| Real estate investing, for some people, has gone | | | | economic situations. Even now, when the news |
| from a fast way to create wealth to a faster | | | | media tell us on a daily basis that these are the |
| way to lose money. Do you wonder if there are | | | | worst economic times since the Great |
| any safe real estate investing options during the | | | | Depression, it is important to remember that real |
| Great Recession? | | | | estate investing still works, and still creates wealth. |
| A friend attended one of the best-known | | | | The important point is to know what you are |
| wealth-building seminars. She did what she was | | | | doing, and to adjust for current conditions. |
| taught to do, and bought investment property. | | | | This leads to the question: What kind of realty |
| Her plan was to rent the properties, make profits, | | | | investing protects your nest egg and increases |
| and generate wealth. This wealth-producing | | | | your wealth during the down cycles of housing |
| strategy has worked in good economic times and | | | | markets? |
| bad economic times. It worked especially well | | | | One of the safest tangible asset purchases is raw |
| during the years when house values seemed to | | | | land. Even if prices are stagnant now, |
| be on a never-ending climb to unprecedented | | | | pre-development land will increase in value during |
| heights. | | | | the next boom. How do you know that that |
| Unfortunately, property prices can also go down. | | | | there will be a next boom? It is the nature of |
| My friend bought rental properties when market | | | | property values to undergo up-and-down cycles. |
| values were at their peak, just as the "real estate | | | | In addition, the population is increasing dramatically, |
| bubble" was about to burst. The last time I talked | | | | and housing development will continue to sprawl |
| with her, she told me that she had seven | | | | farther out from developed areas. This means |
| mortgages on rental houses and no tenants. She | | | | that pre-developed land will be developed, sooner |
| was broke. She was being sued by a contractor | | | | or later. |
| who worked on one of her properties. And her | | | | What are the advantages of buying raw land |
| agent turned out to be a crook. Her | | | | rather than developed properties, such as houses |
| wealth-building dreams collapsed as her | | | | or apartments? One of the biggest advantages is |
| investments turned into a nightmare. | | | | that you are not going to rent out undeveloped |
| Who knows how many times this story is being | | | | land to tenants. This means that you are not |
| repeated right now? How many foreclosures, how | | | | depending on income from rents. You don't have |
| many bankruptcies, how many broken dreams | | | | to worry about evicting tenants who lost their |
| are the result of real estate strategies that | | | | jobs and stopped paying the rent. |
| worked so well during boom times, but left | | | | If you have investment money you want to put |
| hopeful investors stuck with bad investments | | | | to work, such as money in an IRA, but you don't |
| when property values started to drop? | | | | want the headaches and heartaches of dealing |
| So, do you give up entirely on real property | | | | with rental properties, one of the best options |
| investing during this time of economic crisis? It's a | | | | right now is to put your money into well-chosen |
| fact that great fortunes often start in the worse | | | | pre-development land. |