There Is Still Money in Real Estate
It’s no secret that the general housing market is tanking all over the place. It is especially bad here in the Tampa Bay area. In fact, the sales of new and previously owned home in this particular region have been harder hit than in most other areas. It’s a bad time to have a house on the market and I can say that from experience – unfortunately.
Just because the residential market is so difficult right now does not mean that real estate as an investment is no longer a viable option. You just have to look around for other ways to invest. Going in and buying a slew on pre-construction condos and hoping to flip them is no longer the way to make a quick buck.
TIC, or Tenant In Common, transactions, are where a developers purchase an institutional-grade asset and then offers investors a percentage interest in the property – or, fractional interest. I know this is an over-simplified explanation of the process, but my goal here is not to fully educate you on the ins and outs of a TIC as much as it is to point out that real estate as an investment is still alive and kicking. Unlike flipping a house, partnering in a TIC Investment is a long-term commitment and there are usually income guidelines. Nonetheless, if properly executed, they can provide a positive monthly cash flow.
I know firsthand about the real estate troubles of Florida. In 2005 my husband and I moved down to the Fort Myers area (the fastest growing area of that time). No jokes, less than one year later the economy totally switched and we ended up moving back home!