Help with Investing in Real Estate

[Kristy Boone]

I'm looking at purchasing my first piece of real estate, a fourplex (which I will not live in). Would this be a good long term investment even though prices are high now and I'd have a negative cash flow for the first 3 years? Or, should I continue to invest in the stock market and wait for prices to go down?

[Karen Margrave]

@Kristy Boone We can't tell you if you should buy stocks or real estate, that's something you need to decide for yourself. There are trade offs, when it comes to cash flow or appreciation.

In areas such as Orange County, there is always going to be high demand for properties, meaning higher prices. In fact, I wrote a blog post on investing in higher priced areas.Investing in Higher Priced Areas You can also check out podcasts on the subject. If you plan on holding that long, you might also consider new construction. Less maintenance, and longer life.