Residential real property investments are properties such as houses, apartment buildings, townhouses, and vacation houses where a person or family pays you to stay in the property.

The length of their stay is based upon the rental agreement, or lease agreement. Consider the location wehen considering these investment,. Proximity to schools, recreation areas and the like are of prime importance. Primary target are new families starting on their own. They are usually very sensitive to price fluctuations.

Commercial property investments consist mostly of office buildings. If you were to take some of your savings and construct a building with individual offices, you could lease them out to companies and small business owners, who would pay you rent to take advantage the property.

Do some research on the centers of business in your area before proceeding to invest. Also research on the background of the companies a that are interested in your investment.

Industrial property investments consist of storage units, car washes and other special purpose real estate that generates sales from customers who temporarily use the establishment. Industrial real estate investments often have significant "fee" and "service" revenue streams, such as adding coin-operated vacuum cleaners at a car wash, to increase the return on investment for the owner. This type of investment highly relies on the needs and demographics and economy of the surrounding community.

Retail property investments consist of shopping malls, strip malls, and other retail storefronts. In some cases, the landlord also receives a percentage of sales generated by the tenant store in addition to a base rent to incentive them to keep the property in top-notch condition.

This investment is best in conjunction with commercial real estate investments. Demographics plays a critical in finding out which types of shops are going to cater to the needs of the market in a specific area.

Mixed-use property investments are those that combine any of the above categories into a single project. Mixed-use real estate investments are popular for those with significant assets because they have a degree of built-in diversification, which is important for controlling risk.

The advantage of having a mixed-use property investments is that you do not but all your eggs in a single basket and this allows you more flexibility in terms of being prepared for peak and low seasons of certain investments.

It takes more creativity to maintain this type of property investment and is usually tried by the more seasoned investors, as interaction with various business is often a complicated matter.

Real Estate Investment Trusts or REITs trade like stocks and own a portfolio of underlying real estate or real estate mortgages. Understanding the differences, advantages, and drawbacks of REITs is important. In most cases, the investor that buys a rental property is left to her own devises.

REITs allow the investor the opportunity to have her properties managed by a professional real estate team that knows the industry, understands the business and can take advantage of opportunities thanks to its ability to raise funds from the capital markets. The benefits are not limited to the financial prowess of the management team.