Are You 100% Sure Real Estate Investing Is for You?

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You’ve decided. You’re sure you want to invest in real estate.

But why?

Without being clear about why you’re actively choosing to invest specifically in real estate, your chance of success looks bleak.

Often I hear wannabe investors say, “I want to get involved in real estate because I hate my job.”

But this is also a job, and one that requires work. You won’t be sipping Mai Tais on a beach on a regular basis anytime soon.

Just get a new job! There are other jobs out there.

Other would-be investors say, “I want to get involved in real estate investing to make money.”

But investing simply to make money isn’t a good enough motivation, because there are days where you’re not going to make money and there are days where you’re going to experience setbacks.

Think instead about what you want to do with that money. College tuition? Retirement? Leave a legacy to your heirs? You need a reason beyond making money that’s substantial enough to motivate yourself to press on in the face of challenges.

Related: Why Investing in Real Estate Just for the Tax Breaks Can Be Unwise (& Downright Dangerous)

Why Do You Want to Invest in Real Estate?

If you can relate to any of the following things, you are making the right decision:

1. You have a passion for it. You love the creation or renovation process or want to put roofs over people’s heads. There needs to be a facet of real estate that you enjoy.
2. You’re determined to take back your time. Real estate investing can give you back time—eventually. You can earn income that’s not directly correlated with how much time you put in, as opposed to trading hours for dollars. But you need to understand this isn’t going to happen overnight.
3. You’re committed to building wealth. And there certainly is a wealth-building factor to real estate. However, it’s not a sprint and there isn’t instant gratification. But over time real estate investing can create millions of dollars for you if you play your cards right, do the right thing, invest in the right properties, and get a little lucky.

Those are three great reasons to invest in real estate. Choose another outlet if none of those apply to you.

Watch my video above to hear a little more about why you should or shouldn’t dive in.

Why are you choosing real estate?

Let me know in a comment.

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.