Antoine Russi

Are you new to real estate investing? Or are you already experienced in this matter? Whichever it is, Bacall Development wants you to take note of the following tips regarding real estate investing. The firm is a full-service commercial real estate firm that has been responsible for complete ground-up developments of more than 30 real estate developments in different states of United States.

Some people consider that investing in real estate can make them wealthy in an instant, but they're wrong. Since this endeavor requires great dedication and effort, one must learn and understand the foundations of investing in real estate first before putting them into practice, and from then on, one can see worthwhile results from his or her effort.

Indeed, change is constant in real estate market. What is in demand today may not be the same tomorrow. For instance, the rental market was strong during the past decade but it has been frail in the recent years. However, there are simple methods to protect your real estate investments. During the 1970's, the median home price was $33,000, then it became $195,000 in 2005. Based on this figure, it seems that the average home is doubled every seven years.

Bacall Development and associates suggests that one shouldn't be afraid to enter this venture because it is still possible to make money in real estate. This is because real estate is a cycle and cycles have some level of predictability, and with this, it is possible to earn a profit in your real estate business that can also run itself in the midst of constant changes within the real estate market.

In this game, it is important to be experienced in the basics so that you can make wise investment decisions. The basics include the tried and true techniques along with the strategies and systems that have worked in the past and are still working and will work in the future. When the real estate market begins to shift, Bacall Development wants you to have all the necessary tools in order to become flexible in this arena.

Begin planning

Reviews claim that it is crucial to set your plan first before entering this endeavor. In this phase, you must determine your long term real estate goals, which includes retirement and wealth building, along with your short-term needs about making money in real estate. Right after this, set up the proper entities and put the plan in place.

Identify your target market

Determining your target market is the next thing you need to do in order to survive this game and void being scammed. When it comes to the real estate market, you can't be all things. For instance, begin investing in the foreclosure market if foreclosures interest you, or concentrate your real estate marketing efforts to state owners in case you want to be a landlord.

Educate yourself

Once you’ve entered this scheme, you should continue your education, Bacall Development says. Learning new tactics, tips and strategies can really help you earn more in real estate, so invest in your education as much as possible.

Master your finance

It would be much better if you could fully understand the world of finance since the business of real estate revolves around marketing and finance. You should understand the interest rates, mortgages as well as the loan programs that are available out there. In order to properly negotiate your deals and sell your properties, you should know how to use finance.

Learn how to properly solve problems

It's also important to become a skilled problem solver in real estate. And because you can solve difficult problems, you can possibly get real estate deals that others can’t. Anything can happen in the field of real estate, so it's better that you're always ready to face its challenges.

Don't overthink

Don't end up with an "analysis paralysis" state. You may never come up with a good decision if you over-analyze things. Offer yourself enough time when you are assessing properties.

Consistency is a must

As previously mentioned, investing in real estate is not all about instant cash. One must be consistent and persistent to find good results. You should stick to your plans in order to see genuine results in real estate. Bacall Development suggests that you acquire more knowledge and gain more experience in real estate to become excellent in this field.

As Jim Cramer of CNBC's Mad Money always says: "There's always a bull market somewhere." In the spirit of that bullish way of viewing markets in both good and not-so-good times, here are 10 investment ideas that panelists from USA TODAY's 2016 Investment Roundtable say can help you build a winning portfolio in 2016.

1. FOCUS ON INDIVIDUAL STOCKS. If David Kostin of Goldman Sachs is right and the broad S&P 500 stock index posts flat returns next year, owning an index fund that tracks and mimics the performance of the large-company stock gauge may not be the most profitable strategy. To increase your odds of posting double-digit percentage gains next year, pinpoint individual names that have what it takes to outperform the S&P 500.

"Stock picking will become much more important," says Kostin, who favors growth stocks with strong balance sheets and companies that the bulk of their revenues domestically.

1. LOOK BEYOND FANTASTIC 'FANG' STOCKS: Tech stocks Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google got so hot, so hyped and so dominant that they earned the acronym "FANG" stocks. The big four also posted big gains this year — so sizable, in fact, that they were responsible for most, if not all, of the gains in the market-cap weighted Nasdaq composite. Next year, however, tech leadership is not likely to be as narrow, says Josh Spencer, manager of the T. Rowe Price Global Technology Fund.

"I think the tech market will broaden next year," he says, adding that tech names that will benefit from the cyclical uptick in the economy will get a fresh look from Wall Street. Examples include companies that make semiconductors and semiconductor equipment and which are breaking into new growth areas, such as high-tech gadgetry now found in the modern auto fleet.

1. REJECT USA BIAS AND GO GLOBAL. The U.S. stock market faces a host of headwinds — such as coming interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve, a strong dollar and full valuations, to name a few — that could limit gains in 2016. Those domestic obstacles bolster the case for putting more cash to work in foreign stock markets, such as Europe and Japan where central bankers are more market-friendly and valuations are less pricey, says Russ Koesterich, global chief investment strategist at BlackRock.

"There are certain headwinds in the U.S. that are actually tailwinds in other parts of the world," Koesterich says. "In terms of valuations, I don't think we are in bubble territory, but U.S. valuations are a bit stretched. They are less stretched in Europe and Japan."

1. BENEFIT FROM "BIFURCATED" MARKET. Even if the broad U.S. stock market posts flat returns again in 2016, it's because the winners will be offset by the losers, says Kostin of Goldman Sachs. The key, therefore, is to zero in on stocks with three characteristics that will give them a better chance to climb up the performance charts.

First, "focus on companies with strong balance sheets, as they typically outperform in a rising interest rate environment," Kostin says. Second, "with the strong dollar weighing on foreign sales of large U.S. companies, invest in stocks that are generating revenue domestically, as compared to those that book sales via exporting." Lastly, go for growth stocks not value names. "When economic growth is tepid, that is when you want to own equity growth," he says.

1. CONTRARIAN PLAY: BUY BONDS. Sure the Fed is on track to start hiking interest rates for the first time in nearly 10 years. And there's no shortage of talk about the eventual bursting of the bond market bubble. Despite all the scary bond talk, Kate Warne, investment strategist at Edward Jones, says there's a still a place for bonds in every investor's portfolio.

"Nobody likes bonds, and people are saying, 'oh my gosh I will lose money in bonds,' " says Warne. But bond performance might not be so bad if the Fed moves slowly with its rate hikes and inflation remains low, she argues. Under that scenario, "bonds actually do OK," she explains. "If David Kostin is right and we get zero returns from stocks, you may do just as well in bonds and you have a lot less volatility then if you are fully invested in stocks. Bonds may not be a great investment, but they may actually not be too bad compared to everything else."