Article

Are bricks and mortar investments as safe as houses?

Now, the secrets of being a successful landlord are available to everyone whether they are a first time investor; an existing landlord looking for help or advice on current properties, or even an overseas or expatriate investor looking to make money in the UK property market or keep a foot hold here.

With Buy To Let lending on the increase – the first half of this year saw 75,100 Buy To Let mortgages (worth a staggering £7.7 billion) advanced on – it seems that more and more people are favouring property investment over traditional saving methods as a way of making money.

And, according to research, they are choosing wisely:

• The average house price is set to nearly double in value from £161,665 to £300,643 by 2020
• The UK population is predicted to rise 10% in the next 25 years (that's 6 million people!) - house-building can't possibly keep up with demand
• Rental demand will nearly double inside ten years

However, warns specialist website, www.buy-to-let-secrets.co.uk , property investment - like any other form of investment - is a skill, and currently, many ‘quick-fix’ investors are choosing the wrong properties, the wrong finance and buying too many properties while managing them badly – meaning their bricks and mortar may not be as safe as houses!

Neil Lewis from the website and himself an experienced property investor says: "The recent increase in interest rates equates to a more stable property market, and there are a bunch of offers from developers now – meaning some good priced properties are up for grabs! However, an all-too-common mistake that private landlords make is to buy a property in the wrong area, meaning they could lose money; be unable to resell the property; or possibly, may not be able to find a suitable tenant.

"And many private landlords do not fully understand their legal obligations, meaning they are faced with an unhappy tenant and, even a legal battle!"

Buy To Let Property Secrets 2004 covers everything you need to know about property investment, such as:

• Financing your investment – what type of mortgage should you get and how much should you borrow?
• Where you should be looking to buy, and finding the right kind of property
• Furnished vs Unfurnished - what's the benefit and what's the cost?
• Landlord responsibilities - what you must do legally
• Letting agents vs finding the tenant yourself
• Tenancy agreements - how they work, how they protect you, clauses you might want included and clauses you absolutely must include!
• Minimising and avoiding tenant problems as well as finding a good tenant
• Understanding the direction of the property market such that you can negotiate discounts and make money….Plus much more

Lewis summarises: "The success of a property investment depends on many factors, from choosing the right finance method through to establishing a good tenant-landlord relationship. Buy To Let Secrets 2004 shows you all the tactics and methods that professional landlords use, meaning you can achieve valuable financial reward from your property."