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Why Invest in Property?

Introduction
Interest rates for savers generally follow inflation trends and statistics show that these gains are always positive unless you are very unlucky. The reason why so many people invest in Banks is because they are usually a safe bet. Indeed, often your savings will be guaranteed.
Money in a savings account is usually a safe investment but the return can sometimes be limited for the investor when compared to other options.
There are many opportunities for investment depending on the level of risk an individual is prepared to take. These forms of investment might include stocks and shares, endowment insurance policies, pensions etc. We are focusing our attention on the property market where our expertise is. Stability of Property Values
In real terms although property markets do suffer from peaks and troughs, property does increase in value in the long term. Recently in some areas, property prices have actually gone down, this is due to the economy which has an effect on supply and demand. An over supply of property can easily reduce property prices when the property market is struggling.
Property prices do go down but history has shown that they always recover and they are stable in the long term. Steady or significant increases in property prices are usually the norm.
Whilst there can be no guarantee that property prices will increase over say, a one year period it is generally accepted that a well maintained property in a reasonable area will appreciate in value.Interesting Statistics
The following statistics make interesting reading:

 

7 Reasons Why Property Can Become the Perfect Investment

When many people hear the term ‘property investment’ they automatically think of what they have read in the papers: falling house prices, fluctuating interest rates and the failing economy.They see this press. Take it to its word. And forget that hidden beneath its outer exterior the property investment market has got a lot to offer. It is not inaccessible either. All it takes to access the true potential of the property market is the knowledge to know where to look and ‘know how’ to make it happen.  Remember, despite all the hype, property is still an investment vehicle. A vehicle that gives investors – we mean you – the flexibility to control your involvement and how much time you invest within them.Take a look at stocks. Do you really understand how they work? Not many of us do, but we still invest in them because we know there is profit.But imagine what you could achieve with an investment that you could completely control? No worries. No fear. But knowing exactly where you.Well with property you can. Your choices will be endless.Real Estate Stocks and Mortgage instrumentsNow if you wanted to be a passive investor this is the route to take. Here you can place funds into the stock market in the form of equities of major national homebuilder firms, and they will do the rest for you.Or alternatively you can follow another investment strategy: discounted notes.The rules to this investment are simple.  Sellers quite often are quite happy to accept a mortgage from a buyer to begin with but later want to convert it to cash. To do this they need to sell the note to an investor – you – at a discount. And the rest? Well. Whilst they are free of the mortgage, you will be receiving monthly repayments from the buyer – when you have never even seen the house. How simple is that?Appreciation of property valuesThis one is the more traditional routes and one we’d most recommend if you plan to sell your properties later on.Take the current financial climate. You can now invest in properties at 70-80% of their original value without a second thought. Giving you instant free equity.Now consider this. After investing you decide to either rent your property out or live in it yourself. Over time, your property investment will begin to appreciate in value, and if it is anything like what we have experienced before, you will have access to a property that is greater in value than the top properties of 2007.And if you do eventually sell, you will not only experience a return on your investment… you’ll have that initial extra equity to boot too.General Price inflation in the economyEven if your properties are not appreciating in value – as properties are doing now – this is not the end of your property investment. No. Their value can also be affected by economic inflation.So let’s just say for example that you are developing some properties. If the cost of labour and materials is continually rising, then the cost to build an identical property could be more than the original. And if each property you build in one area is costing a bit more each time, then in turn their value as a complete development site will have risen.Meaning at the end your property values will be higher than they were to begin with.Cash flow and mortgage repaymentsCompared to traditional investments that require some money on your part to maintain and pay for them, with rental properties you don’t have to deal with that. Your tenants will essentially pay your repayments for you, whilst giving you an additional positive cash flow each and every month too.With figures like these it is easy to see why property is considered a stronger investment than stocks and a bank account – the gains are much more profitable.And here is the best part. Even if your rental income covers only the mortgage repayments. No more. No less. You will still have the joy of watching the equity in your property grow over time.Buying below market valueLook in the papers and you’ll read many reports of investors who are selling up in the current financial climate in order to maintain their profits. This is a big mistake on their part, but one you can take advantage of. You see they will be so keen to access the equity from it, they will be happy to sell it to you for below value. Great!Then there are other cases when a property has gone into a foreclosure. To sell the property and get their money back, lenders will often take less than the market value so that they can avoid any further marketing expense and begin again with a clear slate.Now here is the advice you have been waiting for… Find one of these properties and you will immediately enter into an equity position, purely based on profits.So if you do spot one… gets investing and buys low. The long terms profits will be incredible.Converting the use of your propertyImagine investing in a run down 5 bed property and being able to convert it into student accommodation or 2 apartments. You could potentially increase your rental income and benefit from having multiple tenants all within one property. Meaning there will always be someone living in your rental property.This is what is so great about property investment. You can do a similar thing to any type of property. Take for example this concept. You have just invested in some apartments that currently have low rental yields.With a little remodelling, you can convert these said apartments into condominiums, and nearly double your rental yields.Create new valueEvery region or neighbourhood goes through a price fluctuation at some point. So spotting a potential hot spot – before its property prices have increased – can be quite profitable.In this one area you can build up your property portfolio and sit back and watch as your properties appreciate in value. Perfect!Get the picture – property investment can offer you consistent ‘positive’ cash flows every single month, plus can come in all shapes and forms for you to choose from.So if you are looking to invest in rental properties consider your options for a moment. There is more to property investment than meets the eye.

Discount Property Listings

If you really interested in investing on the real estate market, then the best thing to do is find discount property offers. However, there are many resources out there and for someone who is a first-timer the avalanche of information can be quite burdening. Don’t fret, as you have professional ready to help you discover interesting facts about property investment. You can start by joining a property club and checking out the offers they send to you!How does being a member of a property investment club work out for you? It’s simple. You are a member; they send a list of discount property offers to you. You look at what they have to present and decide whether you are interested in investing or not. There is nothing to lose and you can definitely find some pretty interesting properties sold below market value. These companies have extensive experience on the real estate market and they can definitely discover many exciting offers. It depends on you if you want to jump in the offers.Property investment requires experience and a fairly good knowledge of the real estate market. You cannot jump on the first opportunity that you come across, hoping that it will be a success in the near future. This is where a company that specializes in offering discount property comes in. They have realistic expectations and know how to choose the right properties for investing. The years of experience ensures their credibility, making all of their clients perfectly satisfied with the listings sent to them.Even if a discount property is found, there are many things to take into consideration before investing. As property investment is their main area of expertise, these guys will do all the research for you and present with important information about things like financing and development. They will take care of you and your needs, offering discount property listings on a regular basis. All you have to do is look at the overseas properties they send and pick out your favorites. They deal a lot with emerging real estate markets and this is why you will probably notice that there are lots of properties in tourist areas. These guarantee a great return investment.What you have to understand about a company that specializes in property investment is that they do not offer unrealistic opportunities. They base their offerings on careful and extensive research, guaranteeing profit for discount property at all times. These properties are sold below market value at impressive discounts, as they have been in distress for some time now or repossessed by the bank. There are many benefits when it comes to working with such a professional company and you will have to discover them as each day passes.Deciding to enter the world of property investment is a big thing to consider. However, taking into consideration the benefits offered, it seems to be worth it. You can easily become the owner of a discount property that is located overseas and start cashing in the profit. Finding a professional company is only the first step and you have to continue by checking their offers on a regular basis, deciding which properties are more suitable for your investment needs!Resource box: If you are looking for property investment, then you are in the right place. Become a member today and you will receive discount property offers on your email every day. Are you ready to start investing?

Off Plan Property Investment â?? The Future of Property Development

Property investors have long been buying off plan â?? that is buying a property before it has even been built.

At the initial stage of a development project properties are sold at heavily reduced prices, far below market value, to attract early buyers. Developers use this income to help finance the project and as extra assurance to their creditors.

Investors stand to make a killing by reselling completed properties at market value, while others buy to rent, settle down or to use the property as a holiday home. Depending on the purpose of the investment, buyers need to take into consideration a number of factors. While an investor buying to resell will benefit from a low price, ensuring a certain quality standard is essential so as to make the finished property attractive to the end buyer, typically private people seeking a holiday home or a place to settle down.

When buying to rent, price is key to achieving the highest yearly return with quality much less important as rental properties tend to get damaged much quicker than private properties.

When  intending to live in the specific property, buying without having seen a finished property in the development can be a risky venture as dimensions and the look and feel of a property are hard to gauge from a piece of paper.  To avoid disappointment, it may viable to buy at a later stage and slightly increased cost when a sample property in the actual development can be viewed. Infrastructure and utility issues should also be taken into consideration.

Regardless of the purpose of an off plan purchase, buyers should always carefully assess the market and country in which they are planning on buying. Popular markets include Brazil, France, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Brazil and Argentina. Turkey looks to be one of the most promising markets with Turkish banks eager to provide mortgages and property prices said to have hit rock bottom and expected to quickly start recovering.

Whether buying to resell, to rent, settle down or to have a holiday home, off plan property investment seems a great opportunity as long as the project is careful planned and researched.

Residential Investment Property: Some Reasons For Its Rising Popularity

Residential investment property has gained immense popularity over the past decade. Owing to the increase in demand for rental accommodation, and the resulting rise in rental income, more investors are likely to dive in the residential property business. However, not all residential properties are profitable investments, and some investors might lose money if they don’t choose with discretion.
When you set out to purchase a residential investment property, your key intent should be to leverage, in order to cut down on personal costs, and to acquire an income generating asset. Typically, you should invest in a property whose rental income will cover its entire mortgage and operating expenses. Such a property is said to be “self-funding”. Once the mortgage is repaid you have two options – you may continue to reap the benefits of a steady rental income, or you may sell the property at market value (provided the property has experienced appreciation) and invest elsewhere.
In general, there are two primary sources of income from any residential investment property: yield and capital gain.
Yield is the expected annual rental return, which is expressed as a percentage of the purchase price. For instance, if the purchase price of a property is $100,000 and its expected annual rental return is $8,000, yield is said to be 8%. The yield, in combination with the terms of the mortgage, determines the personal expense on the part of the investor, in order to acquire the property.
Capital gain is the appreciation in value of a property. Or in other words, the profit accrued from selling an asset. It is expressed as growth rate in percent on an annual basis. Capital gains are generally estimated from the movements in average property prices.
It is wise to analyze both the capital gain and yield potential when selecting a residential investment property. The typical problem faced by you as an investor would be that high yielding properties normally offer low capital gains, and vice versa. You should strike a balance between yield and capital gain, such that it best suits your investment goals. What constitutes the right balance depends on your expected capital gain and yield.
It is recommended that your expected returns from a residential investment property be based on a comprehensive analysis of current trends and market conditions. It isn’t advisable to rely on intuitions when scads of money are involved.
On the whole, a residential investment property is a viable investment option if the returns meet your expectations, and exceed those attainable from other possible sources of investment.
Copyright © 2006 Joel Teo. All rights reserved.

So You Want to Invest in UK Property?

Commercial Property Market Value Directs Investments

When looking at an investment, it is important that you consider its commercial property market value. Market value is a very slippery term, and can differ widely depending on how you compute it. Opinions of marketable value can vary greatly. The realtor may think a location has a certain value, but the appraisal might be completely different.
If nobody is willing to pay the amount you have placed on a property, then that is obviously not its true business worth. Additionally complicating things, you can expect the projected business worth to change almost constantly.
Generally, the market value can be defined as the maximum amount that a property will sell for in a “regular” transaction – with both parties fully informed and knowledgeable, and no outside issues affecting the transaction.
Frequently, though, if someone is buying real estate, they have a variety of factors affecting their decision, and a lot of different mental processes that lead them to the final decision. The best real estate agents are able to fully understand these mental processes to facilitate smooth transactions between the buyer and the seller.
But if you are not dealing directly with a buyer, you will have to do your best to estimate the commercial property market value. You can use a number of tools to do this for you.
In fact, many companies offer property analysis services that will tell you how likely an investment is to make profitable returns. They will require some basic information about the property, and you may have to find out some information about the local real estate market, but once you have that information, the process will be very easy.
You can quickly determine if a commercial property market value will lead to returns on your investment, or if the demand is too poor to merit investing.
While it is impossible to get an exact amount that will guarantee a lucrative sale, it is definitely worth it to attempt to estimate a figure.
Once you have a basic figure that you expect to earn from a commercial property, you will be able to plan the future of your investments more accurately. Whether you earn more or less than you expected, you are still likely to make a profit near your estimate.
This is very helpful, particularly if you want to decide what you will be doing with the returns on an investment – i.e. if you decide to re-invest the money into different properties.
If you want to get into the real estate business, you should carefully plan how you are going to figure out the commercial property market value of your prospective investments.
You can estimate it on your own, or you can pay for expensive appraisals on properties that you haven not even decided you want yet. Or, you can use a property analysis service, and make it easy to estimate the commercial property market value.
You can use formulas, software, guides, and any other tools that are offered. It makes the process easier, and it definitely pays for itself.

Decide Commercial Property Market Value Before Investing

Commercial property is often used as a source of profit for investors. It can provide great returns with a minimal amount of work. If you are interested in buying commercial real estate, it is important to determine how much the property is worth in terms of market value. This way you will know whether a certain piece of land will be a profitable investment or not.
What is a Commercial Property?
Commercial property consists of buildings and land that is specifically zoned for business uses, and not for residential living. This includes all sorts of establishments like industrial buildings, offices and hotels. Things like hospitals, malls, golf courses, self-storage units, and independent retail stores are all meant for commercial purposes. They generate profit for investors either through rental income or from capital gains, when resold at a higher price.
Use the Gross Rent Multiplier (GRM) to Determine Value
The value of a commercial property is based on several factors. For instance, more the building generates rental income the more valuable it is in general. This is affected by the location, whether it is in a busy popular area of a business district or whether it is on the outskirts of a town, easily accessible or just out of the way. The property’s worth is also determined by the value of neighboring buildings as well as how much of the similar type of real estate is available in a given area.
Certainly you can find out the market value of the commercial property by hiring a real estate professional, but you can make your own quick calculations to get a rough idea about the worth of a particular estate. This can be done by using this formula:
Market Value= Annual Gross Rent * Gross Rent Multiplier
To use this formula you will obviously need to find out some basic information about the land from the seller or from real estate agent listing the building. You will need to find out how much revenue the property brings in each year in rental income. That is the annual gross income.
The GRM is a ratio of a property’s sales price divided by its annual gross rents. To determine the GRM on your own, you need to get hold of a several listings for properties that are similar to the one you are considering. You find the GRM or each one and average them all together.
Once you have the GRM you will be able to figure out the approximate market value of an investment property. For example, if you know that the its rental incomes total is $100,000 for the year and the average GRM for similar properties is 8, than the value of your prospective investment land is $800,000. Using this formula is pretty accurate, and it will help you as you try to narrow down your selection of buildings to buy. Yet when it’s time to actually buy the building, you will need a professional appraiser to satisfy the requirements of your investment loan.

Finding Below Market Value Property

The property investment market is currently in a challenging environment. It’s hard to obtain a mortgage at the moment unless you have a huge deposit. The only way to stay in the game is to source and buy below market value property. Depending on the property and the seller it’s possible to buy property up to 30% below market value. There are below market value properties available all over the country the only problem is finding them. There are three main ways of sourcing these properties. You can go to an auction, find sellers yourself or use a specialist company that deals in below market value property. Sellers usually choose to sell their properties below market value because they need to sell quickly. This could be due to the threat of repossession, bankruptcy or other financial problems.   Auctions are ideal places for motivated sellers who need to sell quickly due to financial pressure. The seller sets a reserve and if it is met or exceeded the house is sold. It generally takes no time at all to complete and there is no pulling out or negotiation involved. If you hate the thought of bidding and competing at an auction you can simply wait until the end and check out the properties that did not sell. You face little or no competition and can buy at the sale price. You can also use specialist companies to source below market value properties. They negotiate the price and manage the sale from beginning to end. As well as this they also make sure you have a tenant and in some cases guarantee the rent for a period of time. Below market value properties are ideal investments if you are looking for good returns. You can either let them or refurbish and flip the property for a decent profit.