Passive investing refers to a style of investment where you can profit from your holdings without taking a large amount of an active role. One of the most popular passive investment strategies is indexing, which enables investors to buy an index fund made up of equities that closely mirror the underlying index without the need for active trading on their part. In the equity markets, index funds are now commonly acknowledged to provide investors lower costs and returns that are on par with or better than those of an actively managed portfolio.

Consistent income, long-term capital growth, and portfolio diversification are just a few of the tremendous advantages that real estate investments can offer investors. Real estate investors have a wide variety of options at their disposal to take advantage of these advantages. The real estate investment universe is frequently divided into two main categories by market participants: active and passive investments.

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What Is Passive Real Estate Investing?

Purchasing real estate while not actively maintaining the assets is known as passive real estate investing.

A passive real estate investor would not be one who buys a house and then works as a landlord, finding and screening tenants, collecting rent, and making necessary repairs to the house. Instead, a person is a passive real estate investor if they buy shares in a real estate investment trust (REIT), which purchases real estate and handles with the ongoing administration of that real estate on behalf of the REIT’s investors.

Types of Passive Real Estate Investments

1. Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)

The real estate investment trust is one choice (REIT). Investors that seek to generate cash flow from their investments frequently choose REITs. Companies known as REITs invest in various types of real estate, including single-family homes, apartments, retail spaces, hotels, offices, warehouses, and shopping centers. In general, REITs invest in and buy properties to add them to their long-term portfolios, earning profits on the properties’ rental income and capital growth.

REITs are required by law to distribute at least 90% of their taxable profits as dividends to shareholders. Investors should anticipate receiving higher cash flow from a REIT than many other assets because the majority pay out practically all their revenue.

2. Real Estate Crowdfunding

A management business will pool investments from several individual investors in a process known as crowdfunding. Individual investors can buy greater stakes with their combined funds than they could separately.

There are numerous real estate crowdfunding businesses, each with a variety of investment options. Farmland, sizable apartment complexes, office buildings, shopping centers, storage facilities, and hotels are a few of the more well-liked alternatives.

3. Trust Deed Investments

Another method of investing passively in real estate is through trust deeds. You can invest in a loan that is secured by a trust deed that is recorded against a specific piece of property by purchasing a trust deed. A stated interest rate of return is normally paid to you monthly, together with the return of your principal investment upon maturity. In this way, you are lending money to someone who is buying a house, just like a bank would.

4. Remote Real Estate Ownership / Turnkey Rental Properties

Remote ownership is another passive (but less passive) real estate investing strategy that enables full ownership of faraway property. Many seasoned real estate investors choose this passive investment technique because it permits total ownership without necessitating an overly active participation in managing the property. Using an online platform, you may identify, investigate, and buy out-of-state rental properties that already have tenants in place as well as property management if you’re looking to invest in a faraway property. The managers who are already associated with the property will take care of management duties, while you get monthly rent.

5. Hard Money Lending

Hard money lenders provide loans to customers looking to buy a home, usually so they can restore and sell the home or in some other way make money on their real estate venture. They differ from banks in that they typically offer speedy lending and charge higher interest rates.


There are various passive investing choices available for those wishing to diversify their portfolios by adding real estate without doing a lot of the work themselves. Crowdfunding, REITs, remote ownership, and trust deed investing are some of the most popular passive real estate investment techniques that are accessible. If you make wise investments, all these strategies have the potential to produce substantial returns. Passive real estate investment may be the best option for you if you want to invest in real estate but don’t want to put too much risk into your investment portfolio. A general overview of these four passive investment strategies is provided below.

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