Investing In Real Estate with $10k

1. Online investing. If all you want is a slice of the pie, no matter the flavor or the size, you can start by putting your money into either REITs or a crowdfunding site. REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) let you become a shareholder in a company that typically deals in revenue-generating properties. So, instead of investing in a piece of real estate, you're investing in businesses making money off real estate. The crowdfunding option lets you serve either as a lender (partially funding someone else's purchase), or a part owner (joining a handful of other buyers in a commercial real estate purchase). These options allow you to invest what you have as opposed to the market dictating your purchasing power.

2. Insider alternatives. If you want more skin in the game without taking on a mortgage, you can look at options like tax liens or real estate wholesaling. Some of my realtor friends swear by tax liens, in which you bid on a lien certificate after an owner fails to pay property taxes. There's significant risk since the properties in question are near foreclosure, but the returns are strong and billions of dollars are being made on liens every year. With real estate wholesaling, you find someone selling a property and create a contract for their selling price, then find a buyer willing to pay 5 or 10 percent above that. This primarily works for people selling homes/lots in disrepair, where the seller doesn't want to bother with a real estate agent and is willing to set a pretty low price. It can be a lot of work, but you can get involved without using your own capital.

3. Find a partner/partners. You are not alone in this quest to buy property, and you can find ways to pool resources and achieve something as a group that you couldn't manage by yourself. Take the crowdsourcing format and make it your own, teaming up with three friends to make a quarter of the downpayment on a property you flip together. I don't recommend this strategy for everyone-you need to know the right people and take the right approach. However, when it all comes together, this can be the perfect way to launch a lifetime of real estate investing.