Everyone wants to buy real estate and own rental properties. This is one of the oldest and most well-known paths to building wealth. Books like Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Poor Dad and Robert G Allen’s Multiple Streams of Income are heavily focused on building a rental unit empire. And 100 years ago, Will Roger advised people to “Buy land. They ain’t making any more of the stuff.”
Owning rental properties is the original passive income opportunity. And, historically speaking, many people have gotten very rich this way (Donald Trump and John Astor spring to mind).
However, there are downsides too.
You generally need to manage your own properties. Eventually you can outsource this (once you get big enough). But you’re going to spend a lot of those early years tied to once location, fixing stuff on the weekends.
Fortunately, there is another way to do things.
The Easiest Way To Buy Real Estate (And Collect Passive Income Every Month)
This is obviously opinion and NOT financial advice (do your own research), but REITs are a great way to buy real estate without having to do maintenance or deal with tenants.
A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) allows you to buy shares of a property via the stock market.
REITs let you invest in properties beyond the typical apartment or house too. You can buy into cell towers, shopping malls, nursing homes, convenience stores, etc… There are all kinds of different REITs, but Realty Income is my personal favorite.
This is a diversified business that owns all kinds of commercial properties and rents them out to tenants like 7/11 and Wal-Mart.
The company pays monthly dividends and is a fan favorite for income investors. It’s discussed at length in both Retirement Investing for Income ONLY and the Sure Dividend newsletter.
Realty Income currently yields about 4% annually, meaning a $25,000 investment pays you $1,000 each year.
I own 475 shares and am paid $111 a month in passive income.
This is similar to what you would earn (in profit) by owning a highly mortgaged rental property, except this is a REIT so there’s no work involved on your part.
With REITs, you can sit on a beach in Fiji and collect passive income from your US properties.
Not a bad way to maximize your freedom and enjoy your life.
P.S. You can find out more about REITs by reading Retirement Investing for Income ONLY or subscribing to the free Sure Dividend newsletter.