What Assets Can Generate Real Income in the Long Run?

Within the past decade or so, investing for income has become more of a challenge. United States treasury bonds in the last 10 years haven’t seen yields greater than five percent since prior to the Great Recession. Likewise, during the last few years, both government and corporate bonds have had less of a yield as well.

This is in spite of the stock market booming during the same time. As of now, Standard & Poor’s 500 index delivers a dividend yield of under two percent throughout constituent companies. Although smaller stocks are more volatile and offer larger dividends, they also carry greater risks. Perhaps that’s why investors have steadily been relying on real assets for income. There are five ways for investors to receive regular real income that should be considered.

Rental Properties

Pew Research reports that now, more people than ever in the United States are renting property than any other time in history. As a result, there has never been a better time than now to become a landlord if you are able to purchase a property and rent it to others.

Receiving rent from tenants is a great way to earn income on a regular basis. However, it’s important to also keep in mind that being a landlord means you must make repairs if anything on the property requires fixing. You also have to chase after tenants who don’t pay their rent or pay it on time. If you keep the property well maintained and have the right tenant, you can earn a lot of money as a landlord.

You can also receive a generous return on your investment if you purchase a property that appreciates in total value over time if you sell it after you no longer rent it out.

Storage Facilities

If you prefer to avoid dealing with tenants and making home repairs, you might want to consider renting storage facilities instead of an apartment or other type of home. While the initial money you pay toward the facility may be more, you can really earn a good investment. Dealing with storage facilities is also easier than dealing with a rental property. All you have to do is collect money from people renting space in the storage facility. If a person defaults, all you have to do is take the contents of a storage locker and auction it off as long as you have a contract explicitly giving you the right to do so.

Mineral Rights

You can also earn good income from real estate in the form of mineral rights when such resources are located on or under said property. The minerals can be something like oil or gas. If you have property in areas where those resources are available, an energy company will pay you to drill for the resources.

It’s important to thoroughly do your research if you choose to invest in a property for rights to the minerals on it.

Farmland

Owning farmland is another excellent way to generate income. Modern farming technology makes it easier than ever to run a farm if you have the money to buy tractors and other items you need. You also don’t necessarily have to work the land on your own or arise at the crack of dawn to earn income. You can rent out some of the property to other farmers and allow them to use their own equipment. While finding a tenant who is a farmer isn’t always possible, you may be able to rent property on the farmland to earn a nice return.

Intellectual Property

Although it may not seem like an actual, real asset, intellectual property is definitely property. If it’s a song, patent or blueprint, it is property. To earn money from an intellectual property, you don’t have to be an inventor or artists of any type to earn income from royalties. Instead, you can license someone else’s work.

Websites like Royalty Exchange auction the rights to music, while others like Ocean Tomo auction off intellectual property and patents of a variety of items. Of course, any intellectual property you want to own costs money. However, you must spend money in order to really make a good income off of it through royalties.