Urban Real Estate Investing: Thinking Outside the Box

More than a million people have attended a Donald Trump University workshop, bought one of his real estate principle books, or stayed up late at night convincing them that an infomercial held the key for them to begin investing in the real estate market. Some time after the conference or reading the book or receiving the materials you realize that you have been hoodwinked into believing that getting into the market and making money was simple, easy and guaranteed. Tada! Or as ESPN football analyst Lee Corso says every Saturday morning, 'Not so fast my friend'.

There is no genie in a bottle method to making money in real estate. What worked for Donald Trump when he was in his 30s, over thirty years ago will not work for you today. And the lessons he is pushing today might work for only a small segment of the investment population who has the credit, capital, and charisma to pull off a million dollar deal with no background in real estate investing. For the rest of us, real estate investing can take on an entirely different life cycle as we struggle to find a method and system that works best for us.

You may have read in a previous article some possibilities for getting into the game of real estate investing. Did Donald Trump suggest any of those? Nope. I attended a seminar and I didn't hear any of them. But then I was not willing to shell out $1,500 to get the full package either. So, pushing the possibilities a little there are two additional ways for you to get into real estate investing while the real estate market is in its monsoon season.

Something you have to understand is buying homes is not the only way to get into real estate. Flipping houses is the most flamboyant and obvious method. It is possibly the riskiest as well. In a downturn like this, a house can sit on the market for a year or so before you get a sale at the price you want. So if you remove houses from the equation, small apartment buildings are becoming the new thing to do in some markets by aggressive investors looking for long term sources of income. These investors are not looking to flip their money in the immediate. Their approach is almost like taking out an IRA or a 401k.