Investing in UK Real Estate Investment Trusts
Thanks to being a part of a global economy, a lot of the walls that were once in place on investing in foreign markets have now disappeared. That means if you have investment dollars to spend, you can really spend them anywhere in the world.
Now you may have known that you could put your money into any of the stock markets around the world before, but have you considered the other markets you can get into. Real estate investment trusts or REITs are also becoming available in more and more countries around the world.
Looking into this type of investing is taking a page from real estate pro Sam Zell who said, "I've always been called a professional opportunist, and in the future I'm open to anything. We've spent a lot of time offshore, looking at opportunities in real estate outside the United States"
Some of those opportunities may be REITs. REITs are investments where you can purchase shares of a property development or property management group. Instead of traditional real estate investments where you will have to fork out a lot of money for one piece of property, in this case you can purchase smaller shares of a property and still have some level of ownership without all of the responsibilities.
In the case of REITs someone else runs and manages things while you get a portion of the profits.
One of the newer markets to be coming in to REITs is the UK. While most people think the US and UK are pretty similar, they are just catching up with the REIT movement and starting to offer their own REIT options.
In the case of US REITs that portion of the profits has to be at least 90 percent of the profit that comes in from the properties. But as you consider looking beyond US shores for investment options you have to understand that there are different rules in different countries and the return may not be the same. You just need to do your research to know.
It's always smart to do a fair amount of research before investing your money. Begin by going to REITBuyer.com. This is a full service website that can help you through the process.
Start by taking advantage of their education and research areas. You need to know just what you are getting into before you purchase shares in a REIT. The more you research, the more you know.
Take a look at past performance of REITs that have been up and running for a while. In the case of the UK there are not too many to reference, but they will give you something to look at. There also will likely be articles and reports that you can look at concerning funds that are about to come into creation and get a feel for them.
Once you have a good feel for what you would like to purchase, you don’t have to go anywhere. REITBuyer.com also is a full service investing real estate broker and can help you widen your portfolio and then monitor your purchases online.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Own Real Estate Without Making a Real Estate Purchase
Real Estate Investments to See Real Profits
Many investors say they want two things in their investments – a return on their money and some security that their money will not be here today and gone tomorrow. When it comes to trading on the stock market or purchasing mutual funds, those are usually two things that cannot be promised. When you purchase stocks, you never know if the company is going to have a bad quarter, losing you a chunk of your investment or if they are going to fail altogether, taking your money with them.
The only place you can really be sure that you will not lose everything in a bad session is in real estate.
Even if the bottom falls out of the real estate market, real estate that has been purchased is an asset. So, while there may be losses in a major downturn, you won't lose everything. Often in this case if you were to hold on for a little while and be patient it will all bounce back and you'll be seeing dividends come in again like nothing ever happened.
There are two ways to invest in real estate. The first is to make a real estate purchase. For the most part this means having a lot of money in hand to be able to buy a piece of property or a building outright. For most people this is not a possibility as this means having tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars in hand to invest.
There is another option however. Instead, why not be a part of a real estate investment trust or REIT. A REIT is where you are a shareholder in property ownership. This means you will purchase shares that go into a collective pot that is used to purchase and maintain properties. These properties could be anything from commercial buildings that are being leased out to residential buildings that are rented out.
The way a REIT works is that as the real estate management group makes a profit, that profit will be given to you as a dividend. Laws dictate that at least 90 percent of the profits from a REIT have to be returned to the shareholders, so barring a major downturn in the economy you know you will get a return on your investment year after year.
That other 10 percent of the profit from the REIT will go back into the management of the properties or possible improvement or expansions that will give you even more return on your investment dollar in the future.
Unlike regular real estate purchases, there is another benefit to REITs. If you ever needed to pull some of your money out it is as easy as selling a few shares instead of having to sell a property and go through all those hassles.
Many investors say they want two things in their investments – a return on their money and some security that their money will not be here today and gone tomorrow. When it comes to trading on the stock market or purchasing mutual funds, those are usually two things that cannot be promised. When you purchase stocks, you never know if the company is going to have a bad quarter, losing you a chunk of your investment or if they are going to fail altogether, taking your money with them.
The only place you can really be sure that you will not lose everything in a bad session is in real estate.
Even if the bottom falls out of the real estate market, real estate that has been purchased is an asset. So, while there may be losses in a major downturn, you won't lose everything. Often in this case if you were to hold on for a little while and be patient it will all bounce back and you'll be seeing dividends come in again like nothing ever happened.
There are two ways to invest in real estate. The first is to make a real estate purchase. For the most part this means having a lot of money in hand to be able to buy a piece of property or a building outright. For most people this is not a possibility as this means having tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars in hand to invest.
There is another option however. Instead, why not be a part of a real estate investment trust or REIT. A REIT is where you are a shareholder in property ownership. This means you will purchase shares that go into a collective pot that is used to purchase and maintain properties. These properties could be anything from commercial buildings that are being leased out to residential buildings that are rented out.
The way a REIT works is that as the real estate management group makes a profit, that profit will be given to you as a dividend. Laws dictate that at least 90 percent of the profits from a REIT have to be returned to the shareholders, so barring a major downturn in the economy you know you will get a return on your investment year after year.
That other 10 percent of the profit from the REIT will go back into the management of the properties or possible improvement or expansions that will give you even more return on your investment dollar in the future.
Unlike regular real estate purchases, there is another benefit to REITs. If you ever needed to pull some of your money out it is as easy as selling a few shares instead of having to sell a property and go through all those hassles.
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