How to Invest Safely in Real Estate as a Retiree

Once you retire, you usually pay for your needs and wants with a pension, social security or other kinds of retirement funds.

Sometimes, people at this age want extra income since they may not be receiving as much as they did when they were working. Investing one’s money is usually a good way to supplement a meager income.

Usually, people do real estate investing, income investing or annuities. Investing in real estate is a common route people take but one which should be thought over carefully.

Since 2008, the real estate market has definitely declined. There was a burst of the housing bubble when this country’s economy started to go into a recession. There have been reports of people losing about 40% of their homes’ overall values.

Individuals’ net worth has also dropped significantly while short sales and foreclosures are becoming more common place.

If you invested in a piece of property before the housing bubble burst, chances are that you have lost money on your property or it is not doing well. Nowadays, people have to be more careful in what kind of properties they want to invest in. A property should meet these five criteria:

1. The property would be a solid investment for a company.
2. It could provide a good amount of income.
3. There is a good chance for the property’s value to appreciate.
4. The property’s value has a good amount of protection for inflation.
5. You can easily reverse it.

If you are retired, you may not want to spend your time actively managing a property or dealing with annoying tenants. Retirees should look into something called passive property investments. You probably want to invest in properties that are already managed, liquid and meet the above criteria.

Taking out a reverse mortgage also isn’t as good as investing in a solid piece of real estate. You are more likely to profit from the latter.

A person’s retirement should be a relaxing time of their life and not something to feel nervous about. Investing shouldn’t require a large time commitment or much effort either.