When you talk about investing, most people think of traditional investments such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. While these all have their place, there is a whole world of opportunities available to those who spend the time to find investment alternatives that offer high rates of return (15% or more) with relative safety.
Investing in real estate with the right kind of loan can provide a great return on investment along with safety. Other types of investments to consider are real estate development projects, hard money lending, start-up businesses and franchises, and other opportunities that provide the potential for a high rate of return as well as a level of comfort that the investment will perform to your expectations.
It is important to research the opportunity at hand and consider all of the variables and how they may effect, positively or negatively, the outcome. Be prepared to be in a given investment longer than what is promised; hence, if you are told the time frame is five years, be prepared for six or seven. You should also consider the possibility that your initial investment may not be enough; management may ask for additional investment funds. This isn't necessarily good or bad, just something you need to consider when contemplating various opportunities.
Investing in a wide variety of things that all provide a good opportunity for high returns is a great way to diversify; diversification by putting money in money markets, CDs, bonds, etc. is far too conservative to develop any substantial wealth along the lines of what will likely be needed for a comfortable retirement. Warren Buffet advocates choosing investments that offer the potential for high returns and he stresses the importance of due diligence. In other words, test drive the car before you buy it.
Perhaps the most important thing is to understand that there is no time like the present to start investing. If you are already investing, you need to consider the very real possibility that what you are doing is probably not enough considering that at least 2/3s of Americans are underfunded for retirement. With this in mind, you need to consider all of your options relative to where you can get more money to invest, and, once you have the money, what you will invest in. Home equity is a great resource for many people if you access it properly and use it for investment purposes only (some debt consolidation may make sense). Before you take the equity out of your home, you should know what you are going to do with it. Finally, just knowing where to invest isn't enough; you need an exit strategy as well.
A good Mortgage Planner will be able to help you with all of these things. Additionally, a Mortgage Planner can refer you to other financial professionals to make sure that your finances are handled properly from tax considerations to protection from liability to asset growth.
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