Friday, May 1, 2009

Real Estate as a Liquid Investment - REITs and Real Estate Mutual Funds by: Robert Shumake

Have you ever thought you would love to be able to invest in real estate, but you don't want to be tied down by property and paperwork? Perhaps you love real estate but would much prefer to have the liquidity of stocks, bonds and other stock market investments instead. Well now you can have the best of both worlds by investing in REITs and real estate mutual funds.

REITs are real estate investment trusts. REITs and mutual funds work in pretty much the same manner. Each is a portfolio of shares in real estate and real estate associated companies. By buying into REITs and real estate mutual funds you are buying a share into a number of entities related to real estate without having to deal with the ownership nightmares of buying a piece of land.

There are a wide variety of real estate mutual funds ands REITs out there. No matter what type of real estate you are interested in, you will be able to buy a fund that supports that type of investment and buy into it.

For example, if you like residential real estate, you can look for a REIT or real estate mutual fund that manages and buys residential properties. Perhaps you can look for one that has a majority stake in financial services relating to residential real estate. Or if commercial real estate is more to your liking, you can look for REITs and real estate mutual funds that are geared towards that specific market. No matter what type of real estate you are interested in, you should not have a problem finding a REIT or real estate mutual fund that will let you put your money in that arena.

The other great thing about REITs and real estate mutual funds is that while you are essentially getting into the real estate market, you still have liquidity. If tomorrow you decided you wanted to get out of the investment market, you would be able to sell those real estate related shares and be on your way. This is far different than what would happen were you to by into real estate properties. In that case you would have one or a number of properties in your name and you would have to go through the whole process of listing the property for sale, selling it and then waiting for all the paperwork to go through before you could get your money back. Investing in REITs and real estate mutual funds is much easier.

When you are ready to buy, you need to know where to get the information you need on REITs and real estate mutual funds. That is an easy one. REITBuyer.com is the first and only online brokerage that specializes in real estate mutual funds and REITs. That means their website has tips, education and news relating to just this industry so you can always feel you are at the top of your game, know what is happening in your market and are able to make purchases and sales at the click of a button.

About The Author

Robert Shumake's mission is to inform the public about mortgage fraud and real estate scams and to provide tips on how to avoid being a victim. "Sometimes people will commit identity theft to obtain a housing loan, sell someone else's house or take over someone else's property," says Shumake. "It is my goal to inform the public on how to protect themselves from being victims of this crime."

http://reitbuyer.com

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