Investing in real estate doesn’t always mean buying homes to rent or flip, says Patrick Carroll, real estate investor. An investor new to real estate purchases can turn to real estate related-stocks for a safer investment tool than crowd funding real estate platforms or making co-operative purchases. Anyone can buy stocks while investing in real estate investment trusts requires designation as an accredited investor.

Widen Your Concept of Real Estate Stock

Beginning investors need to stick with reliable stocks that respected financial advisors and stockbrokers rely on for dependable dividends. Also, widen your notion of real estate because many new investors think in terms of apartment buildings or single-family homes. One of Yahoo Finance’s top picks, Crown Castle, Inc., owns 40,000 cell phone towers and 85,000 miles of fiber optics services. Trading as CCI on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), it sells a unique real estate stock that will likely grow in value as cell phone use continues to increase.

Consider Ongoing Needs

Just as people need places to live, they need to maintain their health, something that Welltower Inc. knows well. Trading as WELL, this top pick from U.S. News and World Report purchases and maintains health care facilities, including medical office buildings and assisted living centers.

Entertainment Facility REITs

For investors who wished they owned a Las Vegas casino, there’s VICI Properties, Inc., trading as VICI. It owns Caesar’s Palace, the Mandalay Bay Resort, and the MGM Grand Las Vegas. This surprisingly affordable stock lets new investors own some of the arguably coolest real estate in the U.S.

How Real Estate Stocks Make Money

Different companies use different business models. Some businesses buy real estate, improve it, and then rent it, such as Welltower. Others, such as VICI Properties, purchase and operate resort properties and related hospitality industry businesses in their complexes. Companies like Crown Castle purchase industrial real estate, and then lease its use. Most real estate-related stocks earn money when the company purchases multifamily housing and rents the apartments or condos. Increased property equity and rental income provide dividends for the stockholders.

Finding Your First Real Estate Stock

Before you make a purchase, do your own research. Stockbrokers earn commissions from sales they make to stockholders, so consider recommendations by researching them yourself. Start with resources like the Money section of the U.S. News and World Report website, which ranks each stock with easy-to-understand ratings, such as Safe, Safer, Safest, and Top Performers. Start with a small purchase and learn how to trade. Keep in mind that real estate stock falls into the category of a buy-and-hold investment, so make plans to keep your purchased stock for at least seven years.