By: Michael E. Martinez

As you may have heard before, for most of us, either our homes or land will be the the best investment you could ever make. The value of your home is manly determined by its location but it's condition is a priority as well. With the housing boom expected to loose steam this year, its important to realize the risks involved with real estate investing. As you will read in this entry, houses and land aren't the only ways to invest in real estate.

Home is where the heart is, but for some, they turn around and sell the house they just bought, you may think their crazy, but their not. Real estate can be lucrative if you know how to buy and sell them correctly. Like stocks, real estate can appreciate or depreciate in value; just not as quickly as say a company's stock would. When real estate investors buy property, usually its old, trashed and abandon for awhile. They then proceed to fix them up and sell them at higher prices thus making a profit. Land is probably one of the easiest real estate investments as all you may have to do is pull weeds and mow the grass.

There are some things any ordinary homeowner can do not just to make their house investable but to make it sell for a higher price when you do plan to sell it. When buyers look for homes for sale, one of the first things they will notice is the lawn, by just planting a few flowers, or keeping your yard nice and clean, it can make a huge impression for potential buyers. Another part of the house buyers will pay close attention to is the kitchen, by just leaving out the essentials and putting away blenders, pots, pans, silverware, the kitchen will look less cluttered and bigger to the potential buyers.

As I mentioned earlier, real estate isn't limited to your home or a piece of property, there is another real estate vehicle known as a REIT, which stands for real estate investment trust. REITs are traded publicly on the stock markets and its a portfolio that manages real estate to earn profits for its shareholders. REITS make investments n medical facilities, nursing homes, shopping centers, malls, hotels and more. To avoid taxes at the corporate level, 75 percent of the REIT's income must be from real property and 95 percent of its net earnings must be distributed to its shareholders yearly.

Because REITs must distribute most of their earnings, they tend to pay high yields from five to ten percent or more. A more specific type is called an Equity REIT. These REITs take positions in real estate, shareholders receive income form the rents received and from the properties and receive capital gains as the buildings are sold for a profit.