Last week I had a chance to spend time with a gold investor. When he has extra cash, he’ll contact his “person” to buy more gold or silver. Where he keeps the coins, I do not know. I know he doesn’t keep them in the bank. “Banks can close their doors,” he says. He is also in the construction business. So we decided to match his best year’s income with my best year’s income as an investor in real estate. His best income year was when the economy was booming in 2019. My best income year was when the economy crashed in 2008. In good times, everyone has money. In bad times, some industries thrive.
Why I Like Real Estate as an Investment
I like real estate because everyone needs a place to live, a roof over their heads. They may lose their mortgaged home in bad times, but they have to live someplace and that’s when rental property booms.
To me, gold and silver are commodities and have no utility. Real estate can be rented, producing monthly income. You don’t have to sell real estate to produce income. Gold investing does not produce monthly income. You must sell that asset to produce cash.
Bottom line, the government offers benefits to real estate investors: interest deduction, depreciation, tax deductions for property improvements, tax free exchanges and capital gains exclusions, to mention a few. I would shy away from commercial real estate unless you are an expert in that field. After all you can operate any business out of a home if you abide by HOA rules.
Dave Watts is an investor and author of the book, “The Powerful Little Real Estate Book,” available on Amazon in both English and Spanish.
