As with any investment, it is important to define your property investment goals and choose strategies that will help you achieve them. Why do you want to invest in real estate? Is it to generate passive income, fund retirement, build wealth, diversify risk or some combination? Answering this question will guide the specific strategies you pursue.

Some common property investment goals include:

• Passive Income. Buying rental property, fix-and-flipping deals or private lending to generate monthly or annual income with limited active involvement on your end. Strategies include buy-and-hold rentals, rehabbing to raise rents, real estate crowdfunding, etc.
• Retirement Funding. Investing in real estate as a source of capital gains and income in retirement. Strategies include selling property, taking out mortgages on paid-off property or rents/profits covering living expenses. Property may be held for many years or frequently bought/sold.
• Building Wealth. Buying, improving and selling properties at a profit to accumulate assets and equity over time. Strategies include wholesaling, fix-and-flip, rehabbing beaten-down properties, etc. Most property is sold rather than held long-term to lock in gains.
• Diversification. Adding real estate to a balanced investment portfolio to reduce risk. Strategies include buy-and-hold rentals, REITs, diversifying across locations or property types. Gains come from rental income, appreciation or both rather than frequently buying/selling.

Some common yet distinct property investment strategies include:

• Buy-and-Hold Rentals: Purchasing investment property, holding long-term and raising rents over time. Requires major down payments but has potential for solid returns with limited active involvement.
• Flipping or Fix-and-Flip: Buying properties, rehabilitating or fixing up value-adding improvements, then reselling quickly at a profit. Requires continual searching for deals but high returns if successful. Very time-intensive.
• Wholesaling: Finding properties at a deep discount, then assigning the purchase contract to another investor who closes on the deal. Little money required to get started but competitive to build volume and scale.
• Private Lending: Providing private loans and mortgages to real estate investors. Interest payments provide income. Loans are mostly secured by property. Lower risk than other strategies but limits involvement in property purchase or sale.
• Crowdfunding: Raising capital for real estate deals from a large number of investors via online real estate crowdfunding platforms. Allows pooling money for larger deals to generate good returns but limitations exist around available investments and involvement.