It is said that real estate has created more millionaires in the United States than any other investment class. Whether or not this is true is debatable. However, it is certain that real estate investments can be very profitable or very disastrous. Why? It has to do with the way real estate investments are normally made. Do you remember the financial leverage that you get from buying stocks on margin? With real estate, the leverage is normally enormous. We also take a look at Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) which are vehicles that allow you to invest in real estate without having to deal with toilet or tenant problems.