Real estate investing takes money. First, consider that you need capital for a down payment, so most people need to take out a loan. But it can be extremely challenging to get funding from the bank. Most financial institutions will analyze your credit and finances before they're willing to approve your loan. 

Banks aren't interested in taking risks, so you need to earn enough money to cover your mortgage. Plus, you need a good credit score (at least 620). And unfortunately, people with a credit score of 650 or less make up only a fraction of approved loans; even then, there's no guarantee that the bank will approve you. 

For example, self-employed individuals or business owners may face challenges. Or if you take too many tax benefits deductions, you might not be approved. Plus, interest rates are rising. So it's getting even harder to qualify for a loan. But, of course, there are other options to secure funding like:

Real estate comes with high investment costs. So before you consider buying real estate, you need to assess your debt-to-income ratio. But current economic uncertainty has made obtaining approval for a bank loan difficult. Many banks have also raised the minimum credit score requirements. But most will let you put down 20% or less if you meet their investor criteria.

So you can use this leverage to increase your cash flow. (If everything goes according to plan and your investment appreciates). However, if the market falls or prices drop, you could face a cash flow problem. For example, 20% down on a $400,000 single home ($80,000) with price increases of 6% in one year (or $24,000) equals 30% ROI. But if prices fall 6%, you lose 30% (24K). Of course, real estate investing is less volatile than the stock market, and the returns are often higher. Let’s look at another example like the one below:

So you need to have a plan on how you'll cover costs. For example, whether you rent your home and the tenant covers your mortgage monthly. Or you flip and sell at a higher price than you purchase to make a one-time profit.

But you're still only sitting at about 10%-25% ROIs. Plus, you're leaving a lot of aspects to chance. So you need to be willing to take risks to secure a steady income with real estate investments. 

To make money investing in real estate, you need to consider two critical factors:

• How much is your investment worth?
• How much will it be worth on the date you want to sell?

To make money with real estate, you need to buy low and sell high. But market volatility dictates that you can either make a ton of money with your investment or potentially lose capital. So you need a competitive edge. Or you need to find an underpriced property you can buy and sell for profit.

Unfortunately, you're competing against some pretty savvy real estate professionals. Not to mention that your chances of finding an underpriced property in today's real estate market are marginal at best. This is why many real estate investors consult with industry experts or join sales training like Next Play™.

So you need an inside track or be willing to dedicate the time to search for the ideal investment. The key is to capitalize on opportunities the market presents. So you need to be willing to take risks and make mistakes. But a few tips on how to get ahead with real estate investing include things like:

Real estate investing takes some luck and perseverance. Plus, it's a competitive playing field. Not to mention that individual real estate investors account for about 74.4% of rental properties in the USA, so you have some competition.

But homes will continue to increase in value in 2023 (by about 4%). So there's still an opportunity to make money with this investment strategy. But you need to learn the rules of the game and be prepared to do the hard work. 

Digital real estate requires minimal capital. In fact, you can purchase a domain for as little as $1/year. Then you can create a blog, cater to a specific niche with an active online community and build a trusted online presence.

You can then monetize your blog with things like affiliate links, paid sponsorships, and influencer marketing. In addition, there are other free or low-cost ways to generate an income from digital marketing like:

Of course, you pay with your time. Plus, you need to be a content creator. And invest the effort to build an online reputation and authority with your readers.

But there are other options like building rank and rent websites for phone-based service industries. You build simple websites that you rank in Google. But get your sites to the top of the SERPs, and they bring in leads. Then you find a local contractor and sell those leads for a profit. The beauty is that you own the website, the tracking number, and the leads.

So not only do you control every aspect of your business. But you control your overhead costs (which are minimal-around $40/month). Take this site below. This is a lead generation site I built in 2015. But this one site has been making me $2000/month for seven years. So that’s a total revenue of $24,000/year. I spent about $500 getting it to the top of Google in around six months. But my ROIs are at 95% just from this website. (I own over 80). 

Let’s break down the costs:

Digital real estate allows you to scale fast. Consider that investment costs are minimal. So you can build numerous online assets at the same time. For example, you could start a lead gen business and create multiple sites. The secret is to niche down. Find markets where you can reach the top of Google for specific keywords.

But once you're at the top of the SERPs. Then you own prime real estate. And small business owners are more than happy to pay for that kind of traffic. Another way to invest in digital land is to develop a YouTube channel or social media profile. Become an authority in a specific niche, and you can be an influencer or a brand ambassador. 

You can also use affiliate offers (like the ones Tai Lopez affiliate ecommerce store promotes). Or you can flip websites by buying and selling domains. But you need to pick a strategy. Then you can devise a plan on how you'll create value and make money with your virtual land. But you need to consider your skills, interests, and long-term goals. For example,

Once you have a plan, you can scale fast if you're willing to invest the time and effort to get to the top. But after you reach the top spots, your sites are pretty hands-off. So not only are you creating time freedom, but you also secure a steady cash flow. 

Digital real estate is a way to harness a passive income. But it's far from a get-rich-quick-scheme. Of course, unlike real estate investing, you don't need to worry about bad tenants or leaky faucets. You won't get a call at 3 am asking how to turn on the heat in your rental home. But you do need to be prepared to grind and commit to taking massive action.

Digital assets can generate a passive income when they offer value. But that means your virtual property needs online traffic. So you either pay for that traffic. Or you learn how to get your entities to the top of the algorithms. But once you're at the top, you've got a ton of eyeballs on your asset. And this is how you make money.

So you need to decide on your platform. Then learn everything you can about your target audience. Finally, determine how you can solve a problem, improve a person's life, or fill a market gap. Of course, it takes dedication and consistency. But the payoff for your hard work is a valuable piece of online real estate.

One that you can rent, like a rank and rent site. Or sell for profit like a YouTube channel. Plus, your digital asset will only appreciate over time. So the more value you offer, the more money you make. Plus, once you own the top spots, you hold the keys to the most coveted real estate on the internet. And that's how you create a passive income with your digital real estate.