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Everybody has a different theory about how best to win at Monopoly. Some say The Railroads are the answer, others the Utilities. For some it’s crucial to own Boardwalk and Park Place, and for others it’s the green and orange properties. When it comes to deciding on the best real estate investing program, you can learn a lot from Monopoly.

If you’re actively looking for the best real estate investing program, and you’re trying to decide whether to invest in houses or apartments, you could try approaching investing like you would approach a game of Monopoly. If nothing else, it will make for an interesting exercise.

When you own property in Monopoly, your primary goal is to acquire all of a particular color group, and your purpose is clear- to be able to build houses and, ultimately, hotels. The more houses, the higher the rents, and hotels allow rents that are higher still. This remains one of the best Monopoly strategies, and I believe it’s also the best real estate investing program for many people.

I consider a hotel in Monopoly to be roughly the equivalent of an apartment building.  

Following the Monopoly logic, you would begin by acquiring houses, both single family and duplexes. Using a combination of creative financing, rehabbing, and wholesaling, and being very careful to buy value, you would build up your cash and equity reserves. This is the first phase of the best real estate investing program.

In the second phase of the best real estate investing program, you would leverage this equity and cash into larger 3-5 unit apartment houses in appreciating neighborhoods. At the same time, you will be acquiring topnotch property management skills, and learning the ins and outs of 1031 exchanges and financing strategies.

Phase three would find you trading some of your mid-size apartment houses for large apartment buildings and multi-unit complexes, letting the economy of scale and the cumulative power of depreciation, appreciation, and cash flow make you a very wealthy Monopoly player.

Can you see why this may be the best real estate investing program of all?Over a 5-10 year period, making allowance for a mistake here and there, there’s no reason you couldn’t wind up controlling several million dollars worth of property, and several hundred rental units. Then your toughest decision may be whether to sell Connecticut Avenue and buy Park Place!

For more on getting started right, see The Best Real Estate Investing Program.

Now, go make more offers!