The Benefits of Being a Property Investor
Recent figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) have shown a ten percent rise in ‘buy to let’ investment over the last three months as landlords and property investors return to the market. With almost a million Brits investing in property there are many benefits to adding property to your investment portfolio.
Property investment advice is crucial to making a success of your property endeavours. I have learned much of what I know from experts within the industry, from seasoned property investors to specialist lawyers and finance brokers. They have taught me many things about investing in property and the benefits it offers above other types of investment.
Firstly, property is much less volatile than other forms of investment. The stock market may offer the potential for sensational returns but it can also be extremely risky. ‘The value of your investments can go down as well as up’, of course. Property also has peaks or troughs but over the medium to long term the values of property generally increase and the timescale for such changes is also months and years, not hours and days as with the stock market.
A great piece of property investment advice that I learned early in my property career was that property is a great way to invest using other people’s money rather than your own. Buy to let mortgages are widely available and, unlike shares where you have to purchase the asset using your own funds, property can be bought using a combination of your money and that which you have borrowed from the bank. Furthermore, the payments to that loan can be funded by the rental income generated by the property. It is therefore a terrific way of watching an asset appreciate in value without you having to fund the entire purchase yourself.
The third main benefit of investing in property is that you own a tangible asset. As it appreciates in value (over the past ten years the UK has seen an average growth of 11.2% per annum) you will obtain more and more equity in the property which can be released. I am many other investors have been able to build up our portfolios by releasing equity as our existing investment properties have increased in value.
I have picked up many property investing tips over the years and they have helped me hone my property investor skills. There are many advantages of property as a form of medium to long term investment and by listening to the advice of seasoned property professionals you too can reap these financial benefits.
