A real estate investment is everyone’s prized possession. It secures our life to an extent that when everything fails, we have a property, which can fetch us some dollars. It is often seen that tenants who are tired of staying in rented flats, look out for real estate investment to own a dream house.

Real estate is a lucrative investment. Although real estate is highly priced, one can actually invest in real estate without the need to buy one.

Tips for investing in real estate
Real estate investment can be done without having to deal with real estate brokers or any elbow greasing.

Listed below are tips which can help you invest in real estate, without buying an entire property.

Choosing the right platform
Online platforms such as Realtyshares and Fundrise let you invest in real estate properties. These properties can be either commercial or residential. The advantage of investing through an online portal is that you need not have to take a bank loan or have hefty money for buying. You can invest as little as $500 and still own a share in the property. One more benefit of using an online portal is you need not be a seasoned investor to invest in these properties.

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT)
This is indeed a great way to start accumulated real estate without getting your hands in it. Under this investment set up, you can invest in bonds, stocks, and mortgage instruments, which deal in real estate. You do not require any type of large funds or do any research for these funds. The most common types of REITs are equity, mortgage, and hybrid. According to the nature of the fund, for instance, equity REITs invests in properties, mortgage in mortgaging properties, and hybrid combines both the elements of equity and mortgage REITs. These funds give high yields and better security.

Partnership
You can be a partner either as an equity investor or as a lender. House flipping is a type of real investment where you can be a private lender. The profit will be divided between the partners. Your profits depend on the amount of money you are willing to contribute. The other way is through apartment and building syndication, wherein a few partners contribute to down payment of the property leaving the rest for the sponsors.

Crowdfunding
Under crowdfunding, investors together pool money to share the profits. A crowdfunding platform is a smart way to invest in a property, except that you have to pay more fees. Crowdfunding is usually suitable only for accredited investors.

Although all sources of real estate investing have their share of ups and down, it is easy to sell your share of virtual real estate bought online rather than buying and selling it for real.