Efficient Investing | Fears & Opportunites

Real estate may seem the safest and most rewarding investment option on the landscape today, but how do busy professionals take advantage of the property market efficiently?

The Fears

The fears about stocks, tech, bonds, gold, and oil all seem to be kicking in. Yet, over half of American professionals admit they are poorly prepared for retirement. Even among those that are confident, many might be being a little too optimistic. At the same time while real estate beckons many individuals simply don’t want to toss their careers to become full-time house flippers or landlords. So what’s the solution?

This is a pressing issue facing boomers and generation X. And it is as bad for educated professionals with good salaries as everyone else. Millennials may have time to take a few detours, attempt launching their own startups, and then panic and hustle to catch up on savings and investment later, maybe. But what about your doctors, professors, lawyers, teachers, and others?

Real estate beckons due to standing out as one of the only investment options that offer literal concrete safety. And the icing on the cake is high yields, cash flow, and asset appreciation. With today’s combination of low asset prices, rock bottom interest rates for leverage, and a sunny outlook for growth it’s hands down the best option on the table. In fact, it’s virtually a necessity for everyone’s portfolio. But there are challenges.

Many people just aren’t gifted with the skills for manual labor it takes to fix up properties. Others don’t want to be dealing with late-night tenant phone calls, or simply can’t fit it into their schedules. What busy professional do you know want to be trudging off to unclog toilets at 2 am, forgoing vacations to bang on doors for rents, or get into verbal lashing matches with renters?

The Opportunity

Fortunately, real estate investment has changed by leaps and bounds in the last couple of years. Digital signatures, online data, easy to navigate property search platforms, and online banking make it almost a breeze to get from A-Z. You can now find, bid on, negotiate, and fund real estate deals without ever leaving your office or oceanfront balcony. Many can do it without ever picking up a phone anymore. That just leaves property management.

The best property in the world, with the greatest potential, is only going to perform as well as the management. So one of the first steps in the process needs to be selecting a reputable and effective local property management company. They ought to be on the ground on day one, and preferably even familiar with the property and deal before that. Providing they hit the ground running right away busy professionals can effectively create their own turnkey real estate deals. This maximizes value, spreads, and net overall returns.

Then it’s just a matter of getting on with life, with the confidence your future and current finances are performing well…