There are an endless variety of ways to invest in real estate, from taking out a home mortgage to building a property empire that spans the country. While the latter is probably out of reach for most of us, there’s no shortage of other options. What’s more, not all of them need to involve the headaches of financing and maintaining rental properties. Here are five strategies for adding real estate exposure to your investments.
If you’d like to invest in real estate immediately, with as little money as possible, take a look at real estate investment trusts (REITs). These public companies raise funds by selling shares of stock and issuing bonds, and use the proceeds to purchase and lease out real estate assets like shopping malls, office buildings, apartment buildings, and warehouses. REITs are required to pay out nearly all of their after-tax profits to their investors as dividends. Real estate investment trusts take the fuss out of owning real estate. Management handles all of the ownership and rental logistics—you just sit back and collect dividends, which are frequently higher than many stock-based investments.