What Is Passive Investing
Passive investing can mean many things to different people and will most likely be different depending on each of
their perspectives.
People like the thought of real estate investing because they think they can quit their day job and replace their income with real estate investing.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Investing in Real Estate can be very time consuming, especially if you have never done it before and you
have to learn everything while actually doing it.
That’s how I learned.
People are often mislead or misinformed about what
real estate investing can do for them.
Buying rental properties is a long term strategy and does not provide a good enough source of income to replace
your current salary.
People often think they can buy a rental property and use
the rents to replace their income.
The problem with rentals is that there is barely enough money to cover all the expenses
associated with owning real estate. There is the mortgage payment, taxes, insurance,
maintenance, repairs, management, etc.
"True passive investing is where you invest your money and you
earn a return on that money without any further
involvement on your part."
Most people get into real estate investing, not because they like real
estate, but because they are looking to make money.
Most people are looking to make money, not because they like
money, but because of what money can do for them.
People’s wants and desires can be viewed as a hierarchy of desires with the top being the ultimate desire and
the levels below representing the steps required to achieve the highest level.
Hierarchy of desires
What people don’t realize is that no matter what type of real estate investment
strategy they choose, it requires a lot of work and a lot of knowledge.
Real Estate Investing is not a
get rich quick type of investment
Real Estate Investing is not like investing in some hot new stock that you hear
about. And you aren’t building the next killer internet solution that is going to be
bought by Google.
There are many ways to make money in real estate.
Some real estate investment strategies require more work than others. Usually, the more you are involved, the higher
the return on your investment and the riskier the investment is.
When people think of passive investing they are thinking about exchanging their 9-5 job for something that will provide them with a means to earn an income without having to
exchange time for money.
What may seem like a passive investment on the surface,
may require more work than you think.
For example, I was speaking with someone the other day and they were a silent investor in a fix and flip investment. They ran into a problem and
ended up having to take over the project and spent a lot more money than originally was
anticipated.
“Real passive investing is suppose to be boring. If done correctly, Real Estate Investing is boring but consistent.”
The type of investment you chose should also be based on a number of different variables.
Age, experience, other investment holdings, source of funds, geographical area, net worth, etc. are all things you will need to think about when looking for a real
estate investment.
Risk is another big consideration when looking for investments.
The higher the expected return, usually means the higher the risk.
Risk can be different for different people.
The same factors that were used to consider how passive an investment you are looking for, should also be considered when determining the risk you are most comfortable with. For
example, the older you are usually means you are less likely to take chances with your money.
There is a lot of talk around diversification and how to diversify your investment
portfolio.
Investment experts are always saying to diversify your investments. And then they tell you to put all your money into the stock market, just in different
sectors within the stock market.
“Adding real estate to your portfolio provides diversification as
a separate asset class.”
You can also diversify within the real estate asset class by using different
real estate investment strategies
For example, you can invest in rentals, fix and flips,
development, lease options, wholesaling, mortgages, etc.
As a passive investor, you have to decide which real estate investment is right for you and find ways to invest in
that strategy.
“The key to making money as a passive investor is to
invest with an expert and with someone you can trust.”
“Put all your eggs in one basket and watch that
basket”
Most other types of investing are passive anyway so passive investing is not a new thing. Stocks and bonds, mutual funds, gold, silver, etc
are all passive investments.
People just expect that to be a real estate investor means that they have
to be a more active investor. This is not true.
There are a lot of ways to get started in real estate that does not require you to have any money. But, none of these are
passive investments.
Another theme in real estate investing is that you can get started in real estate investing without any
of your own money. This is only true for active investing.
“Passive investing requires that you have money to invest.”
The main idea with passive investing is that you invest your money and your money will
work for you. You can use real estate to make money as an active investor first and
then invest your money in a passive investment later.
Check out my book for a Step by Step approach on how you can get started in Real
Estate Investing.
Real Estate Investing: The 7 Step Solution to Making Millions in Real Estate
Jim Pellerin has been investing in real estate for over 25 years. He is the
author of Real Estate Investing: The 7 Step Solution to Making Millions in Real Estate
Check out his blog at jimpellerin.com
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