After spending years in the workforce, many people dream of freedom – of having the leisure to spend time with family and friends, pursue new interests and live and travel anywhere, any time. For some, that dream comes with a secure and comfortable retirement. For others, it means the opportunity to be your own boss, free of worries about layoffs, restructuring and financial crises at work. As workplace security continues to erode, sound investments in rental real estate, as Jason Hartman advises, can help people in all kinds of situations to regain control of their financial future.
For those who’ve spent their lives in the workforce, retirement represents freedom. But continuing crises around state and private sector pension plans, as well as looming changes to the Social Security system, can wreck those expectations for a secure and stable retirement. Some employers have circumvented pension plan shortfalls by requiring higher employee contributions, reducing benefits to future retirees, or cutting health benefits.
Likewise, changes to the Social Security system may raise the age at which full benefits can be taken, with other reductions affecting survivors, dependents and spouses. In come cases limits apply to wages earned outside of Social Security as well. Some retirees are forced to rely exclusively on Social Security Benefits, leaving them with a fixed income for life – an income dependent on the decisions of the Social Security Administration and the government.
Working individuals face their own concerns. Worsening economic conditions mean budget cutting in both the private and public sectors, paving the way for layoffs, downsizing and company closures. Employees who once expected to spend their entire working lives in one company now can anticipate having three or more career changes during their working lives – and to face at least one extended period of unemployment.
With these and other uncertainties plaguing employees of all kinds at every point in their working lives, creating a stable income independent of the workplace becomes even more essential to a secure future. Investing in rental real estate is one of the most secure ways to create this kind of income. Not only that, owning and managing rental real estate creates opportunities for entrepreneurship that expand, rather than limit, options.
Although the housing market is stabilizing somewhat after the recent collapse that resulted in millions of foreclosures, the rental market is surging. This means good news for investors in rental properties such as single-family homes and multiplexes – housing with two, three or four units. Former homeowners who lost their houses to foreclosure may be facing a long future as renters, and many households don’t have the financial stability to begin the home buying process. Finally, apartment dwellers may choose a single family home or duplex if rents are comparable.
Large numbers of foreclosed homes and other kinds of distressed properties are still entering the market in areas around the country as these cases work their way through the courts. Likewise, the variability in real estate markets around the country makes it possible to find reasonably priced rental property outside your area. This allows investors to diversify their holdings – a strategy for protection against local problems that’s strongly recommended by Jason Hartman.
Financial security means freedom. And rental real estate investing can create that kind of security with an independent income from assets that increase in value over time, offering long-term protection from the fluctuations of the working world.
The Jason Hartman Team
