Real Estate investments: Advantages & Disadvantages

There are no perfect investment avenues and real estate investment is no exception. For each advantage there is for tying your money up in investment property, there is at least one disadvantage. It is important that you go into any venture with your eyes wide open and with your vision not clouded by those who would make you believe that it is the easy way to riches. It may be a great way of increasing your net worth, but it is not necessarily quick and rarely is it easy.

Take a minute to review some of the advantages--and the disadvantages--of investing in single family real estate.

Advantages
When buying single family real estate, you can do one unit at a time.
Easier to sell than large multi-family dwellings or commercial real estate.
Real Estate investment can be good business experience for those who are not necessarily business oriented.
Can be an excellent long term tax break.
-- In order to qualify as a REIT for tax purposes, a company must return at least 90% of earnings to its shareholders in the form of dividends. Because of this, the average REIT boasts a roughly +6% annual dividend yield.
-- REITs aren't as highly correlated with the major indices as most industries are. As such, they may provide your portfolio with some much-needed diversification and should help to smooth out your overall returns, particularly during market downturns.
-- REITs own hard, tangible assets such as land and buildings, and often sign their tenants to long-term lease contracts. Because of this, REITs tend to be some of the most stable companies on the market.
Disadvantages
Generally requires more "hands on" involvement than other investment options.
Maintenance and repairs take time, money or both. (And always seem to take more of both than planned!).
You have increased exposure, both legal and financial.
Your cash is tied up in "bricks and mortar" and is not immediately accessible.
Because they can only reinvest up to 10% of their annual profits back into their core business lines each year, most (but not all) REITs tend to grow at slower clip than the average stock on Wall Street. Over time, history has shown that the average publicly traded REIT tends to post annual earnings growth several percentage points below that of the S&P 500.
Although the business tends to be a fairly stable one, REITs are not without risk. For example, their dividend payments are not guaranteed and the real estate market is prone to cyclical downturns.
Since they already enjoy a unique tax-advantaged status versus other firms (more specifically, they are allowed to deduct the dividends they pay out from their taxable income), from an investor's perspective, roughly 2/3 of all dividends paid by REITs do not qualify for the new lower 15% tax rate implemented by congress last year. By contrast, the vast majority dividends paid by non-REITs are taxed at this new low rate.