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The 10 Coolest Things about Real Estate Investing

Ali Boone
4 min read
The 10 Coolest Things about Real Estate Investing

I think we all know real estate investing is awesome, right? All of us on here are in it for some reason or another. Or maybe you are newer and still trying to convince yourself to take the leap. My only warning about taking that leap is real estate investing can be very addictive!

So what is it exactly about real estate investing that keeps us all hooked? Some of these might be really obvious, but it’s good to put everything into perspective sometimes.

Top 10 Reasons Real Estate Investing Rocks

  1. You can make a lot of money! Probably the most obvious. I don’t think of us would be in this if there wasn’t money to be made. This is a cool one though because there are actually different styles of making money in real estate. You can make big chunks in shorter amounts of time, like with flipping, or you can make passive money over the long run, like with rentals.
  2. You can’t get fired. You can quit, but you can’t get fired. Kind of freeing, isn’t it? Even if you mess up so bad even your mother would want to slap you, you can’t get fired. If that’s not empowering, I don’t know what is.
  3. You can do it anywhere, anytime. I say this as I always preach about not being able to invest in CA. However, I’m usually talking about buy and hold investing when I’m talking about CA. I do believe flipping can work great in CA (assuming you have mega capital to start). Wherever you are, there is some kind of investing that will work there. It may not necessarily be the most optimal or what you want to be doing, but you can do something. Or, with virtual world now, you can handle rental properties in one area from anywhere else in the world you want. My properties are in Atlanta but I’m not usually in Atlanta, or anywhere near it, and can still manage my investing. Thank you, internet. You can even handle flips from far away. Not as easily, but still doable.
  4. Hello tax write-offs! There’s nothing like sticking it to Uncle Sam better than taking back some of your tax money. Tax benefits are different for every style of investing, like rental properties have better tax benefits than flipping, but regardless of what extent each project gets your taxes back, it’s one of my favorite parts of real estate investing. Ever since I started buying rental properties, my tax returns have been 3-6 times what they used to be!
  5. There are some seriously cool people in the industry. I remember the first investors’ weekend I went to in Nicaragua. It was the first time I felt like I was with a big group of people who were the perfect combination of smart and fun. I mean, if you’re in Nicaragua you clearly have some sense of adventure which makes you more fun by default, but it was the investor aspect that really stuck out. Investors are usually pretty smart, in some form or another, but they are also working towards a common goal which is a better life through financial means, which likely means they want the means to have more fun or enjoy life more.
  6. It is a means to anything you want. Real estate investing gives you the financial resources to do whatever it is you want to do. Some people just want a more secure retirement fund.  Some people want to stop working completely. Some people want extra income to fund activities, adventures, savings accounts, toys, fancy dinners, whatever. Some people want lifestyle design. Whatever it is you want, you can find a way to fund it. I want to be financially free (who doesn’t) but my rentals haven’t gotten me that far just yet. But while I wait for that, real estate investing has given me the opportunity to start my own company which has allowed me to have full lifestyle design. I’ll take it!
  7. There is something for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you are left-brained or right-brained, old or young, smart or not, outgoing or shy, or a convicted felon (apparently) – there is something you can do. There are so many different routes you can go in real estate investing that you can absolutely find something you mesh with if you look hard enough. You can even be a part-time real estate investor, a full-time real estate investor, or like me, a no-time real estate investor. Any end of the spectrum of personality and desires or goals, you can find a fit.
  8. You get to be your own boss. How often do you get that opportunity? You’d have to start your own business or be a freelancer or something. In real estate investing, you call the shots! (Or if you don’t want to call any shots, you can do that to. See point #7).  Just as I said you can only quit, you can’t get fired, you can also make your own rules, make your own decisions, structure your work any way you want to, and you don’t have to answer to anyone! That’s what I’m talking about.
  9. It’s an investment you can actually control. You can always hire someone different, you can always change a paint color, you can add space to properties, you can get new tenants, you can find more advantageous financing, you can get rid of properties, you can buy different properties, you can change markets, and you can come up with cool partnerships. Among a ton of other ways you can control whatever it is you are working on.
  10. There are websites like BiggerPockets to help you! As I mentioned with real estate investors being a pretty cool crowd of folks to be able to network with and meet, real estate investors are often very willing to help out a fellow. Look at BiggerPockets! Between the forums, the podcasts, and the blogs, it’s very obvious there are a lot of people willing to help you. Some do have financial incentive as to why they offer advice, but I’ve also never seen anyone offering a ripoff or guru claim while they try to convince you to spend thousands of dollars on one of their “programs”. Plus their advice is still free!

What is your favorite part about real estate investing, if you are already an investor?

Photo Credit: Kris Krug via Compfight cc

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