most mutual funds, you will see there is not much difference in the two for long-term returns.

When you're ready to start investing in real estate, you need to make sure you know what you're getting into before you buy. While you could search all over and try to find out for yourself, there is another option as well. Consider a website like REITBuyer.com. REITBuyer.com offers all the information you need to understand REITs, where they come from and how to best begin investing. In addition, you don't have to go anywhere else when you are ready to add REITs to your portfolio, as they are also investment real estate brokers. It's one stop shopping for a stronger and more secure financial future!

Be Part of a REIT - Real Estate Investment Trust and Make Money in a Down Economy

Real Estate Investments to See Real Profits

Many investors say they want two things in their investments – a return on their money and some security that their money will not be here today and gone tomorrow. When it comes to trading on the stock market or purchasing mutual funds, those are usually two things that cannot be promised. When you purchase stocks, you never know if the company is going to have a bad quarter, losing you a chunk of your investment or if they are going to fail altogether, taking your money with them.

The only place you can really be sure that you will not lose everything in a bad session is in real estate.

Even if the bottom falls out of the real estate market, real estate that has been purchased is an asset. So, while there may be losses in a major downturn, you won't lose everything. Often in this case if you were to hold on for a little while and be patient it will all bounce back and you'll be seeing dividends come in again like nothing ever happened.

There are two ways to invest in real estate. The first is to make a real estate purchase. For the most part this means having a lot of money in hand to be able to buy a piece of property or a building outright. For most people this is not a possibility as this means having tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars in hand to invest.

There is another option however. Instead, why not be a part of a real estate investment trust or REIT. A REIT is where you are a shareholder in property ownership. This means you will purchase shares that go into a collective pot that is used to purchase and maintain properties. These properties could be anything from commercial buildings that are being leased out to residential buildings that are rented out.

The way a REIT works is that as the real estate management group makes a profit, that profit will be given to you as a dividend. Laws dictate that at least 90 percent of the profits from a REIT have to be returned to the shareholders, so barring a major downturn in the economy you know you will get a return on your investment year after year.

That other 10 percent of the profit from the REIT will go back into the management of the properties or possible improvement or expansions that will give you even more return on your investment dollar in the future.

Unlike regular real estate purchases, there is another benefit to REITs. If you ever needed to pull some of your money out it is as easy as selling a few shares instead of having to sell a property and go through all those hassles.