1. House hacking
House hacking is a term to describe purchasing a property with multiple units and living in one of those units while you rent out the remaining space. The other tenants will, ideally, pay your mortgage with their rent payments while you live for free.
House hacking has become increasingly popular since you can feasibly cover your mortgage payments, property taxes and other maintenance and housing costs with the cash flow from your other tenants. You’ll also be building equity on your home while house hacking, so if you can deal with living with others, it may be a great option for you and your investing journey.
This method of real estate investing may not be for everyone, though. You will most likely have to put up with the discomfort of living with roommates and potentially sharing a kitchen or bathroom. It may be worth it for you to add individual kitchens and bathrooms to each unit to both appreciate and add value to the property while making your stay a little easier.
2. Self-storage units
Storage unit investing is all the rage in real estate investment circles. This method of non-traditional real estate investing is highly lucrative without much of the hassle and headache that comes from tenant management or home maintenance, two requirements of traditional rental ownership.
Self-storage investors can either buy an existing storage facility or build a new one, and once the business is up and running, the usage of automation and strong property management software can take care of many of the day-to-day tasks for you. Look into some of the best real estate apps for investorsof self-storage facilities to see what would work best for you and your business.
3. House flipping
Another creative real estate investing strategyis flipping houses. This method is also called a “fix and flip,” and it refers to investing in an oftentimes low-value property, improving it to increase its appreciation value, then selling it for a profit. Many investors make house flipping their full-time job, so it can be very lucrative when done correctly.
House flipping can be easier than regular rental management since you will not be renting the property out and will simply sell it once you complete your flip. This gets rid of the hassle of tenant screening, rental maintenance and management. However, you will turn a larger profit if you do much of the “flipping” (the renovations and repairs) yourself, rather than pay to hire contractors to do it for you. If you do not have extensive contracting knowledge, maybe think twice about this method.
4. Section 8 affordable housing
You may have heard that Section 8 housing is a hassle for landlords or that the tenants are unreliable and damaging to your property. This is not always true — in fact, Section 8 investing can be a lucrative investment for many landlords, and the tenants tend to be more low-stress and long-term than traditional renters when subjected to a strong tenant screening process.
All that said, it is important to be informed about the Section 8 process before you apply to the HUD. Section 8 and fair housing regulations make being a Section 8 landlord complex and sometimes frustrating, since you are constantly navigating a government program that is known for its long wait times and extensive red tape. However, these rules are in place to ensure that every tenant receives fair and equitable housing, so if you can gather the patience, it will most likely be worth it in the end.
Story credit: Entrepreneur.com
https://www.entrepreneur.com/starting-a-business/4-creative-real-estate-investing-strategies/463267