Real Estate's "Fast & Easy Money" Reputation: Is There Any Truth to the Cliche?

Is real estate really the path to fast and easy money? Or is it all a myth?

More and more real estate gurus are throwing their hats into the ring to promise fast and easy profits. This includes a lot of the hype coming from “reality” television as well. So is there anything to these promises of big money coming easy from real estate? Is it all a trap? Or does it depend on how you do it?

The “Fast & Easy” Real Estate Trap

It is true that you can make a lot of money in real estate. Just look at Sam Zell and Herb Simon. You can even start investing in real estate with no money and no credit (I am living proof). Yet to call it “easy” may be a little misleading.

Some have gotten into real estate and have made millions, and they’ll tell you it was ridiculously easy. Others will tell you the complete opposite. They lost their shirts on their first rehab project, and it has been really, really hard.

How hard investing in real estate is really depends on:

How you do it.
Your perception.

There are many ways to invest in real estate. What may be fun or easy to one person may be a nightmare for the next, and vice versa. Perhaps you love tearing up old tile and replacing drywall. Maybe you thrive on helping difficult tenants or burning up the phone with cold calls. Others would rather clock time in an office at a regular day job and pay someone to do all of that for their investments.

For some, making $5,000 in a month wholesaling a house is like winning the lottery. For others, $10,000 may be peanuts.

Successfully profiting from real estate on the front lines can take hard work, dedication to education, money, time, and stress. Some thrive on this; others don’t.

The Rewards of Investing in Real Estate

Whether you go in full-time and are putting in 40 hours a week, plus being on call nights and weekends, or you simply invest via a mobile app in a few minutes once a month, there is no doubt the rewards can be found in real estate.

This is a multi-billion dollar industry. Most can’t fathom how much money there is to be made in real estate until they try for themselves. Many investors make more in one week than the average American makes in a year. Of course, if you rush in without knowing what you are doing and don’t have some great professionals to help and guide you, then it can be far less profitable, too.

However, there are other rewards. The tax benefits are a big one. Finding your passion and something you love doing can be more rewarding than the money itself. It can be real work at times, but I love this world of real estate and look forward to continually thriving in this space — while helping others, too.

How have you found real estate? Is it harder than you expected? Have you found one method of investing far easier than others? Have you found parts of it far more rewarding than you expected?

Let’s chat in the comments below!

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