With so much attention on how the economy has suffered recently, you might believe that it is a bad time to invest in real estate. You’ve probably heard something like “the housing bubble has burst” or something else negative and pretty much discounted the notion of real estate investment. “Where would I even get the money?” you might think. While it might not be the best time to get into single family housing, have you ever thought about apartment investing? Multifamily is one of the most overlooked areas in real estate. However, it’s not as crazy of an idea as you might think.

Apartment investing can seem out of reach to the common person. They believe they need millions of dollars of their own money to buy a multifamily property. While it’s true that apartments cost more than single family houses, many people are surprised to learn that it can be easier to find funding for an apartment complex than a single family house these days.

Multifamily real estate offers several advantages. One is that there is not as much competition for the properties. You do not have throngs of other investors bidding the price up like you do with houses. However, these investors often believe the way you used to and it keeps them from moving beyond their comfort zone and into the lucrative, cash-flow rich world of apartment investing. Their fears and misconceptions are often misguided however because apartment investing is a very different type of transaction.

It is actually often easier to get the money for larger purchases. The fear that most people have to get over however is dealing with larger numbers up front. Many don’t feel comfortable borrowing hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars, even when the math makes sense to show them the investment can put them on the road to retirement.

Most people simply refuse to leave their comfort zones, which is what keeps most people poor. However, understanding the leverage that apartments bring is key because you will realize that risk can be lowered and reward can be multiplied many times.

Once you get past the fear of large numbers, apartment investing starts to make much more sense than traditional investing and you realize how easy it is to create massive amounts of wealth, while using other people’s money to fund your deals. Understanding this and taking action can set you and your family up for generations.