“Don’t wait to buy real estate; buy real estate and wait.” In today’s economy, it’s hard to beat the case for using real estate as a way to grow wealth. Just ask Warren Buffett, who recently recommended the investment strategy of buying single-family homes--complete with a 30-year mortgage--over purchasing stocks. Investment property “is as an attractive an investment as you can make now.” If he could figure out a way to manage a couple hundred thousand single-family rental homes, he said, he’d snap them up.

Luckily for most of us non-moguls, a few long-term investment properties are plenty to meet our needs. Want to save money for retirement? Put your kids through college? Grow assets for your grandchildren? With low interest rates, an inventory of reasonably priced houses, and a pool of quality renters, now is the time to buy.

Market conditions, including low mortgage interest rates and reasonable home prices, make this an opportune time to start investing in real estate. But if you’ve never owned rental property before, the prospect can be daunting. After all, buying a house is not as simple as signing a check for another Roth IRA. Learning about the process, and having an agent act as your resource, is a great way to start. Want to do a little research first? Check out Hold: How to Find, Buy, and Keep Real Estate, a new publication to hit bookshelves this month. The book covers topics from analyzing a prospective property to finding good tenants for your rental homes. I have several copies, and will give away three to the first people who email me with “Hold” in the subject line. We also regularly hold investor workshops at Keller Williams Key Partners, where we address topics such as:

How to use lease-purchases to increase cash flow

VRBO: How renters can pay off your retirement home

Buying real estate for your grandchildren

Our 0% vacancy program

Long-term real estate investing is just that: long-term. There are no get-rich-quick schemes, no shortcuts to wealth. But if you want to grow your assets over time, consider investing in real estate now.