Perhaps this will spark an interesting discussion. In the last few decades, I've noticed a lot of people attribute their wealth to real estate. I've come to the conclusion that people who make their money in the markets, attribute their wealth to market results. People who make their money in real estate, attribute their wealth to real estate. Here is the interesting bit.... People who make money by illegal means attribute their wealth to real estate. Many years ago, during a tour in Key West Florida, the tour operator showed us some pretty amazing homes, owned by people that no one can recall ever being employed, and told the story of how locals will attribute their wealth to real estate when really they made their money from the drug trade in the 1980s. For those who follow politics, candidates are often assessed with regard to their wealth and almost all attribute it to real estate investing. I'm thinking specifically of the 2015 debates but I've noticed this during other election cycles. It seems likely to be true for some or perhaps many of the candidates but difficult to believe for all candidates. It's a convenient response that will stop further inquiries. Has anyone else noticed the same?
I am ready to tell you with confidence that it is not necessary to have a lot of money for real estate. I mean investing and investing in real estate. The best investment last year is French real estate, especially the southern regions. https://www.glamourapartments.com/ helped me in choosing the apartment, as the guys know this business more than anyone else.
Maybe my opinion is not popular but I think that real estate investment could be a good idea in these times. Just look at how many new homes https://virtoproperty.com/property-for-sale are building in Spain now. The industry is alive and this is a good place for investment.
yeah, actually, real estate is the most wise investment nowadays, I mean, prices are not that big and then you'll receive much more money than you initially invested
I always like real estate! But its presumptuous to say its cheap now, cant lose. Like any investment, one has to do their due diligence. back to TomB16’s point, i remember a work trip in chicago. We were privy to see some dudes car collection.....this collection was bumper to bumper in a....i think 70 to 100k sqft building. the hood ornament on the roles royce when u first enter, they said was $200,000. Cars from escabar, a couple drug lords that i cant recall right now. Ferraries, vettes, name it! Story was he opened a laundromat. Then a second. Before u knew it he had 90 or so across the city. I was quite envious and blind that it was probably drug money until i came back told my friend who thought i was dumb for not seeing it. laundromat would be a perfect actual laundering business. Hahaha. People pay in change. Cant trace it to the irs. Can show losses. But at the same time, would be difficult to achieve the wealth i saw in that warehouse through laundromats alone. Then add to the fact that a few of the cars had belong to drug lords prior....haha. Case closed for me! I believe it!
As a small business, laundry mats are great. Personal first hand experience. I know a guy. Not me. Inherited 1. Paper money comes into the change machine. You take all the $10s & $20s. Cash. Quarters from washers and dryers go back to change machine. There's some mechanical maintenance which you could contract out. Instead of hiring an attendant, you lease out the extra space to someone who will do wash & fold, accept dry cleaning, and sell coffee and snacks. IRS audit is presenting utilities bills. They want to see your water, gas, and electric bills. But you still get away with about 20% unreported cash. This guy I know turned his 1 storefront into 5 locations. And if you're the kind of guy who makes an offer your competitors can't refuse, the other laundry in the area either go out of business or sell out to you.
Very successful people in private companies, not publicly traded, invest profits from their other revenue streams into real estate. The largest landlord in my city is a private school. The school owns all of their campuses, plus student housing. The school's students have to pay rent, to live in dorms owned by the school.
A relative's father made his fortune off Coin Laundries. It's something as a child I never understood, now? Crap, I wish I had that kind of insight.
Do you shell out $100,000 of your own cash, then borrow $400,000, to buy real estate? Or do you put your $100,000 in REIT?
Depends....I work 60+ hours a week right now so I would DEFINITELY go the REIT route. In the future, if I'm (hopefully) retired and looking to stay busy then I'd probably buy the property.