There are so many different ways to invest in real estate (without even buying property) that there is room for almost everyone to be a real estate investor in some way.
Your money is pooled with other investors’ money and is used to purchase real estate properties. The REIT manages the property, and you get the benefits of the cash flow and appreciation generated by the physical property owned by the REIT.
Crowdfunding is similar to a REIT. Fund managers pool your money to buy either a single property or multiple properties. The profits from renovating, operating and eventually selling the real estate get divided among the investors.
One way to participate in hard money loans online is through a platform called Groundfloor. Groundfloor creates the loans to the real estate flippers, and you can invest as little as $10 to own a piece of the loan and collect the interest.
Similar to hard money lending, becoming a money partner means you are bringing the cash to the table, and the other party is bringing the deal (and usually managing the renovation or operation of the property).