Re:The Rise of the Professional Airbnb Investor
by sokoloff on Sunday February 19, 2017 @09:38AM
(#13679908)
Real estate is one of the few ways to make substantial wealth gains with little starting wealth (because of the large leverage that is possible and the norm on the transaction). That's why you hear so many stories of middle class people making $500K+ on their house over a decade.
That doesn't necessarily make it one of the best ways overall, but it is a very good way if you're starting with little because it's basically your only option. Trying to scale that up (into real estate beyond your personal residence, rental properties, etc) is pretty close to buying yourself another job. If you work at that job diligently, you will do better in rental property than in your own residence, but it's work.
For those with some capital (say 1+ million USD) and a full-time job, real estate as a second job is not a particularly good fit IMO. The un-levered returns you can get in the stock market are better and the time commitment is largely optional and can be at a time of your choosing.
That doesn't necessarily make it one of the best ways overall, but it is a very good way if you're starting with little because it's basically your only option. Trying to scale that up (into real estate beyond your personal residence, rental properties, etc) is pretty close to buying yourself another job. If you work at that job diligently, you will do better in rental property than in your own residence, but it's work.
For those with some capital (say 1+ million USD) and a full-time job, real estate as a second job is not a particularly good fit IMO. The un-levered returns you can get in the stock market are better and the time commitment is largely optional and can be at a time of your choosing.