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Author: Keith McGregor Article source: http://www.articlesfactory.com/. Used with author's permission.
Are you considering investing in property in the near future?
Whether you are an experienced landlord or looking at taking your
first steps on the property investment ladder you are probably being
advised to seriously consider investing with the "state of the market
at the moment"
Is this a valid argument?
You have probably been told by a property investment
broker or company that there is never a bad time to invest in property
as long as you are in it for the long term.
The reason for this is that statistically, over the long term, property
prices have always increased at a rate of around 5% per year.
There is no doubt that making a profit out of property investment is
a lot more attainable if you give yourself 10 years to do it.
If however, you are looking at making significant profit in the short term then you could be in for a shock!
If you are buying a property
to live in the increase or decrease in property prices will not affect
you as dramatically as someone with a large and highly geared portfolio.
If your family house increases in value £50,000 over 3 years and you
decide to sell, don't forget that unless you are downsizing, other
houses similarly prices or higher priced have also increased in value!
There is no doubt at the moment that the market is on the buyer's
side. With prices of property down on average £5,000 last month and
fewer and fewer buyers visiting estate agents, many buyers may be
desperate.
Couple this with interest rate rises and a lot more repossessions
coming onto the market than at any time in the last few years,
discounts off of property are most definitely easier to attain.
What steps can be taken to make sure you are in profit at the end of the year?
Due Diligence.
This is a word that has been used more an more frequently in property investment.
It basically means thoroughly researching your chosen investment.
This includes:
- Studying property prices over a sustained period of time.
- Making yourself known to estate agents and property investment companies.
- Making a list of questions that you need answered by any agent
when looking at property, and making sure that they are all answered.
- Haggling, whether there is already a discount or not, if you
believe the deal works at a higher discount, ask if there is any
movement.
- Make use of various property investment forums ,
if you are looking at an investment in a certain development,
potentially someone has got there before you and has an opinion! Simply
type property investment forum into Google!
Once you have found your particular property investment you will need to work out the finances.
Many newspapers are predicting that interest rates will fall again in 2008, but try and work out your worst case scenario.
You need to know if you can afford to keep your investment over the
long term. If rates go up you don't want to be just another
repossession case for the banks to deal with.
Remember, when house values increasing yearly you could afford to gear your portfolio highly , this is no longer the case for many people.
Make sure that you keep a decent amount of equity in your properties.
Following these steps should help you to invest! Good Luck!
Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com
Keith McGregor is a partner of Strawberrysoup, a web design agency with offices in Chichester and Bournemouth. Strawberrysoup specialise in creative web design, content managed websites, search engine optimisation, search engine marketing and graphic design
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