Any type of investment that you make should be done with careful consideration, planning and understanding of the risk associated with it. The last thing you want to do is invest your own money into a project that doesn’t have a good return on your investment. In order to increase your chances of a successful investment, keep an eye out for potential financing resources to help you analyze and assess the risk and reduce the chance of the investment failing.

For investors, there are a variety of different financing options and resources available to help you increase your chances of a successful investment and fund the investment. These resources can vary based on the type of investing you want to do, your preferred method of learning, and the level of access you have to each type.

Investment Based Websites

There are a seemingly endless amount of online websites that specialize in investing. Whether you’re investing in real estate, the stock market, through a bank, or any other type of investing, there is bound to be a website that will help you understand everything there is to know about it. Some websites will provide instruction for beginners to better understand what it means to invest and how to do it, others will provide statistical data and analytics to assess the risk of your investment, and more.

To get started, below are a few investment oriented websites:

• Investopedia – includes a tutorial for new investors.
• Motley Fool – includes a variety of further investment resources (website, books, news, radio, newsletter, and more).
• Blackrock Blog – a blog oriented around investing.
• CNN Money – helps you to stay on top of the market and its trends.
• Kiplinger – has information on business forecasts and personal finance. Includes free email updates while other portions of the website require a subscription.
• The Street – includes a variety of newsletters that help investors stay on top of market trends and provide additional investment advice.

There are many more investing websites available today on the web. The more specific you can get about the type of investing you want to do, the better resources you’ll be able to find online.

Books About Investing

When you’re new to investing and trying to learn what it means to invest, how to actually go about investing, and want to find the best practices of investing to minimize risk, look for books that focus on investing. Whether you’re investing in the stock market or investing in real estate, you can find countless books and e-books around your specific area of investment.

For example, you could go to Amazon and search for “investing” to find thousands of results based on investing. To get better results, make sure to search for the type of investing that you want to do (e.g., “real estate investing”). If you’re on the go or don’t want to have to worry about carrying books everywhere, check to see if the book you are interested in has an e-book version that will allow you to download it to you phone, tablet or kindle.

Software for Investing

As investors get more involved in their investing, they can begin to look for software designed specifically for analyzing investment opportunities and tracking various investments they’ve made. These tools and applications will help investors make better decisions while helping them to see different angles of their potential (or existing) investment in a property, market, or other type of investment.

Local Investing Experts

It’s one thing to be able to find resources online, books about investing, or software to assist you with the investing process and assessing risk. Without a lot of experience, it can still be difficult to choose the type of investment you should embark on, figuring out how to finance your investment, and how to get the most out of your investment choice.

Ask around and see if any of your friends, family, neighbors or community members knows any proficient investors in your area. There may already be someone in your very city that has learned a lot about investing already, or better yet has already gathered some experience under their belt.

Having a small network of local investors that are only a call or email away can be a great boon for your investments. You can talk to each of them, learn what their personal strengths are, the trial-and-errors that they’ve had in their own investment career, and can get direct insight behind their choices and the resources that they use in their normal investing life.

Real Estate Investment Financing Options

When choosing to finance a real estate investment, you have a few options available. The most common options are bank financing, private lenders, and credit line agreements. There are other options available, but these three are among the most popular financing options available.

Bank Financing

When a real estate investor needs additional funding, it’s common for them to go to a bank to have their investment assessed. Lenders from a bank will look at income statements and tax returns, including personal and professional balance sheets over the course of the past 5 years. The better your income and credit history is, the more likely you are to succeed with bank financing.

Private Lenders

A private lender could either be a lending agent from a professional organization or someone you trust, like friends, family, neighbors, or co-workers. Private lenders are a great alternative to bank financing if a lender from the bank refuses to fund your real estate investment.

Credit Line Agreements

Popular for investors who have already gotten started and already owns an investment property, a bank may be willing to open a line of credit for you if you meet certain conditions (e.g., if the first property is paid off or if you have enough equity in the property). This form of financing can be lucrative, but is also more risky than the other alternatives.

There are a variety of other financing options available for both residential and commercial investors. Each one has its own pros and cons, so make sure to weigh all of the options before getting started with investing. As always, contacting a professional will help you to make more informed decisions.