Online real estate platforms pool investments and invest in real estate investment opportunities that would otherwise be difficult to find or out of reach on an individual level. Real estate platforms offer investors the ability to invest in single investments or a diversified portfolio of real estate. Some offer only debt investments and others offer both debt and equity investments. And, some focus on a specific city or region and other invest across the country. Many real estate investment platforms carry restrictions such as accreditation requirements and high investment minimums, but not all of them such as InvestFar.

The most obvious real estate assets for direct investment are residential — houses or condos. But are there any other variables that might make another asset type a more promising option? Retail or office space? Maybe there’s been a new influx of young professionals, thanks to a change in local laws, and office buildings are increasing in value. But, with a change in real estate class, there’s also a change in expertise required. Assess the options and make sure your money is doing the most it can in any obvious circumstances.

“Location, location, location” is a saying as accurate as it is cliché. A warehouse in Orlando might have an altogether different outlook from an identical structure in Memphis. How can you expect the area you’re eyeing to develop? You need to make sure you account for as many location-specific variables as possible, ranging from natural disaster risks to noise pollution, all of which can make it difficult to secure tenants. For example, maybe the building next door is a school. That can have a major effect on how you’re able to develop and use the property. Be honest with the fidelity of your expertise, try to know what you don’t know and fill in the gaps.

For some investors, time is a more scarce commodity than dollars. Likewise, some investment models inherently apply far more of a time strain than others. If your investment requires a landlord, can you spare the hours? If not, can you afford to hire a property manager? Unlike other investments, which require attention only trading hours, an investment property requires constant administration as long as you own the investment.

InvestFar has access to many sources and providers of joint venture financing. This type of real estate funding is a means of structuring a mortgage and private, accredited equity. This use of other people’s money (OPM) and their balance sheet can help the Client utilize leverage, minimize their cash input, help get their immediate project get funded, and free up their cash reserves for other projects as well. This is achieved by creating a team between the clients with the project together with a Lender/Investor with the added financial capacity. Our sources have the expertise and relationships necessary to secure equity for real estate projects that make sense, whether it involves a single transaction or an entire portfolio. Typically, the range of funding can be from $75k to $100MM or more.

The capitalization or cap rate measures a property’s yield in a one-year time frame, making it easy to compare one property’s cash flow to another on an equal basis – without taking into account any debt on the asset.

Short-term capital gains
Short-term capital gains do not benefit from any special tax rate – they are taxed at the same rate as your ordinary income. Ordinary tax rates range from 10 percent to 37 percent, depending on your total taxable income. If you sell an asset you have held for one year or less, any profit you make is considered a short-term capital gain. The clock begins ticking from the day after you acquire the asset up to and including the day you sell it.
Long-term capital gains
If you can manage to hold your assets for longer than a year, you can benefit from a reduced tax rate on your profits. The long-term capital gains tax rates are 0, 15, and 20 percent for most taxpayers. If your ordinary tax rate is already less than 15 percent, you could qualify for the zero percent long-term capital gains rate. For high-income taxpayers, the capital gains rate could save as much as 19.6 percent off the ordinary income rate.
*Please consult a tax advisor

A 1031 exchange gets its name from Section 1031 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, which allows you to avoid paying capital gains taxes when you sell an investment property and reinvest the proceeds from the sale within certain time limits in a property or properties of like kind and equal or greater value.

Real estate has a track record of strong performance. Real estate investing offers the potential to earn significant returns and add meaningful diversification to your portfolio. When managed wisely it can become a valuable source of cash flow in your investment portfolio. As with any investment, real estate investments require you to understand and weigh the risks and potential rewards before beginning. Depending on which way you choose invest in real estate, you’ll need varying amounts of time, beginning capital, knowledge, and patience.

The Opportunity Zone program was created to revitalize economically distressed communities using private investments rather than taxpayer dollars. To stimulate private participation in the Opportunity Zone program, taxpayers who invest in Qualified Opportunity Zones are eligible to benefit from capital gains tax incentives available exclusively through the program.