Invest In Real Estate
Whether you are thinking about investing in real estate or have been investing for years, Real Estate Investors Associations, can be an extremely valuable source of information. You like to cherry pick what an ideal investor in stocks COULD have been in to make money during down periods, but let's look at the research of what the average investor does in the market, and all the research shows that individual investors almost always under performs the market.
But when those same people complain that they can't seem to get ahead, or they'll never achieve financial independence because of X, Y, or Z, it gets tiresome to listen to. I fully admit real estate isn't for everyone, but I do believe there IS something out there for everyone - whether it's a side hustle, or better job, or new degree - that will help them break out of their financial rut.
Investing through your SMSF may be an option, though keep in mind that super fund rules and regulations around profits, investments and taxation can be complicated and change frequently so this requires advice from a suitably qualified financial planner.
This is a great way for many people to enjoy the luxury of a vacation property without absorbing all of the expenses involved in owning a vacation property as the rentals will help compensate some of the costs when the owners (investors) are not in residence.
Obviously there is risk associated with these deals but I guess my point is I think the vast majority of people would be better served focusing on what made them successful in the first place and investing passively in Real Estate through other vehicles.
And like I have been saying from the beginning, with the way that we invest in real estate we do not need the property go up in price to make a return, we can live off the returns that the rental income gives us alone as a sufficient yield to be happy with the investment, capital gains are just a bonus.
It is true that there's a great deal of money to be made in real estate (anyone heard of Donald Trump and Trump Tower?), but real estate can be a tool for people who just want a bit of extra money, or security for their retirement, or some property to help their kids get a good start in their adult life.
Many homeowners believe that all they need when it comes time to sell their home is to hire a realtor and that's it. While for Condo Investing some instances and some types of properties that sell themselves this would be enough, it is not the case for most homeowners.
I've kicked around the idea of jumping into the real estate game and based on my fairly limited research, I concluded that the best things to invest in were lower income (relative to most around here) housing (mobile home parks are great, but so are the kinds of properties I think Dr. Tait is investing in) and hotels.