The Best Real Estate Investments For First Timers

So, you’re interested in investing in real estate? If so, you are in exceptionally good company. Many successful investors out there have a huge range of property in their portfolio, and if you are in the investment game for the long-term, it can pay off big time. 

But, let’s be honest, investing in real estate is no mean feat. You need a lot of capital to get started, and will rely on good credit scores to get you on the property ladder. Unless you are lucky enough to throw a couple of million bucks on a few different properties, you will need to start your portfolio off small and steady. With this in mind, here are the best real estate investment opportunities for first time buyers.

Your own home

Make no mistake about it, the single best thing you can do when investing in real estate is to buy your own home. Once you have convinced a bank or home loan lender to hand over the money to you so you can buy a house, it’s half the hard work done already. Why? Because once you have capital, you are a lot more attractive to lenders. While your home will be at risk if you, say, default on payments on further loans, the truth is that having capital is by far and away the best way to get cheap money from lenders.

A condo

Once you have some capital in the form of your home, you can start looking for additional property. And by far and away the best starting point is looking for condos for sale. Condominiums tend to cost less than full-size houses, and are popular amongst renters - particularly young professionals. So, not only will you be able to earn a little extra income from monthly rent payments, but you will also get invaluable experience as a landlord. Which will come in exceptionally handy when it comes to expanding your buy-to-let portfolio, which we will take a look at next.

A family rental home

The next best investment would have to be a family home, which you take on to rent out to tenants. There are a few reasons why. First of all, families tend to take care of their homes and will treat your property as their own. They decorate, look after the place, and are, essentially, a lot more trustworthy than, say, a house full of students. But they also tend to stick around longer. The risk behind buy-to-let investment is that you end up with no tenants, and every week that goes by that you have an empty home, the more profit it eats up from your income. In fact, if it goes on for too long, you could end up unable to pay your mortgage at all.

A vacation home

Finally, consider the vacation home. If you can find a perfect spot that attracts plenty of tourists all year round, there’s no reason why you can’t turn a tidy profit. There is a lot to do, of course, from ensuring that the house gets cleaned after every guest leaves, and that you have some maintenance guys on hand for when there are emergencies. But if you have the marketing skills to fill your vacation property all year round, there is money to be made.