How to Invest in Real Estate as a Beginner (Even With $10)

Here’s how each route works, what it costs and who it’s for, from smallest check to biggest.

Fundrise: real estate funds from $10

Fundrise pools money from lots of investors into private real estate funds. You pick a plan, put money in, and it’s spread across properties for you.

Fundrise

Best for: starting with almost nothing

What it is

An app that puts your money into private real estate funds.

What you do

Pick a plan, fund it and leave it. You can add more anytime, but you don’t have to.

How much it pays

Returns aren’t fixed. It costs you a 0.15% advisory charge plus a 0.85% management charge on the real estate funds, so about $10 a year for every $1,000 invested.

The catch

It’s built to be long term. Most funds let you ask for your money quarterly, and eREIT shares held under 5 years carry about a 1% penalty.

Worth it? Yes if you want real estate in your portfolio for $10 and you won’t need the money for years.

Start with Fundrise

You don’t need to be an accredited investor (rich, on paper) to use it. You do need to be 18 or older with US residency and a US tax ID. IRAs start at $1,000.

Arrived: own a slice of rental homes from $100

Arrived buys single-family rentals and vacation rentals, then sells shares of each one. You pick the actual houses you want a piece of, or buy into one of its funds. Arrived handles the tenants and repairs.

Arrived

Best for: picking specific rental homes

What it is

A platform that sells shares of rental homes and vacation rentals.

What you do

Pick a property or a fund, buy shares and collect your share of the rental income it pays out.

How much it pays

Returns aren’t fixed. The minimum is $100 on every offering. Arrived charges 0.1% to 0.30% of your investment per quarter depending on the product, roughly $1 to $3 a quarter per $1,000.

The catch

You’re locked in for at least 6 months. After that, you can list shares in a monthly trading window or ask for redemptions quarterly on the funds, with no guarantee anyone buys.

Worth it? Only if you like picking actual houses and you’re fine leaving the money in for years.

Browse Arrived homes

REITs: the boring, easy-out option

A REIT is a company that owns real estate and pays out most of its profit to shareholders. Publicly traded REITs (and REIT index funds) trade like stocks, so you can buy them in the brokerage account you might already have and sell any day the market’s open.

That’s the big difference from Fundrise and Arrived: you can get out fast. The trade-off is the price moves with the stock market every day. Thinking about crypto instead? Here’s where to buy Bitcoin for the lowest fees, and it swings a lot harder than a REIT.

House hacking: the classic way to start

This is how a lot of people buy their first rental. You buy a duplex, triplex or fourplex, live in one unit and rent out the others. The rent from your tenants covers part (or all) of the mortgage.

The reason it works is the FHA loan. FHA says your down payment can be as low as 3.5% of the purchase price, and it’s available on 1 to 4 unit properties. HUD says scores of 580 and up qualify for the max financing, while scores of 500 to 579 can borrow up to 90% of the value.

The rule you can’t skip: FHA loans are for homes you live in. At least one borrower has to move in within 60 days of closing and plan to stay for at least a year. FHA won’t insure a loan set up just to buy investment properties.

Want to fix up a beat-up place? FHA’s 203(k) loan rolls the repair costs into the mortgage.

The steps, in the right order

1. Build an emergency fund first. Water heaters die on their own schedule.
2. Get pre-approved by a lender before you shop. Agents and sellers want to see it.
3. Shop location before price. A cheap place in the wrong area stays empty.
4. Always pay for a home inspection. Never skip it.
5. Run the numbers with real costs: mortgage, taxes, insurance, repairs and the months a unit sits empty.
6. Set up a separate bank account for rents and expenses from day one.

The part nobody puts on Instagram: you live next to your tenants. Late rent, noise and a 2 a.m. leak all become your problem. Some people love it. Plenty don’t.

What about renting on Airbnb?

If you already own a place or have a spare room, short-term renting can bring in more per night than a long-term lease, with a lot more work. Here’s our honest guide to becoming an Airbnb host, costs included.

So which one should you pick?

Got $10 to $1,000 and zero interest in being a landlord? Fundrise or Arrived. Want to be able to sell any day? REITs in a brokerage. Ready to live next to your tenants to build real equity? House hacking.

None of these is fast money. If you need cash this month, real estate is the wrong tool. Check what’s paying right now, or set up a few passive income apps while your investments do their thing.

FAQ