INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AND REAL ESTATE

Simply explained: When property prices rise above what first time buyers can afford to pay the market slows down, stagnates and sometimes readjusts – but as soon as purchasing power increases again, either with a drop in interest rates or an increase in GDP, the property prices begin rising again. And there are even ways to make money from real estate during a market downturn!

Investing in real estate for income: Depending on the nature of your home based business your monthly income may be slightly erratic – some months being better than others! If you invest in property assets in a buy-to-let or even jet-to-let capacity you can secure yourself a consistent monthly income which may afford you an added degree of financial security.

Buy-to-let is when you purchase property for rental purposes – this maybe an apartment you let to a corporate, it could be a house you let to students studying in a nearby university; or even a family home you rent out long term.

Jet-to-let is similar but it involves purchasing overseas property for short term weekly or fortnightly rental to tourists. This type of letting is usually very lucrative indeed during peak holiday periods but may mean you have a property that is empty for a few months out of season.

Both types of property investment return you a regular income and at the same time the physical real estate asset will grow in value over the long term; and if ever you wish to release the profits from your investment you can sell on the property and take the gains you have accrued.

Investing in real estate for profit: The alternative to building up a real estate (or property) portfolio for income generation purposes is purchasing property and selling it on relatively quickly to realize the gains the asset has accrued.

You can do this in a number of ways…firstly you can purchase run down property in need of renovation, tidy up the property and turn it into a home before selling it on at a higher price and reaping the profits gained.

Alternatively you could seek to beat the curve by buying into up and coming areas, waiting for prices to boom and then selling on for profit. This is quite a risky strategy for a first time investor as timing the market is hard!

An alternative to this is looking overseas for the latest emerging property markets worldwide and buying properties to renovate or properties off plan and then flipping them on for maximum gains in the short term.

Financing your investment: As a self-employed individual it can be tricky to get a mortgage unless you have audited accounts, bank references and other documents required for the purpose. If you don’t have all of these requisite documents there are other options available to you.