Should you invest in real estate or stocks? I was faced with this question a couple of months ago. In the past I have invested with both and I have made some money and lost some money on both vehicles. However, as I was analyzing what worked and what did not and which one I wanted to focus on I had to ask myself a simple question, “What avenue was I passionate about?
Ha, I can hear your thoughts, “Steven, I want to make money that is where my passion is.”
That might be the case, and in that instance I would suggest seeing a financial advisor, who can give you advise, and help you make educated decisions based on where you want to be financially. However, if you are going to tackle the project by yourself, you will need a stronger motivating desire than money. The process of gathering information, making decisions and the like can be very tedious and stressful and if you are not passionate about an industry then you will tire easily.
However, I want to be of assistance so lets just do a couple of bullet points to see which vehicle would better suit you.
Stocks
Small initial investment
Appreciate/depreciate quickly
Quick sale
Do not have to deal with people
No control
If you are interesting in trading stock I would recommend Jim Cramer. He comes on CNBC nightly, and you can go to the link below to get a free trial of some of his information.
FREE JIM CRAMER – 14-day trial to Action Alerts PLUS, and new investing report. Click here
Real Estate
Large initial investment
Appreciates slowly (most cases)
Sale process will take several months
Negotiations
Realtor Fees
Deal with tenants
Have control
There will never be any more land
If you want to start getting more education real estate I would suggest Robert Kiyosaki, “Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing.”