by Sharon Jones

Pixabay. CCO Licensed.

There are lots of ways to invest in real estate besides residential buy-to-let. Here are just a few alternative ways to make money out of real estate for those that have been thinking of investing.

Rent out commercial property

Commercial buy-to-let can have many advantages over residential buy-to-let. There’s firstly the freedom to offer longer leases – so you don’t have to worry about tenants moving in and out every couple years. You can also look into quirkier property. In fact, many businesses are now looking beyond traditional office buildings when looking for somewhere to work from, instead considering options like converted barns and large converted lofts.

Oftentimes a loan must be taken out to construct a property to rent out. This can be problematic considering the property is not yet revenue producing. This is where bridge loans come into play. Companies exist to offer bridge loans worldwide, so it's always worth searching specifically for your location, like bridging loans UK, for example.

Rent out a vacation home

Another alternative buy-to-let investment could be to buy a property and rent it out to guests on vacation. The likes of Airbnb have made it easy to market such property and maintain a steady flow of guests (providing you buy a property in a relatively touristy location). As you’ll be catering to guests not tenants, you’ll need to invest in all furnishings as well as keeping the property clean and presentable. You may be able to hire a property manager to keep on top of cleaning and maintenance if the property isn’t based locally (a perk of a vacation home is that you can also use it at your own leisure when there are no guests staying).

If you need financing to buy a house for Airbnb purposes, Airbnb loans have come about to help fund the endeavor.

Rent out a building/land for events

You can also consider renting out a building or land for events. A scenic country home or even a converted barn could make a beautiful wedding venue. Large grounds or indeed a field could meanwhile be rented out for festivals or concerts. You could make a huge amount of money from each event, but you do need to be certain that you’re securing regular events to make it worthwhile.

Convert empty land into a car park

It’s also possible to buy land and turn it into a car park. By installing a parking meter, you can charge drivers for parking their cars on this land. This could be very profitable if you manage to buy land in a town or city centre, where there may be a shortage of parking spaces. There are companies such as Wright Construction Company Inc that specialise in laying asphalt car parks. It could be a lot cheap overall than buying property.

Convert empty land into a community garden

You could also consider turning empty land into a community garden. Local members of the community can then pay a regular fee to use your community garden for growing their own plants. This is very successful in cities where less people may have backyards. You’ll also have to spend very little creating your community garden.

Invest in property shares

There are a number of large property companies out there that own large amounts of property to rent. Such companies sometimes sell shares to investors. While a large minimum investment is generally required, this can be an easy way of getting involved in real estate investment – you’re not investing in any assets yourself, but you’re still making money from real estate profits.