Hi friends, thanks for downloading Moneygirls Quick and Dirty Tips for a richer life.

I'm your host, Laura Adams. With so many distressed listings and foreclosed homes on the market right now,

the idea of investing in real estate seems to be gaining popularity.

If you're wondering whether you're cut out

to be a landlord, I'll tell you in this show.

Owning real estate certainly has its pros and cons.

Let's start with the good stuff. It can be very profitable. Real estate

is a tangible asset that you control and everyone needs a place to live. You can

make money with real estate in two basic ways, cash flow and appreciation.

Cash flow or income results when the rent you collect from a tenant exceed your total expenses.

Expenses for a rental may include the mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance, maintenance and repairs.

Appreciation is the increase in value that a property can experience over time.

You might buy a property in a good neighborhood that needs repair.

If you're handy and like doing fix-up work or have enough profit in the deal to hire a contractor, you can make the repairs and sell it for a profit or keep it for a rental.

Some people like to invest in multifamily properties that are already making money or one where they can live on site in one of the units.

Or you could buy a vacation home that you ran out on a weekly or monthly basis

and use for yourself part of the year.

Once you pay off the mortgage on a rental property it can be a nice source of extra

income while you're still working or during your retirement. So how you structure a real estate

investment depends on your resources, how long you intend to own the

investment and the features of the property that you buy. Since the advantages

sounds so great I have to give you a dose of reality to balance them out

...