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Let me try to clarify pros and cons for both and at the end decision will be yours.Real Estate:Real estate is something that you can physically touch and feel – it's a tangible good and, therefore, for many investors, feels more real. For many decades this investment has generated consistent wealth and long term appreciation for millions of people. Depending on the location of your real estate, you can enjoy sizable returns on your investment. Real estate investment site The Real Estate Investing Social Network produces an annual real estate investment index for major U.S. cities. According to their latest index for 2016, the area with the best returns is Dallas, TX where real estate investors saw 20.7% in unleveraged returns. While your returns may not be Texas big, investing in real estate can be very lucrative.(For more insights on the long-term average annual returns on real estate, see: What average annual return is average for a long-term investment in the real estate sector?)There are two main types of real estate: commercial and residential. While other types exist (mobile home parks, strip malls, apartment buildings, office buildings, store fronts and single-family homes), they generally fall into those two categories. Making money in real estate isn't as cut-and-dry. Some people take the "home flipping" route – searching for distressed properties, refurbishing them and selling them for a profit at a higher market value. Others look for properties that can be rented to generate a consistent income.Generally, a down payment of up to 20% of the purchase price can be made, and the rest can be financed via a mortgage.Getting a mortgage to purchase a home gives you leverage, meaning that you can invest in different types of properties with less money down, helping to build your net worth or income that you could make off the properties. While this can be a positive, if this leverage is used incorrectly, you may owe more on the properties than they are actually worth. Thus, it is important to critically evaluate the terms of your loan and budget wisely.Advantages of Investing in Real EstateThere are many positive benefits to investing in real estate, including depreciation (writing off wear and tear of a commercial property), tax deductions and finally, you can sell the property through what is know as a 1031 exchange, and will not have to pay capital gains taxes, as long as you invest the money into a similar kind of property type.Disadvantages of Investing in Real EstateLike all investments, real estate also has its drawbacks. Most importantly, the investment is illiquid. When you invest in a property, you usually cannot sell it right away. In many cases, you may have to hold the property for several years to realize its true profit potential. Also, the closing cost can add up to thousands of dollars, and include taxes, commissions, and fees. Further, real estate prices have a tendency to fluctuate. While long-term prices generally increase, there are times when prices could go down or stay flat. If you have borrowed too much against the property, you may have trouble making the payment with a property that is worth less money than the amount borrowed on it.Finally, it's often hard to get diversified if investing in real estate. However, diversification is possible in real estate, provided that you do not concentrate on the same community and have a variety of different types of property. That being said, there is an additional way that you can be able to diversify in real estate through real estate investment trusts (REITs), under which you can purchase a trust that is invested in a large portfolio of real estate, and will offer you a dividend as a shareholder. However, in general, stocks offer more diversification because you can own many different industries and areas across the entire economy.Stocks:Using the S&P 500 as a benchmark to illustrate the performance of stocks, the stock market has had an average annual rate of return of 10.31% from 1970-2016. It's important to use this figure as just a benchmark for the performance of U.S. stocks though as there are several other major indexes globally.With a stock, you receive ownership in a company. When times are good, you will profit. During times of economic challenges, you may see diminishing funds as the earnings of the company drop. Taking a long-term approach and being balanced in many areas can help build your net worth at a much greater rate, compared with real estate.As with real estate, financing in stocks allows you to use margin as leverage to increase the overall amount of shares that you own. The downside is that, if the stock position falls, you could have what is known as margin call. This is where the equity, in relation to the amount borrowed, has fallen below a certain level and money must be added to your account to bring that amount back up. If you fail to do this, the brokerage firm can sell the stock to recover the amount loaned to you.The Advantage of StocksStocks are very liquid, quick and easy to sell. They are also flexible, and can even be reallocated into a retirement account – tax-free - until you start to withdraw the money. As well, many stocks can do considerably better than real estate in one year. Due to the volatility of some stocks, it is not unusual to see companies that are averaging 20% or even 50% growth in one year.The Disadvantages of StocksStocks can be very volatile, especially when the economy or the company is facing challenges. Also, stocks are often emotional investments, and your decisions within the market can often be irrational. Finally, bankruptcy is always in the back of the active stock investor's mind – as it should be, as your investment will be dissolved in this instance.The Bottom LineA good compromise when deciding between investing in the stock market and investing in real estate may be to own a REIT, which combines some of the benefits of stocks with some of the benefits of real estate. While each investment has its benefits and drawbacks, to decide which one would work well for you depends on your overall financial situation and level of comfort.Hope it clears your confusionSource: Real Estate Vs. Stocks: Which One's Right For You?

To maintain their real estate licenses in the state(s) where they operate, agents and brokers need to participate in defined amounts of continuing education (CE) each year or recurring time period. These requirements are set forth in state laws and are administered by state real estate commissions. The specific requirements, time frames, and due dates vary considerably across states—as do the requirements for obtaining a license, called pre-licensing, and supplemental one-time novice training, called post-licensing.Continuing education is an important part of the real estate license renewal process. These courses give agents a chance to expand their knowledge of the ever-evolving industry, learn new skills and get updates on changes in Texas real estate law.The education requirements depend on whether this is your first renewal period or a subsequent renewal period.During your first renewal period, you’ll need to meet the Sales Apprentice Education (SAE) requirements. And for all renewal periods after your first renewal, you’ll need to meet the Continuing Education (CE) requirements.Find For More Detail: Kevin Bratch

Entire volumes of tax advice could be unloaded trying to answer your questions. I think I hear the “beep, beep, beep” of an 18-wheeler backing up to offload the information now.Basically, you can use many, many deductions (like depreciation) to save on taxes. Many of these deductions are unique to real estate that a salaried employee never receives. These deductions associated with actively managed real estate can serve to offset other income you have causing a net tax savings otherwise not available.Warning: there’s no free lunch. Never invest in something solely for its tax savings. Invest in something (like real estate) only after you’ve studied the area fully and are comfortable with the risks associated with it (and the time and aggravation also associated with it). I see a lot of bad advice about how smart it is to use leverage (debt) to get rich in real estate. If life and the economy (and your tenants) all work out perfectly, then you’ll dodge a bullet. Otherwise, debt increases the risk of any investment exponentially. I never use debt for investing. Never. Also, many real estate investors and opinion writers love to proclaim the delicious goodness of being able to use depreciation as a way to save on taxes when owning real estate. That’s true—up to a point. Once you sell a fully depreciated asset, the IRS will introduce you to the concept of “depreciation recapture.” Your tax bill will eat up a lot of what you thought was a sweet free tax savings ride.Don’t misunderstand me. Real estate investing can be great. Just make sure you are fully informed about ALL aspects of it before you buy that foreclosed duplex at an auction. Lastly, I recommend you use an LLC (probably electing S-Corp tax status) to own your real estate holdings. This arrangement helps protect your personal assets should a renter slip and fall off your duplex’s porch because you “failed to inspect, repair, and/or maintain your premises.” You’ll probably want a “series LLC” to put each rental property into so each property is in its own self-contained entity. A lawsuit from one property won’t take down all the rest of your properties and your personal savings. Consult with a business planning attorney and a CPA BEFORE you start buying rental real estate. You’ll need a good commercial insurance agent and realtor too. (Yes, I use a realtor every time I buy a property even though in Texas as an attorney I can receive a realtor’s commission). I never cut out a realtor from her commission. A professional realtor is worth his or her weight in gold whether you’re buying your next home or rental property. Don’t cheap out. Hire professionals. You’ll be glad you did.