Chapter 16
Ten Things to Know When Investing in Real Estate
In This Chapter
Avoiding investment pitfalls
Doing your investing homework
Capitalizing on real estate’s best bets
Both owning a home and paying down the mortgage on your home over the years should create equity — the difference between what your home is worth and what you owe on it. Even if the unlikely happens and your home doesn’t appreciate in value, you’ll build equity as you pay down your mortgage. More than likely, however, your home will also appreciate in value over the years that you own it.
Your home, then, is an investment. You can use the equity in your home in future years for a variety of important purposes, including (but not limited to) helping finance your retirement, pay for educational costs, and fund frivolous and fun things such as traveling. In addition to owning your home, you can invest in real estate in other ways. In this chapter, we include our top ten tips and things you should know if you’re going to invest in real estate.
If you want to invest in real estate or stocks, bonds, mutual funds, small businesses, and the like, first invest your time in finding out what makes such investments tick and in learning how you can make informed decisions that fit with your personal financial situation and goals. Pick up a copy of the latest editions of Eric’s Investing For Dummies, Real Estate Investing ...
