What's attractive about real estate?

Why would an individual choose to invest in real estate instead of something else like stocks or bonds, or start some other sort of company like a gas station? Here's a quick list of some of the things that characterize long-term real estate investing (flipping is a different beast all together). If some of these appeal to you then maybe real estate is right up your alley.

Real estate investing is:

  • Entrepreneurial - With stocks and bonds you just choose, buy and then watch things happen beyond your control. With real estate you are essentially creating a company that you can impact the success of. You have to deal with things like revenues, expenses, interviews (for tenants), contractors, accounting and the like. Being a land lord is being a businessman, which can appeal to a lot of people.
  • Income Generating - Land lording produces an income stream in the form of rental payments in addition to the appreciation of the house. This can be very attractive to people who are investing with goal of using some gains each year to cover running costs (like putting kids through college). With stocks or bonds you have to constantly be selling to meet those costs.
  • Off Hours - Unlike trying to open a retail store, most of the business transacted in real estate occurs outside of regular work hours. Since tenants, for the most part, tend to work the same hours you do, showing properties or dealing with problems tends to occur more often after five than during the day. If you work a regular job, this makes real estate investing a feasible business.
  • Not Correlated to Stocks and Bonds - Obviously, in the end all things are related (especially to the interest rates). But for the most part real estate is pretty separate from the stock market. Houses can go up in price when the market is booming and they can go up in price when the market is flat (and they can go down during both periods as well). So real estate is an attractive diversification strategy for many. Though I have yet to meet a successful land lord who didn't have a nice stock portfolio.
  • Long Term - In general real estate is a solid long term investment. When you get into real estate you typically stay in it for a while. For some people that's a major negative, but for others that's a very attractive characteristic. The money I have in real estate right now will be in real estate for some time, out of my reach. Even if I wanted it desperately it'd be weeks or months before I could get anything into my checking account. It's safe from any emotional decisions I could make (like letting my fiance talk me into spending some of it on our wedding).
Most (if not all) of those points should speak very strongly to you if you are considering real estate as an investment. For me personally, I tend to feel the strongest about the facts that real estate is entrepreneurial (I've learned an amazing amount about taxes and accounting since this began) and long-term.

4 comments:

梁爵 said...

2020.04.06酒店工作在去酒店之前,一定要給自己定一個目標及方向,你必需了解自己為何來酒店上班,目的何在? 酒店打工出發點是什麼?
給自己酒店PT一個目標,例如:酒店上班債務還清了就離開、存到了多少錢就走人、或者是打算做多久。
如果漫無目的的一直在八大行業做下去,久而久之,就會習慣這樣高所得的工作,然後就會沉迷於其中,而很難脫離這樣的環境。人對金錢的胃口只會愈來愈大!所以一定要給自己一個明確的目標。還有…賺到的錢一定要存下來,存下來的才是真正賺到的。

梁爵 said...

2020.05.01北部一名酒店工作酒店女公關私下接酒店S(性交易)月初被確診武漢肺炎,導致全國舞廳跟酒店,4月9日起遭勒令無限期停止營業,至今將近三個星期了,還不見酒店上班復工曙光,不少八大行業員工因為這波停業生計受損,就有任職台中知名酒店PT酒店小姐不滿中央停業兩套標準,打破沉默,站出來爭工作權。酒店工作人員陳小姐說:「台北的(酒店打工)女公關確診,可是其他店都沒事啊,叫我們停業的標準我也覺得很可笑。」北部酒店女公關一人確診,全國同業被停業,沒收入快三個星期,陳小姐再也忍不住開砲。陳小姐表示:「八大的停業標準我不服氣,按摩業跟三溫暖都可以(營業),磐石艦的軍官很像很愛去量販店,量販店消毒過後都可以營業,為什麼我們就是一個(女公關)離我們這麼遠的地方,就叫我們(酒店)全部停業。」酒店舞廳被停業,被衝擊的不只舞小姐們,像陳小姐就在台中知名酒店內負責音響設備維修超過18年,當年SARS疫情也沒這麼慘,現在卻被無限期停業,全公司所有人都快完蛋。謀職碰壁,生活快過不下去,陳小姐寫了這4張陳情書打算全公司連署,向中央請命。

梁爵 said...

2020.05.09全國八大行業酒店工作本月9日停業滿1個月,小姐酒店S、經紀、業者無不「酒店上班苦哈哈」,八大行業有小姐甚至做起外送員,不過,行政院長蘇貞昌本月4日宣布擴大紓困,無保酒店PT工作者可領1萬元,且可當天申請,有酒店小姐衝去公所申請,但馬上被「打槍」。酒店打工小姐小荳說,日前看新聞說政府下令紓困加碼,跑去公所申請,但卻被刁難,須附上很多證明,例如提供戶口名簿、調查名下有無財產、家人有無財產、以往有無領過政府補助的失業救助金等措施,若有,就不符合資格。事後才知是今天開放申請,但公所人員給人的感覺就「霧煞煞」,不清楚申請資格,雖然她最後還是資格不符,空歡喜一場,但還是希望政府快提供更明確申請規定,讓受疫情影響的勞工安心。小荳說,自己從南部上台北工作,想賺高薪照顧父母,才到酒店上班,如今停業,目前偶爾接接飯局加減賺,但好像「臨時工」,收入很不穩定。
據了解,小姐屬經紀公司管理,但經紀公司並無真正公司行號,只是小姐領薪水的仲介單位,都是空殼,並非政府認可的公司;小姐及酒店經紀因此沒有工作證明,領薪方式也是現金,並無薪資條當作證明文件,申請有難度。酒店經紀人梁曉尊/梁小尊說,旗下小姐目前靠零星的飯局賺取台費,好一點的本身兼職美甲師,也有小姐白天當外送員加減賺,至少付得出房租、三餐有著落。酒店目前雖未開,小姐仍可透過飯局賺錢,業者也抓緊主導權,不讓獲利方式改變,不過再停業下去,規模小的酒店,不堪每月高房租及人事成本,恐遭併吞。

梁爵 said...

2020.05.14酒店舞廳可不可復業?酒店小姐的基本介紹跟工作內容台北市長柯文哲今天在議會表示,他還是等陳時中,「他(陳時中)不宣布,我(柯文哲)就來宣布」。柯又提到,市府正在評估5月25日第二波要解封的部分。對於我在酒店上班的日子有媒體解讀,北市府25日將解封酒店小姐一定有S?酒店舞廳?梁小尊表示 八大行業是哪八種行業呢?,柯文哲今天上午至議會專案報告職場須知 【酒店PT 】答詢時,從未提及5月25日將解封酒店、舞廳等地點。梁曉尊強調,5月25日起將啟動酒店打工第二波解封場館名單,至於八大行業解封日期仍在討論中,對於如何落實防疫新生活運動四原則,本府已正式行文衛福部,盼中央能給予執行方式與裁罰規定。