Using Donald Trump as example, it’s easy to see large fortunes can be made from investing in real estate. Mr. Trump was fortunate enough to have grown up under the dedicated care of a father already successful in land development. The question is whether anyone can be a profitable real estate investor, and actually the investor doesn’t need to have the savvy of Donald Trump, nor the benefit of his upbringing, to reap in rewards.

Real Estate as an Investment Challenge

Real estate investing is not all benefit and no challenge. The real estate investor should understand the less desirable aspects of this type of investment. Real estate investing does take time and effort and homework. The more work put into understanding the day to day and year over year requirements of rental property ownership benefits the investor's long term prospects for success.

Liquidity

Real estate is not liquid. Anyone who is invested in real estate right now that wants to get out of that investment knows selling at the any price would be a challenge at this point in time. Because lending markets have shrunk, finding qualified and capable buyers who are motivated to buy is the first hurdle. Getting the desired return on investment is consequently much higher to meet.