Property investing can be viewed as a complicated subject, however that's only since there are so many choices to make. When you invest, you have an almost infinite number of manners in which to earn money. That, however, entails being able to make choices. You have to choose how much you'll educate yourself about each aspect of real estate investing, whom to add to your team, where to find properties, whether a particular property is the right one for you—and on and on.

A key decision you'll find yourself faced with is what you'll do with a property once you have bought it. You may not be the kind of real estate investor who wants to buy a property and hold on to it for a long time. You may not want to deal with property managers and renters or to see to the upkeep of a property. If these things don't appeal to you in the slightest, the other option at your disposal is flipping.

Flipping a property is simply selling it as soon as you purchase, perhaps even at the same closing. At the latest, flippers generally begin the selling process the day of the sale. Some flippers even start the process before they even own the property, which is risky business. However one goes about doing it, flipping always involves a mad rush to the auction block, as a vacant property is always a liability.

However, when you hold a property, you have the chance to raise that property's value. If you get a really great deal, the money you have spent on the property will probably be a drop in the bucket compared to the amount you can potentially make off it. And when you finally decide to go ahead and sell it, you'll be able to do so at your leisure and get more than you would have by flipping.

This is true particularly if your property is a multi-family residence such as an apartment high-rise. If it is the right property in the right location, and you take care of it, occupancy is probably going to stay high. With a property like that, your earnings tend to grow exponentially. If you manage your property well, that is almost guaranteed.

Speaking of management, you'll have to choose whether you'll do that yourself or hire a management company to do it for you. If you own an especially sizable property, or if you own many properties, you'll need to hire a manager. Ken McElroy, author of “The ABCs of Real Estate Investing,” advises that you hire a real estate management company so that your time and effort will be used more efficiently elsewhere.

These are the sorts of things you'll need to keep in mind if you hold a property.

In the end, however, no matter whether you decide to flip a property or hold it hinges mainly on how you'd prefer to spend your time. Maybe you thrive on the fast paced workday that flipping represents. Maybe this rush feels exciting to you. If this is the case, you ought to learn the proper way to flip properties (i.e., wait till you own a property to sell it and don't approach buyers at the very closing where you purchased a property).

However, if the concept of maintaining a property appeals to you, then purchasing and holding might be the way to go. Depending on your particular talents, you may be able to make more money working one way as opposed to another. It's completely up to you.