REITs vs. Rental Property: Here's Which Strategy Has Made Me More Money
I've been investing since I was 14. Somehow, that's the last 18 years (how can I be 32 already?). Over that time, I've always had a job and saved, read hundreds of books on investing, paid attention to stock market news, gotten degrees in finance, and more. TL;DR: I've spent a lot of time, energy, and money on the stock market.
The amount of money I've made investing in stocks in that time (through two full-blown bull markets) pales in comparison to the amount I've made with rental real estate. Of course, that isn't because I'm a genius real estate investor. It's largely because of timing and luck, but also because of the inherent leverage in rental real estate investing.
To illustrate this concept, and to show how some of the principles I've followed in real estate investing would've improved my stock market returns, I'm going to compare two investments I made around the same time. In December, 2014, I bought a 600-square-foot condo with the intention of renting it out after living in it for at least a year. In February, 2016, I bought 100 shares of Annaly Capital Management (NYSE: NLY), which is a mortgage REIT that often has a dividend yield over 10%. We'll start with Annaly.
Source Fool.com
