If everything goes according to plan, you hope to leave your corporate job and embark on a new career path before the end of the year. It’s a promise you’ve made yourself, and your family, for several years now and it’s time to make good on it. The idea of transitioning into a career in real estate investing, more than anything else, gets you excited–and a little anxious. You’ve always wanted to do it, but because you’ve heard stories about novice investors who crash and burn, you’ve been afraid to take the leap. I know, because I felt the same when I left my office desk to start investing. So to clear your head, and get closer to clearing your desk, you decide to research the benefits of real estate investing. Let me share what I’ve learned.

The Top Five Benefits of Investing in Real Estate

In general, a little bit of research goes a long way toward closing the gap between what you fear will happen and what you can reasonably expect to experience. That’s why some of life’s biggest decisions, from having a baby to changing careers, are more easily made when informed by the expertise of those who’ve come before you. Navigating the unknowns can be daunting, particularly if you go it alone.

Deciding to start a career in real estate investing is no different. Back before I started investing in real estate, I took the time to research the benefits and review them with my own family. Then, together, we made the decision to jump in well-informed. The benefits, listed below, have changed little over the years, which speaks highly of the industry and those who work in it. Once you make your move to investing, I’m sure you’ll discover the same.

1. Income Potential

On the surface, working for someone else and moving up the corporate ladder looks like a safe bet for getting ahead. But, by investing in real estate, whether you’re buying and renovating properties to rent out or sell, you’ll have an earning potential that isn’t capped by a salary. The buy-and-hold model puts cash in your pocket every month after the mortgage, taxes, insurance, and other operating or repair costs have been paid. But renovating and selling houses has the potential to give you returns in one lump sum for every deal you close. Either way, how much you earn is up to you.

2. Community Contribution

By buying, renovating, and selling houses, you contribute to the good of the community in several ways. You help to restore a home’s value, reduce neighborhood blight, create jobs with the rehab, and get good people out of “ugly” situations. The immediate and lasting effect is often raised community morale in the neighborhoods where you invest. So, buying and rehabbing real estate is a benefit that serves everyone, not just your bottom line.

3. Flexibility

Even though the real estate market sees its fair share of ups and downs, weathering these changes isn’t necessarily a problem because you have the flexibility of choice. Whether you choose to buy-and-hold or buy-and-sell, your exit strategy is up to you–and you can course-correct as needed. If you find fixer-upper homes for sale in transitioning neighborhoods, for example, you might choose to renovate and rent them out until property values in those areas have gone up. But the timing might be such that the potential for seeing good returns warrants selling after the rehab. Whatever the market conditions are, you have the flexibility to handle them.

4. Security

Starting any new business venture comes with a degree of risk, even in rebounding–or fully thriving–economies. But growing a real estate portfolio is often viewed as a less risky proposition by entrepreneurs than other investment opportunities, like REITs or purchasing stocks and bonds. In fact, real estate is an asset class that has historically not tied to the dramatic shifts seen in the stock market and it’s an industry whose product is always in demand. So, whether it’s a buyer’s or seller’s market, you have the opportunity to grow if you buy at the right price and have a good exit strategy.

5. Control

As a real estate investor, you can experience a level of freedom and control that working for someone else rarely affords. You may take on as few or as many projects as you like, work part-time or full-time, hire whomever you please, and adjust your strategy anytime to suit the market’s demands or your family’s needs. When you are your own boss, you have a say in how you invest your time. And that, in my opinion, is the best benefit of all.

Real estate investors come from all walks of life with backgrounds and experience as varied as the neighborhoods where they invest. What drives them to start a real estate investing company, however, is universal: the rewards they get for doing so. And if you’ve got the drive, there’s a way to start investing that’ll benefit you faster than going it alone.

The Benefit a Real Estate Investing Franchise Provides

The benefits of investing in real estate increase substantially when you have the support of a real estate investing franchise like HomeVestors® behind you. I’ve been an independently owned and operated HomeVestors® franchisee, a part of the nationally-known “We Buy Ugly Houses®” team, for years and it’s made all the difference in my investing success. Having already done the research and developed years of been-there-done-that experience, HomeVestors® provided me with the training I needed. I even got one-on-one support with a seasoned Development Agent to help keep my business running strong once I opened my doors. As a result, I’ve been able to do more than just invest in real estate. I’ve been able to benefit my family, my portfolio, homeowners in distress, and the community-at-large. Now, that’s pretty exciting.

When you’re ready to reap the benefits a real estate investing franchise has to offer, contact HomeVestors® to discuss how you can get started on your new career today.

Each franchise office is independently owned and operated.