What type of Real Estate Investing Should I Do? Questions to determine

[Jerry K.]

I've seen several people new to real estate investing asking questions on where to start. We have some great Sticky posts on general guidelines in the Starting Out section in the Forum.

I actually want to help generate a list of questions to help determine, for a new investor, what type of real estate investing to pursue. Seems people come in looking for only one type of real estate investment, but they should take a moment and determine what type of investor and investment they should pursue.

We have so many experienced investors here, we should be able to generate a list of questions you can ask yourself to help guide you to a type of investing to start.

The idea is to list of higher level questions so a person can determine if they should pursue, flipping, notes, tax liens, financing, REIT, etc.

Here are some of my questions (no particular order) that I recently included in a post where someone asked about how to invest in Liens or Tax Deeds:

- Is the money I have to invest every penny I have saved? (What portion of my net worth do the investable funds represent?)
- How quickly will I need this money if I have an emergency? (liquidity)
- Is real estate the best place for me? (Assess your knowledge)
- What excites me about real estate? (Assess your interest) Don't go into any investment/business just for the potential money. Try different aspects to see if you like it.
- How much time do I have for real estate?
- Do I like to work with my hands?
- Do I like to do research?
- Do I want to be a landlord?
- Do I like to negotiate?
- Do I need to shelter income from taxes?
- Do I want more of a passive real estate investment? (Not owning physical properties that I have to manage)
- What are my financial goals in the long term?
- Where do I want to be financially in one year, five years, ten years, longer?
- If I lost the original investment, how would it affect my lifestyle?
- Do I know how to build a network of professionals?

The real trick is looking at the answers and having a knowledgeable investor steer them to the right type of investing.

I smell a Biggerpockets app coming out of this...

Please add your questions.