Stock Cooperatives and Real Estate Mutual Funds

When my boss found out I’m studying Real Estate, he had an interesting take on it. He said it was a good field to study, a good profession, but not for him. He said the best way to go is to buy a property, fix it up, and sell it. This is what we call Russian Real Estate. Like everything, it’s not easy, it takes a while, and there’s risk. Here’s his take on things:

It’s not my kind of problems. Even if it paid millions, I’m not into that. Look here’s the deal, what’s a poor man’s approach to this? He buys the land himself, builds the house himself, wasting years of his life, and spends another year trying to sell it because he’s too cheap to pay an agent. Now, what’s the next level of evolution? You hire people to do the work. You save time and most likely get better quality. It’s still your job to watch over things and make sure everything goes to plan, make sure you get the right materials, and the right people. It’s a headache and that’s why I’m not into it. True some people can make a good chunk of change doing this, maybe millions, but honestly I’m in a bigger game (he’s not exaggerating). Look what’s the next step in the evolution? If you believe that a certain market will grow or see a company that already does this successfully, why not just invest? There’s plenty of funds and organizations that do this. It takes some research, but if you’re interested in investing, why deal with the headaches. Buy a share of the company instead of carrying all the bricks on your back. The first way you have money to your work to money. The second way you have money to other’s work to money. The final solution is money to money. This is where you want to be.

On this level there are different levels to this level as well. There are Real Estate mutual funds and there are also these things called “stock cooperatives”: where you own a share of the property, taxed under one common bill. Has anyone had experience with these? I’d like to learn more. How did you start? What’s the experience like? Any tips, rants, things to watch out for, and things to love?

(By the way, I’m still determined to learn, because although I don’t have any issue with his logic, I think it’s super important to build an understanding of property, law, and capital, and whatever field you invest in.)