Disability Insurance

As its name suggests, disability insurance is a type of insurance product that provides income in the event that a policyholder is prevented from working and earning an income due to a disability.

In the United States, individuals can obtain disabilit

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Mobile Home Insurance Explained

Mobile Home Insurance Explained

Mobile home insurance provides coverage for your home and your personal possessions and also includes personal liability protection. Here we’ll explain how that works, how much coverage you need, and what you can expect to pay.

You want to protect everything that’s important to you, and that includes where you live, what you own, and your hard-earned money. That’s true whether your home was built where it is or delivered.

What Mobile Home Insurance Covers

Mobile home insurance pays to repair or replac

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The Best Real Estate Investments

The Best Real Estate Investments

What is considered the best real estate investment? With the U.S. real estate market on the rise, investors are sifting through every available property type to discover which will help them profit. So which sectors and properties are the best moves for investors today? Keep reading to learn more about the best type of real estate investment for you.

Types of Real Estate Investments

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5 Best Real Estate Crowdfunding Investment Platforms of October 2022

5 Best Real Estate Crowdfunding Investment Platforms of October 2022

5 Best Real Estate Crowdfunding Investment Platforms:

Real estate crowdfunding has transformed the real estate investing landscape. Once reserved for only the most affluent investors, many crowdfunding platforms have significantly lowered the barrier to entry for this type of alternative investment.

What’s the difference between these platforms and REITs?

Real estate investment trusts are companies that own real estate, such as hotels, malls, shopping centers, or rental properties. Publicly traded REITs can be purchased through a brokerage just like individual stocks or mutual funds.

Real estate crowdfunding platforms, on the other hand, pool funds together to let average investors participate in the real estate market through private REITs — which aren’t available through traditional brokerages — as well as private market real estate investments, like individual properties. These could potentially provide higher returns than the REITs available through traditional brokerages, but they may also carry higher risks.

Ready to get started? Below are our top picks for the best real estate crowdfunding platforms based on several factors, including account minimums, customer support, redemption options, fees, and more.

Best Real Estate Crowdfunding Investment Platforms

1. Fundrise

Fundrise is an online real estate company that lets average investors buy into private commercial and residential properties by pooling their assets through an investment platform. The company offers eREITS, or real estate funds that don’t trade on a public exchange.

Pros
  • Low minimum investment.

  • Open to all investors.

  • Easy-to-use website.

  • IRA accounts are available.

Cons
  • Highly illiquid investment.

  • Fees can be difficult to understand.

  • Complex investments that require investor due diligence.
2. RealtyMogul

RealtyMogul offers investments for accredited and nonaccredited investors alike, but the complexity of its offerings — particularly when it comes to fees and liquidity — may turn off those who dislike reading the fine print.

Pros
  • REIT products are open to nonaccredited investors.

  • REIT buyback program can add liquidity.

  • High targeted rates of return.

Cons
  • High investment minimums.

  • Complex fee structures vary by investment.

  • Relatively short track record.
3. Yieldstreet

Yieldstreet allows investors to participate in crowdfunding for a wide array of alternative investments, including real estate, commercial, legal, and art. The platform is open only to accredited investors.

Pros
  • Access to real estate, commercial, marine, legal, and art investments.

  • The ability for individuals to invest in privately structured credit deals.

  • Investments backed by assets may provide some protection in event of default.

Cons
  • Highly illiquid investments.

  • Most investments are open only to accredited investors.

  • Limited offerings are available.
4. EquityMultiple

EquityMultiple blends crowdfunding with a more traditional real estate investing approach that can lead to high returns. Unfortunately, it’s only available to accredited investors.

Pros
  • Access to commercial real estate investments.

  • Easy-to-use website.

  • Possible high rates of return.

Cons
  • Only open to accredited investors.

  • High investment minimum.

  • A complex fee structure that varies by investment.
5 CrowdStreet

CrowdStreet provides a convenient platform for accredited investors to add commercial real estate projects to their portfolios. But investors should do their own due diligence and be prepared to leave their money locked up for years at a time.

Pros
  • Access to commercial real estate deals,5 Best Real Estate Crowdfunding Investment Platforms of October 2022.

  • Potential to earn passive income.

  • Easy-to-use website.

Cons
  • Highly illiquid investments,5 Best Real Estate Crowdfunding Investment Platforms of October 2022.

  • Steep minimum investment,5 Best Real Estate Crowdfunding Investment Platforms of October 2022

  • Available only to accredited investors,5 Best Real Estate Crowdfunding Investment Platforms of October 2022.

 

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How to Invest in Real Estate: 5 Ways to Get Started

How to Invest in Real Estate: 5 Ways to Get Started

How to Invest in Real Estate: 5 Ways to Get Started:

Real estate investments can add diversification to your portfolio, and getting into the market is easier than you might think..

Best ways to invest in real estate

1. Buy REITs (real estate investment trusts)

REITs allow you to invest in real estate without the physical real estate. Often compared to mutual funds, they’re companies that own commercial real estate such as office buildings, retail spaces, apartments and hotels. REITs tend to pay high dividends, which makes them a common investment in retirement. Investors who don’t need or want the regular income can automatically reinvest those dividends to grow their investment further.

2. Use an online real estate investing platform

Real estate investment platforms connect real estate developers to investors who want to finance projects, either through debt or equity. Investors hope to receive monthly or quarterly distributions in exchange for taking on a significant amount of risk and paying a fee to the platform. Like many real estate investments, these are speculative and illiquid — you can’t easily unload them the way you can trade a stock,How to Invest in Real Estate: 5 Ways to Get Started.

The rub is that you may need money to make money. Many of these platforms are open only to accredited investors, defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission as people who’ve earned income of more than $200,000 ($300,000 with a spouse) in each of the last two years or have a net worth of $1 million or more, not including a primary residence. Alternatives for those who can’t meet that requirement include Fundrise and RealtyMogul,How to Invest in Real Estate: 5 Ways to Get Started.

3. Think about investing in rental properties

Tiffany Alexy didn’t intend to become a real estate investor when she bought her first rental property at age 21. Then a college senior in Raleigh, North Carolina, she planned to attend grad school locally and figured buying would be better than renting.

“I went on Craigslist and found a four-bedroom, four-bathroom condo that was set up student-housing style. I bought it, lived in one bedroom and rented out the other three,” Alexy says.

The setup covered all of her expenses and brought in an extra $100 per month in cash — far from chump change for a grad student, and enough that Alexy caught the real estate bug.

Alexy entered the market using a strategy sometimes called house hacking, a term coined by BiggerPockets, an online resource for real estate investors. It essentially means you’re occupying your investment property, either by renting out rooms, as Alexy did, or by renting out units in a multi-unit building. David Meyer, vice president of data and analytics at the site, says house hacking lets investors buy a property with up to four units and still qualify for a residential loan.

Of course, you can also buy and rent out an entire investment property. Find one with combined expenses lower than the amount you can charge in rent. And if you don’t want to be the person who shows up with a toolbelt to fix a leak — or even the person who calls that person — you’ll also need to pay a property manager.

“If you manage it yourself, you’ll learn a lot about the industry, and if you buy future properties you’ll go into it with more experience,” says Meyer,How to Invest in Real Estate: 5 Ways to Get Started.

4. Consider flipping investment properties

This is HGTV come to life: You invest in an underpriced home in need of a little love, renovate it as inexpensively as possible and then resell it for a profit. Called house flipping, the strategy is a wee bit harder than it looks on TV. It’s also more expensive than it used to be, given the current higher cost of building materials and mortgage interest rates. Many house flippers aim to pay for the homes in cash.

“There is a bigger element of risk, because so much of the math behind flipping requires a very accurate estimate of how much repairs are going to cost, which is not an easy thing to do,” says Meyer.

His suggestion: Find an experienced partner. “Maybe you have capital or time to contribute, but you find a contractor who is good at estimating expenses or managing the project,” he says,How to Invest in Real Estate: 5 Ways to Get Started.

The other risk of flipping is that the longer you hold the property, the less money you make because you may be paying a mortgage without bringing in any income. You can lower that risk by living in the house as you fix it up. This works as long as most of the updates are cosmetic and you don’t mind a little dust,How to Invest in Real Estate: 5 Ways to Get Started.

5. Rent out a room

Finally, to dip the very edge of your toe in the real estate waters, you could rent part of your home,How to Invest in Real Estate: 5 Ways to Get Started. Such an arrangement can substantially decrease housing costs, potentially allowing people to stay in their homes as they continue to benefit from price appreciation on their property,How to Invest in Real Estate: 5 Ways to Get Started,How to Invest in Real Estate: 5 Ways to Get Started.

Adding roommates can also make a mortgage payment more attainable for younger people. But if you’re not sure you’re ready, you could try a site like Airbnb. It’s house hacking for the commitment-phobe: You don’t have to take on a long-term tenant, potential renters are at least somewhat prescreened by Airbnb, and the company’s host guarantee provides protection against damages.

Renting out a room feels a lot more accessible than the fancy concept of real estate investing. If you’ve got a spare room, you can rent it,How to Invest in Real Estate: 5 Ways to Get Started.

Like all investment decisions, the best real estate investments are the ones that best serve you, the investor. Think about how much time you have, how much capital you’re willing to invest and whether you want to be the one who deals with household issues when they inevitably come up. If you don’t have DIY skills, consider investing in real estate through a REIT or a crowdfunding platform rather than directly in a property,How to Invest in Real Estate: 5 Ways to Get Started.

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