'That blew up in my face': This college student lives for free in her uncle's investment property — How you can collect money from real estate without a rich uncle

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Mixing business with friendship is almost always a tricky proposition. One college student had to learn that the hard way when she tried her hand at being a landlord.

Reddit user, EqualBudget_3179, recently posted a cautionary tale on the site after her uncle let her live rent-free in one of his investment properties and collect rent from three other tenants to help pay for her expenses. EqualBudget_3179 offered their friends these extra bedrooms for $700 per month each – a good $200 to $800 cheaper than other houses near her college. They all immediately said yes. But when one of them asked about the total cost of rent, the friends freaked out when they found out the arrangement with her uncle.

“That blew up in my face because now every [sic] one of my friends [is] calling me greedy for charging them rent then pocketing the money,” EqualBudget_3179 writes in her post. The Redditor goes on to write that she ultimately decided to ask them to move out.

The trials and tribulations of being a landlord might be worth the long-term financial gains for some, but if you’d rather skip out, here are some different investing options you can try.

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Grocery-anchored real estate investing

For starters, private equity firm First National Realty Partners* gives you access to the lucrative potential of necessity-based commercial real estate. With FNRP’s platform, accredited investors can invest in institutional-quality, grocery-anchored real estate investments* without the leg work of finding deals on their own.

Since the investments are necessity-based, they tend to perform well during times of economic volatility. And of course, it won’t be your job to deal with tenant complaints and maintenance issues.

REITs

If you’re an accredited investor, but commercial real estate isn’t your thing, you can also check out DLP Capital* — a private financial services and real estate investment firm — that makes investing in REITs easily accessible* so you can benefit from high-return investments, solid dividends and the potential for moderate, long-term capital appreciation.

DLP Capital’s housing fund was created with the goal of improving communities that produce a lot of rental income through their acquisition and management of these rental homes. So, not only are you investing in a worthy asset, you’re investing in its community.

For those of you who are non-accredited investors, don’t worry, there are accessible options for you to get your hands in the real estate game too.

Read more: Here's how much the average 60-year-old American holds in retirement savings — how does your nest egg compare?

Invest in rental and vacation properties

With Arrived’s* online platform, you can invest in shares of rental homes and vacation rentals.

Start by browsing a curated selection of homes, vetted for their appreciation and income potential. Once you find a property you like, you can choose the number of shares you want to buy. With Arrived, you can start investing in real estate with just $100*.

If you’ve got a particular city in mind — perhaps one you dreamed of moving to one day before increased cost of living made these cities unaffordable to many people — you’re in luck. With Cityfunds by Nada*, you can now own a piece of a desirable U.S. city without actually buying property.

Buy a piece of your favorite city

Cityfunds by Nada is an online investment platform that makes diversified portfolios of owner-occupied properties in top U.S. cities accessible without you having to break the bank or play landlord.

For as little as $500*, you gain immediate exposure to multiple properties through Nada’s Cityfunds in cities like Austin, Dallas, Miami, Tampa, Denver, Phoenix and Nashville.

Join Nada’s 10,000+ users today* and get your hands on owning a part of the $20 trillion home equity market for a single city.

If you think taking on the mantle of landlord is too much, you have plenty of accessible options to build the real estate portfolio of your dreams.

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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.