The vast majority of people spend their lives working full-time jobs to earn a “steady” paycheck. Meanwhile, the wealthy have somehow unlocked the secret to working less while making their money work for them.
So, what is it that the wealthy know that the rest of us don’t?
One of the biggest secrets that the wealthy tap into is the incredible power of real estate. Real estate has the ability to generate passive income and provide a path toward building wealth. Every dollar invested in real estate works for you in these five ways:
- Cash flow
- Leverage
- Equity
- Appreciation
- Tax benefits
#1 – Cash Flow
One of the greatest benefits of investing in real estate is passive cash flow. When an asset is purchased and rent is collected from tenants, the remaining cash after property expenses are paid is your cash flow.
If you put down $50,000 to buy a rental for $200,000, your mortgage payment would be about $1,000 per month. Now let’s say that you’re able to rent the unit out for $2,000 per month.
Upon receipt of the $2,000 rent payment each month, you pay the $1,000 mortgage, use $700 for expenses and reserves, and keep the remaining $300 as passive cash flow (i.e., money in your pocket).
#2 – Leverage
In the example we just discussed, you hypothetically bought a $200,000 rental without paying $200,000 in cash. Instead, you put in $50,000 as a down payment, and the bank contributed the remaining $150,000.
The cash flow you earn is based on the full $200,000 asset, not the $50,000 portion. This is the magic of leverage.
Even though the bank contributed 75% of the money, all you have to do is pay the mortgage and interest, and any excess cash flow or profit is all yours. No need to share it with the bank.
#3 – Equity
As you receive monthly rental checks and use them to pay the mortgage, your equity in the property increases. In this way, the rental property generates income to pay for itself.
Imagine buying a laptop that generated money to pay for its own Wi-Fi!
Once your rental builds significant equity, you may have the opportunity to use a home equity line of credit (HELOC), which allows you to borrow against your existing asset. HELOC funds can be invested in another asset, which allows you to make your money work even harder for you.
#4 – Appreciation
While there is no guarantee, real estate values tend to rise over time, which means your money can also work for you in the form of appreciation.
For example, consider a property purchased for $580,000. In time, that house may appreciate to $750,000, at which point it is sold. The profit at the sale, or $170,000, will have been generated via appreciation, plus any additional equity that you had built through paying down the mortgage.
That being said, while appreciation is nice, it’s not guaranteed, which is why you should always invest for cash flow first and foremost, with appreciation as the icing on the cake.
#5 – Tax Benefits
When you invest in real estate, you get the benefits of depreciation and mortgage interest deductions, as well as a whole host of write-offs for a number of other related expenses.
Investors often show losses on paper, while actually making money through cash flow. The losses play a big part in helping to offset other income, which is a major reason real estate is so lucrative.
Further, when investing in commercial real estate syndications, you have the opportunity to take advantage of cost segregation and accelerated depreciation, further increasing your tax benefits.
Advantages of Investing in Real Estate
With each dollar invested in real estate, you have the opportunity to take advantage of cash flow, leverage, equity, appreciation, and tax benefits. This is true regardless of whether you invest in single-family rentals, large syndications, or anything in between.
Prevail Innovative Real Estate Opportunities, LLC., (PREO) is affiliated with Prevail Wealth Advisors, LLC (Prevail IWA) and Prevail Strategies LLC., because they are under common ownership and control. PREO was formed to provide real estate investment opportunities for high-net worth investors looking for diversification. Prevail Wealth Advisors, LLC., is a federal registered investment advisor. Registration with any securities authority is not an endorsement of the services offered by the investment adviser. Fixed insurance products and services are offered through Prevail Strategies, LLC., a licensed insurance agency. Any investment by a Prevail IWA client into a PREO sponsored real estate investment would be without the involvement of Prevail IWA and should be not seen a s a recommendation by Prevail IWA. Additionally, Prevail IWA clients should realize that any capital they invest in a PREO-sponsored real estate investment would be completely outside of their advisory relationship with Prevail IWA and not part of their Prevail IWA account going forward. Finally, there are material differences between the type of investments PREO may offer and the investments on which Prevail IWA provides advice in terms of risk profile and liquidity, and the compensation PREO earns from a real estate project in which Prevail IWA clients invest may be materially different than the investment advisory fees Prevail IWA charges its clients.
An offer or solicitation to acquire interests in the investment may only be made by our Private Placement Memorandum (“Memorandum”) in accordance with the terms of all applicable security laws. All information contains herein is subject to and qualified by the contents of the Memorandum. Participation in any securities offering is limited to Accredited investors. Please call to obtain a copy. You must read it before investing. Past Performance is no guarantee of a future results. An Offer to buy or sell any security is only made by our Private Placement Memorandum. Prevail Real Estate Opportunities, LLC., Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors, LLC., and Prevail Strategies LLC., do not provide tax or legal advice. You should your CPA or tax professionals for decisions involving tax implications present and future.
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