Best Way To Raise Capital For Investment

Leftynick

Hi,

Myself and my partner would like to "escape the rat race" in the long term by getting into something which will allow our money (what there is of it at the moment!) to work for us rather than the other way round. Our initial idea is to get into property development however at this stage we are still "researching" and have an open mind regarding other possible areas of investment. Currently reading "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" as part of our research and it really does seem that working for other people/companies will only ever leave you stressed and struggling so looking for a way to control our own futures...

Anyway, enough of the philosophical stuff....the main point of this post is that no matter what the chosen "investment/business" is we will need start up capital. We're both in our mid 20's with about 30k capital in our house which if push came to shove could be used... However, my question is are there better/cheaper ways to raise capital? Having read some of the stoozing threads could there be a way of using credit cards to acquire interest free capital?

Having been a member of this forum/site for quite a while and seeing the rich resources there are in terms of knowledge and info it has also occurred to me that witihin this community there is probably the basis of a hugely successful business - its just harnessing all the knowledge/expertise and channelling it in the right direction thats the difficult bit....

(That last bit was just thinking out loud really and doesnt really require a response unless anyone has any ideas how we could all work together to achieve global domination!?!?) :-)

Leftynick

Ooh dear - have I inadvertantly created the least interesting thread ever??? Mods - is their ay prize if you post a thread which gets absolutely no responses???

Gingham_Ribbon

Sorry, Leftynick. I suspect there is a lack of response because the thread could be better placed somewhere else on the site. This board is really for people interested in paying off their mortgages. I'll have a look at where this should be and move it over for you. I'm sure you'll get some more responses then.

Gingham_Ribbon

Leftynick wrote:

the main point of this post is that no matter what the chosen "investment/business" is we will need start up capital. We're both in our mid 20's with about 30k capital in our house which if push came to shove could be used... However, my question is are there better/cheaper ways to raise capital? Having read some of the stoozing threads could there be a way of using credit cards to acquire interest free capital?

I'll move it to the stoozing board for you. Good luck.

Clariman

Hi leftynick,

Borrowing money on 0% credit cards to use as capital for investment is not "stoozing". Stoozers borrow 0% money, but they put it away safely in a savings account and could pay off their cards at the drop of a hat. Stoozers just take the interest on the savings as their 'profit' and retain the capital to pay the card(s) off.

What you are proposing is far more risky. Sure, you may be able to raise some money at 0% from a credit card and that would be 'cheap' money. However, if you were unable to pay off the credit card at the end of the intro period because the money was tied up elsewhere, you would then have normal credit card changes of something like 15% to 20% i.e. what started as a cheap loan would suddenly become a very expensive one !

If you decide on that course of action, you really need to take a detailed look at the risks.

Clariman

Leftynick

Thanks, yeah i realise the potential implications of doing it that way and the risk involved. Interest free credit cards are by no means my preferred option...was just floating the idea to generate debate and see what alternatives were available other than the obvious ones.....

Want to try and start building an asset base through investment but the first steps are the hardest as they include getting the capital together and picking the right investment(s).......

Paul_Herring

The only 'risk free' way of acquiring capital for investment that I can think of is the long way - saving and budgeting.

I'd like to echo (and expand) Clariman's thoughts - never borrow to invest unless you have the capital elsewhere as collateral for the the loan. And if you have the capital elsewhere, why don't you just use that to start with instead of borrowing it...

just my 2p.

Leftynick

So taking Pauls comments on board what do people think would be the most cost effective way of releasing the £30k equity I have in my property to invest elsewhere? Simply add it onto the mortgage or could i get a better rate of interest elsewhere somehow?

PoorDave

Leftynick wrote:

Hi,

Myself and my partner would like to "escape the rat race" in the long term by getting into something which will allow our money (what there is of it at the moment!) to work for us rather than the other way round. Our initial idea is to get into property development however at this stage we are still "researching" and have an open mind regarding other possible areas of investment. Currently reading "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" as part of our research and it really does seem that working for other people/companies will only ever leave you stressed and struggling so looking for a way to control our own futures...

Anyway, enough of the philosophical stuff....the main point of this post is that no matter what the chosen "investment/business" is we will need start up capital. We're both in our mid 20's with about 30k capital in our house which if push came to shove could be used... However, my question is are there better/cheaper ways to raise capital? Having read some of the stoozing threads could there be a way of using credit cards to acquire interest free capital?

Having been a member of this forum/site for quite a while and seeing the rich resources there are in terms of knowledge and info it has also occurred to me that witihin this community there is probably the basis of a hugely successful business - its just harnessing all the knowledge/expertise and channelling it in the right direction thats the difficult bit....

(That last bit was just thinking out loud really and doesnt really require a response unless anyone has any ideas how we could all work together to achieve global domination!?!?) :-)

As Clariman says, stoozing is only really viable if you can get back at the money borrowed instantly, so not much good for investing in business.

I think everyone would like to get out of the "rat race", so you're far from alone there.

The problem as i see it is the often mentioned problem that by the time mere mortals like us get into a money-making scheme, all the real money has been made. For instance property. Buy to let and developments aren't making anywhere near the same percentage returns they were say 5 years ago, so there's almost no point doing either. It seems that builders have realised they can make twice as much from doing development jobs for people like us as they did then, and that only comes from one place - our development profit.

We are in a simialr position to what you are, by the sound of it.

Feel free to PM me on here to see if we can discuss joint ventures. My wife and I sort of have this idea that if we could find some other people with the same ideas, and the other half od the money it always seems to require, then maybe we could do something

dilied

Leftynick, just wondered if you'd thought of investing in Listed Contracts for Difference? You can invest as little as 1p yet leverage your capital upto ten-fold....much in the same way as with deposits and mortgages. The beauty with Listed Contracts for Difference is that you cannot lose more than your initial investment (margin) as automatic stop losses are in built. Anyway it's ust an idea of investing with smallish amounts until you've raised yr capital!