The holiday season is a great time to reflect and be thankful for so many good things in our lives. In addition to family, friends and health, I truly am grateful for the opportunity to be a real estate investor. As such, I thought I’d take an opportunity to break down 10 specific aspects of real estate investing that I am thankful for.
10 Reasons I’m Thankful I’m a Real Estate Investor
I Love What I Do
I can honestly say that I truly enjoy being a real estate investor. There is something inherent in my DNA that finds fulfillment in the hunt for the right property, the satisfaction of rehabbing it into an entirely new product, and the thrill of the sale. Not many people in this world can honestly say they wake up in the morning excited about the work ahead of them that day.
Cash Flow
When most people think if of real estate investing, cash flow is the number one objective. And why shouldn’t it be? How great is it that you can buy a hard asset — something tangible that has inherent value — that not only increases in value, but also provides consistent income from the ability to rent it? Real estate is one of those rare asset classes that affords an investor that opportunity.
Appreciation
Speaking of assets that increase in value, real estate most certainly has a history of appreciating over short and long periods of time. Combined with the ability to use leverage to buy property, appreciation becomes an even more powerful tool to build wealth.
Related: The Power of Appreciation and Leverage: Boost Your Real Estate Returns
Freedom
My son was very sick over the last several months, and I had the opportunity to disengage from my business while I cared for him. As I reflect on my time with him and the fact that I was able to spend a limited amount of time in my business while it continued to run without me, I’m reminded that working in this business has afforded me a high degree of freedom and flexibility. Working in a business that allows you to take large periods of time off if need be — or simply more time with family — is a huge blessing in my opinion.
Team Environment
The primary reason I was able to remove myself from the day to day business while it continued to run without me is because I have an amazing team of people around me. I am thankful that this business has given me the opportunity to work with such great people. Being able to hire the people you want and like to work with in your real estate business is definitely something to be thankful for.
Great Community
Having been a full-time real estate investor for almost 10 years, I’ve been privileged to meet and get to know many other great business people. I’ve found that the community of real estate investors and supporting industry professionals is a great place to make friends and meet genuine, like-minded people.
Large Profits
Real estate investing is one of those industries where it doesn’t take a ton of effort and time to generate a significant paycheck. Where ABC Company has to sell tens of thousands of widgets to earn a decent paycheck, a real estate investor can sell one property and make the same money with much less effort.
Related: The Power of Gratitude: How to Boost Profits & Spread Joy With Thank You Notes
Creativity/Diverse Strategies
One of the things I love most about being an investor is the vast number of money-making strategies that can be employed on any given deal. As an entreprenuer, I truly enjoy the challenge of looking at a complex deal and having to figure out how to derive the most profit. From wholesaling to flipping to lease purchases to carrying notes, I love the diversity of this business.
Improving Neighborhoods/Lifting Values
As a real estate investor, we have the distinct priviledge of not only making money, but leaving behind a product that improves the quality of a neighborhood. Yes, our primary motive is making money, but the byproduct of our businesses are properties that have been improved in condition and value and therefore raise the values of surrounding properties. Without realizing it, the collective economic impact of thousands and thousands of improved properties all around the country is probably much larger than we realize.
Provide Quality Affordable Housing
Along these same lines, we also fill a need for quality, affordable housing. As real estate investors, we often take properties that are unrentable and turn them into a product that is clean, safe and marketable for renters. The reality is that a third of the U.S. population does not own their own home and must find suitable rental housing. As investors, we are big part of the equation in creating supply for that portion of the population that requires rental housing.
What about you? What aspects of real estate investing are you thankful for?
Let me know with a comment below!
The post 10 Reasons I’m Thankful I’m a Real Estate Investor is property of The BiggerPockets Blog. and is Copyright © 2014 BiggerPockets, Inc. All Rights Reserved.