Can it really be that there isn’t yet a dedicated thread for real estate investing on this forum? I couldn’t find one with a search, so let’s open one now.
My interest in real estate investing started years ago, but for various reasons, I still haven’t started, and all my money has so far been put into the stock market. Now, however, I’m starting to have enough capital that, even just for diversification, starting real estate investing could be justified and relatively easy to do without a significant dent in my stock market activities.
I haven’t actively followed the real estate investment market much in recent years, but now that I listened to a recent Rahapodi (Money Podcast) on the topic, the idea came to mind again.
The real estate investment frenzy has been quite intense for years, and the best train for returns has surely already left. Unless you are a professional with excellent networks or get apartments at a bargain price from familiar grandmothers. I myself have started to conclude that perhaps it would be wise to start with a relatively safe property and compromise on rental yields.
In this podcast too, it’s said countless times how important it is to buy an apartment below market price, or else the whole equation becomes weak, and precisely for this reason, starting real estate investing feels quite uninteresting. How is it possible to compete with professional investors for properties sold below market price? The podcast suggests tips like increasing one’s visibility, networking, educating oneself, putting up flyers in stairwells, and courting familiar grandmothers, but somehow it feels like these are not shortcuts to happiness. And when the idea is to acquire, for example, five investment apartments spread out over time alongside other investment activities, one doesn’t want to start doing property scouting full-time.
What thoughts do other real estate investors have about the current market? Is there anything to buy if one is willing to compromise a bit on the required return? Are there any tips on how to look for properties below market price?
And what kind of properties did you start with, and has the solution been effective? What advice would you give to a beginner real estate investor whose idea is to invest non-professionally in a few apartments alongside stock market investments?