Every real estate investor starts somewhere. Deciding how you want to invest is one of the toughest decision you’ll make in the beginning, and you’ll likely find yourself caught between a few big choices: commercial or residential real estate and, if residential, single-family or multifamily properties?

(We’re not here to debate the pros and cons between the types of investments. If you’re interested in that conversation, we’ve covered it extensively here!)

Single-family properties make up a massive portion of the investing market: they’re an easy place to start for new investors, largely because they’re more affordable than buying an apartment complex or an office building. 

There are a thousand different ways to invest in real estate. While single-family properties have and continue to be at the forefront, they are far from the only way to invest. Multifamily properties, commercial real estate, land, wholesaling, and yes...vacation homes.

The summer vacation rental has been around for a long time. It’s a strategy that seems like it’s best left to the experts, and, in many ways, that’s true. Vacation rentals aren’t for the faint of heart.  I'll be very clear on the front end of this article and say that vacation homes are not our forte.

Kent Sr. owns several short-term, vacation rentals and as a company we have certainly explored them as an alternative investment for clients.  So in our research and with Kent Sr.'s experience, we have a few thoughts.

While you might have pictures in your head of sipping a mojito on the beach while the money pours in, that’s not reality. Like any investment property, vacation rentals come with their own unique risks and challenges.

Summer. It’s hot. The real estate market is also hot. It’s the time of year when everyone wants to buy and everyone is selling.

For real estate investors who want to get in on the frenzy, there are a few things that you need to know so that you don’t get caught up in the heat of the moment and make critical errors.

For a lot of us, 2016 was a little rough. Maybe not for our real estate investment endeavors, but in other ways. Even if one area goes well, when others seem shaky or uncertain—maybe it’s global politics or the death of a beloved celebrity, or some other turmoil—it can be hard to believe that everything is going to go right.

2017 hasn't exactly been cupcakes and rainbows either, but this is where we have to start taking stock of our year.  We are halfway done and regardless of the ares where things could be better, we have to plan for the second half of the year and how to improve the things we can control.  We have control over items such as our investment mindset, where we choose to focus, steps we take to grow and improve our real estate investments.

For real estate investors, one of the most important things you can do for your financial future is to maximize your monthly cash flow.

Naturally, every real estate investor wants positive cash flow—but more than just having positive cash flow, you want to have significant positive cash flow.

And in order to do that, you have to be proactive in your strategies for maximizing that cash flow. Even passive real estate investors have work to do.

No one likes to feel cramped in their home, and the same is true of tenants when it comes to their rentals. As an owner and investor, one of the best things you can do for your rental properties is to get into the mind of the tenant—see what they value, learn what they love, and tailor your properties after their needs.

We often talk about maximizing your income potential in an investment property. But what does that really look like? Is it all making expensive renovations and upgrades?  Is it the opposite and spending as little as possible (as some landlords will tell you...I know, I agree that is crazy!!!)?

Spending time and effort on the right renovations is certainly part of the equation, and they can certainly level your properties up to a higher price point.  However, part of increasing your income is reducing your costs—and this can have a huge impact on your profit!  Why? Because unlike spending moneys on renovations, which are a lot like "investing" in the property itself and making it more desirable to residents, reducing your costs and finding hidden savings puts dollars directly onto your bottom line!

The last thing anyone wants to do as a real estate investor is to get over their head in debt in the name of earning passive income. It’s pretty counter-intuitive, isn’t it? In fact, if you have to take on an enormous amount of debt to invest, you’re either picking the wrong properties or you seriously need to re-examine your investment strategy.

While you don’t need to be rich to invest in real estate, we all need to mindful of our capital...

Investing in real estate can be a highly competitive business. Granted, how competitive depends on a two primary factors: your market and your strategy. Real estate investors dealing with a typical buy-and-hold strategy have to elbow through two common obstacles.

These are the market prices and other investors and buyers.

Naturally, markets experience different seasons and fluctuations. For example, after the recession circa 2009, investing in real estate was relatively easy. A lot of people chose to start investing because prices were so dramatically low and foreclosures were plentiful.

At the same time, there was a lot of competition because of the sheer number of investors. Eventually, as prices began to rise and recover

What do you picture when you think of a great real estate investing market?

Depending on who is reading this article, some go to a top-tier market: something like New York City or San Francisco. Despite the fact that these markets are impenetrable for your average real estate investor, they’re the markets that we’re easily dazzled by. And who can blame us? We like glamour. We like pizzaz.

Still others go to smaller markets and the buzz of "middle-america" markets where properties are cheap and plentiful!  

But ultimately, what makes a great long-term real estate investing market, what brings success to real estate investors—the kind of success that allows someone to invest in a glamorous market like NYC—is reliability.