Sunday, March 8, 2009

Fed Rate Low? Consider Purchasing REITs - Real Estate Investment Trusts

What to Know Before Purchasing a REIT

If you have been thinking about purchasing a REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust), make sure you know what you are getting into before you make the purchase. A lot of people read up a bit on the various investments they are considering and then make purchases because they like the way something sounds.

With stock, bond and mutual fund purchases this may be a normal thing, but when you are doing real estate investing you should do more research, and it's easy.

Location Location Location

The first thing you should get to know when you are considering a REIT is where it is located. What is the market like in that area? This can be easily found with a little Internet research these days. Find out what complexes, properties, malls or industrial parks are included in the REIT you are considering buying and look up those areas. The more you know about the land and building value of the property you are investing in, the more you can know you are making a wise investment decision that has nowhere to go but up.

Stability

If you are investing in a new real estate development REIT this is not as much of an option, as you will not necessarily know how the project will go once construction is complete, but if you are considering purchasing shares in an established REIT, take a look at their history. Have they shown stability in the recent months or years? If they have, this is a good sign they will continue to do so.

One thing you should keep in mind on this front is that all markets, real estate included, have had a tough time over the past year or so, so if their strength only wavered during that time, you should not be too alarmed.

Profits

The bottom line here is that you want to make money. Before you get into a REIT, make sure it is one that will be making you money from the beginning and for years to come. Some REITs make more than others and the key to finding ones that will make you a better return is looking for those that are fully booked with tenants or are in a growing area that will not have a problem filling all the leases so you know the profits will start rolling in.

Doing this research may sound daunting, but it’s not if you know where to go. For example, REITBuyer.com is a website that offers all the information you need about the REIT market. You can do your research, look at past REIT investments, see comparisons of the REITs to the stock market and really get a better understanding of the investments you are considering making.

Once you have become knowledgeable and know which REITs you want to invest in, you then only have to go as far as a few mouse clicks to purchase them through REITBuyer.com, as they are a full service investing real estate broker. Then sit back and watch your work pay off.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

REITS - Another Way to Invest in Real Estate

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.

Getting into the REIT market is also relatively simple. Just go to REITBuyer.com and you can research the REITs out there and even make your purchases in one stop, as they are an investment real estate broker as well.