You have probably been hearing, seeing and reading that real estate investing is the best thing since sliced bread. There are many late night cable television infomercials spewing out sales pitches for courses that teach you how to buy residential real estate no money down or for next to nothing. Furthermore, polished pitch men on the advertisement emphasize that it is so easy that anybody can do it. They smugly show you that it is simple as they pencil out on the back of a napkin how you will supposedly make a fortune in real estate. Then these real estate investment course promoters show "actual" interviews of people who have reportedly made gobs of money with the course system.

Although it is true that fortunes can be made in real estate it is actually more likely that it will be the guru owner of the real estate course than you! The reason is that real estate investing is a lot harder than most people realize. When you buy, rent, and sell real estate as opposed to stocks you are dealing directly with people and there is not organized exchange to keep things standardized. Don't forget that courts see it as their duty to protect the shelter of families even if they are non paying renters who are total deadbeats. Another problem is that many contractors who do odd fix up jobs for real estate rehabbers are drifters with as many personal and financial problems as bad tenants. They damage houses and are down the street as soon as they get a little cash out of the hapless real estate investor.

It also takes many years to learn how to properly assess value in a town or neighborhood and get the required experience in real estate closings to not have the big profits you initially think you see in a deal leak out. The key point of this edition of the "Wallet Doctor" is that real estate investing is a business. Like any other business it requires constant dedication and education. If you work full time it means losing your free time to your rentals and rehabs. If a property doesn't sell or if the tenant doesn't pay you will have to lose part of your salary to cover the mortgage. You should enjoy your regular full time job because you selected it. If you prefer cookouts and trips to the beach over collecting rent and repairing your residential real estate investment then the stock market is a better place for you.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dr. Scott Brown, Ph.D., a.k.a. "The Wallet Doctor", is a successful futures trader, real estate investor, and stock investor. Dr. Brown holds a Ph.D. in finance from the University of South Carolina. His 1998 articles in Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities were prophetic in predicting an impending stock market crash. He has helped many people become profitable investors by teaching them to look out over many years to spot stocks that are low and primed for rise in the new bull market. His second article met with approval by Dr. Bob Shiller of Yale University. Dr. Shiller is the economist that Alan Greenspan most highly regards who coined the term "Irrational Exuberance." In 1998 he shouted to the world to "get out" of the stock market but now he is shouting to everyone that it is time to "get in!" The Wallet Doctor is not only sought after for investment advice and coaching in stock investing but also in futures trading and real estate investing.

Visit Dr. Brown's site at http://www.BonanzaBase.com or sign up for his investment tips at http://www.WalletDoctor.com