The majority of us are drawn to the ‘new’, in this case property investment. Being at the dreamlike stage is exciting. There are so many possibilities. We receive the fresh start we’ve been hoping for. Isn’t it true that if we turn our backs on the old thing, all of its issues would suddenly vanish?
Take a look at how lush the grass is over there. But how long is it going to last? Is it really all we’re looking for? The foolish fantasy is that doing anything else, with someone else, will be easier and better.
There’s no reason to believe it won’t be better, so let your imagination go wild. You are misled into believing that if you restart, all of your problems would vanish.
Is anything new, however, truly better? Or are you just different? Well, that is debatable. If you try to avoid the fight, the new appealing object will present you with the same difficulty until you master it. As if it were a clock.
Like the lover who attracts the same type of partner who hurts them over and over again, or the individual who loses money in every new attempt. When you try something new, the risks are equivalent to the benefits:
- – Do you believe you’ve gotten rid of all your problems? No, you simply receive new ones or old ones in a different form.
- – Do you believe the disadvantage was dealing with tough customers? Now you don’t have any.
- – If you thought the drawback was a lack of employees, think again. Now you have to do everything yourself.
- – Do you believe the disadvantage was that you received criticism? You don’t have any admirers now, do you?
There is only one way to make the struggle go away if you want it to. You must learn from it, develop from it, persevere through it, and master it.
Then you believe you’ll be able to relax on a beach while sipping cocktails? Ha! All this does is prepare you for the next level challenge, which you were not prepared for previously.
But what if you’re doing something you know you don’t enjoy?
Before you get into something new, especially if you’ve been doing your old job for a long time and have a track record, make sure you check the following:
- – Is it possible that I’m being weak and fleeing?
- – Am I oblivious to the new thing’s drawbacks?
- – Is there a pattern to all the old-but-once-new things I’ve started?
- – Is this a test to see how far you can go?
- – Is it possible that I’m being tempted by someone or something else?
- – What am I supposed to do if I have to start all over again?
Only take on new challenges if they are in line with your vision and principles. Only try something new if you’re fully aware of the drawbacks and willing to put up with them.
Then, if you’re clear and certain, go for it, despite the short-term drawbacks such as a lack of income, security, and fear, and stick on that route for as long as you can, since there will be future stumbling blocks where the lure of the new and the romanticism of the easy will seduce you.
When you ask people how hazardous it is to get into property investment, they may give you different answers depending on when you ask. You wouldn’t have encountered many people in the years leading up to the 2008 financial crisis who thought property investment too hazardous. However, with housing prices at an all-time high, there are far more sceptics than there used to be about the rationality of property investing.
While there is no such thing as a “no risk” strategy, there are those that place more in the hands of chance than others. So lets look at how to reduce risk in property investment.
1. Go for the long haul.
Whatever properties you buy and sell during the course of your property investment career, you will be largely at the mercy of the market and factors such as interest rates. At work, there are many variables that fluctuate, but the overall trend has been, is, and will almost always go upward.
House prices were much lower 20 years ago than they are now, and the chances of values being lower in 20 years are limited to none. If you buy wisely, don’t overextend yourself financially, and are willing to stick it out through the tough times, you will eventually enjoy the benefits.
2. Don’t overpay because you’re in a hurry.
When you first start out on your path to making money through property investment, it’s all too tempting to rush into things and overpay. Every pound you spend on a purchase is a pound you’ll have to recuperate later, so it’s critical that you thoroughly investigate the area and, more significantly, what makes a reasonable price before bidding on houses.
This knowledge puts you in a powerful negotiating position, and it might literally save you thousands of dollars. Research will also pay off for buy-to-let investors, as a little investigation will provide you with a wealth of information about rental demand and aspects such as the average time it takes to find tenants in the area. Check out our top tips for arranging property finance.
3. Protect yourself against squatters.
If you ask an average buy-to-let investor what keeps them awake at night, they’ll tell you it’s figuring out what to do if their renter stops paying rent and/or trashes the property.
All of this anxiety can be alleviated by arranging buy-to-let insurance with one of the main insurers. Letting agents frequently provide this function as part of their overall service, for which you will be charged separately.
When a renter stops paying, a standard insurance will kick in until the problem is resolved. Because coverage varies, you should read the fine print to see what each policy covers.
4. Thoroughly vet your tenants
There’s only one thing more difficult than finding tenants for your rental property: getting bad tenants out. A critical component of any buy to let investing plan is ensuring that your tenants are required to give genuine references, which are then confirmed.
It’s also a good idea to show potential renters around if you have the time, as meeting the individuals who will be living in your home will tell you a lot about them. When combined with a thorough vetting process, the chances of you hiring a problematic renter are greatly reduced.
5. Take rate hikes into account when planning your budget.
With the Bank of England’s base rate currently sitting at just 0.5 percent, there is far more room for it to rise than for it to fall. This is in sharp contrast to the worst of the 1980s, when rates were approaching 15%, and anyone who lived through that period will know that even a minor shift in the rate may have a significant impact on how much you have to pay back on your mortgage.
The simplest method to avoid financial trouble is to consider this into your budgeting before making a purchase. If you max out your credit and the rate rises, you’ll end up paying more than you’re getting in rent or with a mortgage you can’t afford. Both of these scenarios are undesirable, so make sure you leave enough wiggle room to adjust for rate swings or choose a long-term fixed-rate mortgage.
In conclusion
It’s upsetting when a property investment goes wrong owing to circumstances beyond your control, but you’ll kick yourself if it happens due to a lack of planning. To some, thinking about how you can reduce this risk before you start may sound too cautious, but to those who find themselves on the wrong end of the equation, it will appear to be a perfectly reasonable and wise thing to do.
If you prepare properly, you can eliminate a lot of the risk from the procedure, so be sure you do your part or you might regret it later.