The Tycoon asked:


Homes that didn’t make it at the auction. Now the banks need to get rid of them. I have 3 homes under contract.

Craig

Keith McGregor asked:


Amazing returns on investment have been realised. Rather than making a profit on the capital you invest, the use of mortgages allows profits to be made on the full property value with comparably minimal capital outlay.

It is plain to see how just one of the above factors would be sufficient to stir great interest in property investment.

No matter what your reason is for choosing property investment, there are several crucial factors to consider before searching for the right property.

There are many methods which can be applied to property investment, dependent on your goals and what you want to achieve. Without going into further depth and variation, this can be broken down into two general aims:



Buy to Sell – Buying and selling investment property within the short term for profit.

Buy to Let – Buying and letting to achieve a rental income and accumulate equity, normally over the mid to long term.



It is important to decide which route to go down, as this will very much depend on the property most suitable to invest in and how best to set this up.

Property investment can be extremely rewarding but should only be entered into with due care and consideration.

There are many crucial factors to consider which will determine which direction you will move in when considering the endless property investment possibilities.

Careful consideration must be given to location. You must decide if you wish to invest in your local area which you may be more familiar with, or invest in a current “hotspot” which may provide more attractive investment options.

The more adventurous investor may be interested in overseas property investment. A great deal of care and research should be given to any investment property proposition, particularly when looking overseas where the purchase process, tax liabilities, etc. could be very different to the UK.

Property price must also be considered, with widely varying properties available at all levels of investment. Investors tend to be guided by the capital they wish to invest in any one property.

A mortgage broker or lender will be able to advise you on how much you can borrow to invest in property, along with any further costs or fees involved. A Solicitor can also advise you on the legal costs, disbursements (local search fees, etc.) and stamp duty cost if applicable.

Once these factors have been considered, the next step in property investment would be to search for suitable properties and undertake the essential research to minimise risk and maximise profit.

You can never do too much research. Speak to local agents to get feedback from the perspective of property professionals.

Properties which are ideal for investment will inevitably sell quickly. Time consuming research can unfortunately result in astute investors missing out on some great investment opportunities. The internet can be a great place to carry out a large portion of the required research in a fraction of the time.

The above serves well as an introduction to property investment and the first steps which should be undertaken. By gaining a good perspective of your goals and aims and by not deviating from your chosen investment plan, you should form a solid basis for successful property investment.



Joy

K Damian Qualter BA MBA asked:


Buy in Prague Property

Prague offers a wide selection of new, refurbished and off-plan property investments in Prague. When you buy in Property in Prague represents an excellent investment opportunity for those who like to invest in real estate. You can buy in Prague property for new of refurbished properties are increasing at 20% per ear while the rental yields on new apartments are running at approximately 8.5%. The main thing that is driving this growth for the property is because the demand for these properties is steadily exceeding the supply of available places. In fact the Czech Statistical Office estimates that there is a need to build 50,000 dwellings each year until 2010.

There are more things than this happening as well. Let’s look at the other reasons why Prague property prices are booming so much:

1. Government subsidies have helped to give the housing market a boost that helps Czech nationals to be able to borrow at just 2%. A shortage of homes is helping to boost property prices not mention raising the demand for rental property

2. Economic and political stability have steadily gotten better. GDP growth is high at 4.1% that began in 2005. It is pretty much expected to consistently grow in 2006 and it really has to 4.3% in fact.

3. There is a high inward investment.

The buy in for Prague property are steadily proving that the investment is well worth the money it takes. Owning property that is for sale in Prague through a company may not sound great, but it does provide some administrative barriers and additional costs to owning the property. One of the biggest disadvantages to this is the taxation when it comes time to sell the property.

Direct property owners such as the locals are not liable for tax on gains that are realized from the sale of a property if it is held for 5 years or more, but only 2 years if the owner lived there. Companies are liable for corporate tax which is currently set at 24% on profits from the sale pf the property no matter who owns it. Still this is a better deal than what you would get in the United Kingdom; for example, their taxes are 40% and more. This is proving that the buy in price for Prague property is certainly affordable for the real investor.

These days the gross investment yields, which are the annual gross rental value or purchase price on residential housing in general, have a typical retail level of 8%. Yields in the city centre are even less than that and you can’t ignore the high vacancy rates that the luxury flats have. Just last year we were seeing yields of 10-12%. Falling yields are the natural result of sale prices growing faster than rental rates do. In theory this is supposed to show a maturing and stabilized economy. The lowered rate of return is simply a reflection of the lowered risk of investing into the Czech Republic. Although investors who are able to recognize that the risk/return ratio of the Czech property for sale in the Prague market are way more attractive than those of Western Europe. Taking advantage of the buy to let strategy of investing makes the buy in prices of Prague property even more worth the effort. What could be better than that?



Beth