How can I make money without selling?

A: If you own your home and have sufficient equity, obtain a home equity line of credit (HELOC) on your property and then invest those dollars in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc. If you are paying 4 percent interest or less on the loaned money and are able to get anything above that — say 6 percent or even 10 percent in a good year — you will make money on those borrowed dollars.

Purchasing shares in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) can be a great way to invest in the market with relatively fewer risks. They generally have lower volatility than U.S. stocks.

Of course, my favorite suggestion is to become a licensed Realtor. I have been in this business for 44 years and it has provided me a solid income — in good markets and bad. I was a single mom with small children, and my willingness to work hard and learn my craft provided my family a very stable life. There are no glass ceilings as a Realtor, which was attractive to me when so many occupations were unavailable in the ’70s and ’80s because I was a woman. Our industry always has room for people of integrity and ethics willing to help others achieve their American dream of home ownership.

Other real estate industry-related occupations, including appraising, home inspection, escrow and title work, lending, property management and website design and implementation.

Jill Gumina, Hill & Co. Real Estate, (415) 265-1717, jgumina@hill-co.com. A: Working with buyers and sellers in the real estate business can be rewarding in many ways, but sometimes that is not the right position in this industry.

The first thing that comes to mind is the lending industry — being a loan agent at a bank, mortgage broker or mortgage banker. This job requires a special (NMLS) license, as does the appraiser’s job. A licensed appraiser can work independently or for a bank. There are many other opportunities, such as the title and escrow field.

Property management is huge and it can be managing apartments, buildings, homeowner’s associations and commercial spaces.

Another opportunity is being an assistant, preferably licensed, to a successful and busy agent or team. Most of the larger offices will have some sort of staff and marketing departments that assist in the agent’s marketing of homes for sale and the agent’s promotion.

The technology side of real estate has many possibilities, including working for websites, the Multiple Listing Services, software and more.

Then there is also training, coaching and educators for obtaining your license. Another rather large field is corporate relocation, with consultants helping people make their job moves.

There is also the local associations that have staff and executives offering help to the licensed agents that make up its membership. Jeannie Anderson, Pacific Union Real

Estate, (925) 586-6621, janderson@pacunion.com. A: Renting is the easiest way to generate passive income. The more units, the less a delinquent tenant affects your income.

Short-term rentals of spare rooms or renting your entire home while away on vacation can also bring in extra cash.

Raw land can be rented to farmers or made into an RV park without the upkeep costs of a building.

Many people lease oil, gas and mineral rights and amass wealth from land they’d otherwise not use.

Lending to people for more interest than a bank charges, who either need a quick source of capital or who can’t get financing for their real estate purchase, is called “hard money” lending and can be lucrative.

Given low interest rates, withdrawing cash from your equity to invest in a business opportunity could be a wise decision.

Your house could also be exactly what a producer needs for a film. Film producers often pay thousands of dollars a day to film in people’s homes.

Maitri Ratanasene, Paragon Real Estate Group,

(415) 215-5505, maitri@paragon-re.com.