Government Programs For Real Estate Investors

When getting started in real estate investing, the biggest obstacle for most people is that they don’t have a lot of money at their disposal to buy investment properties. The U.S. government has some programs that can help you get started if you meet their qualifications. The Federal
Housing Administration (FHA) and the Veterans Administration
(VA) offer programs for beginning real estate investors.

Real estate investing and the FHA
The FHA is a government loan insurance program that is
open to any American who qualifies. These qualifications are not hard to meet, just about anyone should be able to qualify for this program. The investment properties can be up to 4 units and require a down payment of 3% of the purchase price. Of course there can be other costs involved, but the FDA will require that the seller help you with that. There are other ways to lower your costs even more at closing that I will get into later on.


Real estate investing and VA Loans
Another program the government has that can help you with beginning real estate investing is Veterans Administration (VA) loans. Of course this will only be beneficial to you if you have served in the military. Veterans can purchase a home with no money down. it’s a great program for those who qualify.

Tax Breaks from Uncle Sam
The U.S. government helps the aspiring real estate investor by giving tax breaks and incentives through the IRS. You get to deduct money that you used to maintain  or upgrade the investment property as well as other benefits like the interest on mortgage payments.


1031 exchange
One more great tax break that government provides is when you sell an investment property, you can put your equity into another investment property and not have to pay any taxes on the profit that you made with the sale. Its called a tax deferred or a 1031 exchange. It is not a one time thing either, you can do this as many times as you wish, without penalty. This means even more equity for you, the real estate investor.

I should point out that you don’t get to skip paying the taxes altogether, you are just delaying paying to increase your equity and profit potential. Use the government, let it work for you.