Posted by ken in sc on February 07, 2002 at 16:33:01:
Toad,
You said real estate investing which to me means buying rental property. There is much discussion on this board about people who have a BUSINESS of buying RE to sell. Those are two different things.
Owning RE as an investment is great if you do it right. The returns due to high leverage can be more than your average stockbroker can dream of. It takes some knowledge, some work, and some money (at least for reserves if not to buy). I started with rentals and made a transition into the full time BUSINESS of buying to sell. Owning rentals will not make you a living at first - it is an investment for growth and future earnings. Buying to sell can make you a living, but there is even more to learn before you are ready to be full time. Fortunantly, there is this site with all it’s free advise as well as a plethora of courses available for relatively cheap (compared to a masters degree!) not to mention books at the library and the store. Rental investing as well as the business of RE can be learned. So decide what interest you and then delve into it. If you are like the rest of us here, you will be hooked for life!
Good luck - Ken