UK Property Market
Archive for January, 2008
With the uncertainty of mortgage rates and the current downward trend in housing prices, any UK property investor would be wise to keep his money in the bank and watch the statistics over the coming months. There could be a larger profit gained long-term by waiting for the market to bottom and then pick up property when it’s cheaper. Homes being sold at the moment are going to be costing a higher than value price and the chances of making any substantial return on these is minimal.
As the new year starts, many homeowners are going to be faced with repossession orders, or at least the possibility of one hanging over their homes and as bad news as this may be for the home owners themselves, this is where long term property investors will be able to make money. There’s not a surplus of homes over people requiring them, so once the market stabilizes again the property will sell – it just depends how long you can afford to wait to see a return on the investment in the house.
If you are looking for a future investment, you could consider looking at homes that are under repossession orders, and approach the home owners with an offer to buy the home with a view to letting them live in it as a rental agreement. This way, you own the property, and they remain in their home until they choose to move. You not only have the home as an asset you can use as collateral for other properties or sell to raise finance when you need it, but you will also have the monthly income from the rent you charge the current home owner. Doing this however puts you in the position of landlord so if you haven’t considered this kind of property investment previously you need to look into the legal implications of what costs you are liable for before approaching the owners of the home. Having done this, if you decide that this is a good investment option for you, make sure you get a complete survey of the property done before you make your offer, you may not be looking to sell it at the moment but it could affect the price you get at a later date if you do decide to liquidate your property assets.
This post was submitted by Chloe Polglase, she is a contributor to Pet Haven . Chloe is a noted specialist on the topic of tattoo removal. Read her blog here.
read users' comments (0)Live in the UK – Invest in Property Overseas!
With the current property situation in the UK, anyone wishing to invest their money in the property industry would be wise to watch the situation for a while and see how things change. It could be that in a few months a bargain or two may surface from properties that currently wouldn’t have much of a return on the investment if you invested in them now. But that doesn’t mean that you must leave your investment capital sitting idle, it can still be earning money!
Whilst the UK property market is ailing right now, other countries are experiencing growth in the area, and it could be that your investment capital could be put to use on the international real estate stage if you do your research properly. Although some countries, such as the US, are also showing a downward trend in their property market, there are other countries – Australia for example – where property investment is still a viable prospect.
Before putting your capital into overseas property investing however you need to check out the regulations that govern such investments. If you have a legal adviser, it would be wise to talk to them about any differences in how the investment works overseas compared with the UK property market. If you plan on buying land with a view to development, then you should look into any legal issues that this will involve. You should also do a good research audit on the area, and see what makes it a good investment prospect. It could be that a local person will know more than someone in the UK, so try and get advice from both your own legal counsel and also from someone who lives local to the land you are interested in developing.
One good source of “local” information is the British Embassy in the country where you are planning to invest your money. They should not only be able to advise you on local laws and regulations, but also give you advice that they’ve learned from other UK investors in the past. Before signing any official paperwork for an investment overseas project, you should also talk to your tax adviser in the UK to see what your position is on taxation paid on overseas investing.
As the downward property market trend continues in the UK, don’t just watching it in dismay – get your atlas out, do some homework in current overseas property publications and see where your money can be best employed to get the greatest return for the smallest investment.
This entry was written by Jack Rochford. Jack is also one of the three orginal writer on The Bratling and has written lots of different articles concerning pet insurance.