Shall I invest in property?

geek84

Hi Folks

PLEASE FORGIVE ME IF I AM POSTING THIS QUERY ON THE WRONG FORUM & WOULD BE GRATEFUL IF SOMEONE COULD TELL ME THE CORRECT FORUM TO POST IT TO -

I have some savings and thinking of investing in property. The biggest problem is that I am slightly disabled and not much of a diy man. I also have problems in using tools properly for maintenance purposes.

I could of course get an agency to take care of the maintenance for me, but I am sure that they will charge a lot of money.

Taking that into consideration, would it be a good idea for a person in my situation to invest in property?

Thanks in advance for your response.

Driverdan

geek84 wrote: »

Hi Folks

PLEASE FORGIVE ME IF I AM POSTING THIS QUERY ON THE WRONG FORUM & WOULD BE GRATEFUL IF SOMEONE COULD TELL ME THE CORRECT FORUM TO POST IT TO -

I have some savings and thinking of investing in property. The biggest problem is that I am slightly disabled and not much of a diy man. I also have problems in using tools properly for maintenance purposes.

I could of course get an agency to take care of the maintenance for me, but I am sure that they will charge a lot of money.

Taking that into consideration, would it be a good idea for a person in my situation to invest in property?

Thanks in advance for your response.

You should ask this over on the house prices debate forum.

For what its worth everyone seems to agree that house price are still falling and will continue to fall for some time yet.

Everyone also seems to agree that gold and silver will continue to go up as they are doing for some time yet.


So keep an eye on the house priced in ounces of silver chart. Its falling rapidly and on its way back to less than 1000 ounces of silver to buy an average house again.

At the moment 1000 ounces of silver will cost you about 30 thousand pounds.

So why not put 30K into silver and wait a few years.

mr_fishbulb

Driverdan wrote: »

You should ask this over on the house prices debate forum.

For what its worth everyone seems to agree that house price are still falling and will continue to fall for some time yet.

No they don't. Otherwise that forum would be pretty quiet.

Driverdan wrote: »

Everyone also seems to agree that gold and silver will continue to go up as they are doing for some time yet.

No they don't.

OP - As you say, you will have additional costs for even basic maintenance if you are unable to do this yourself. Have you done any sort of calculations of what you can borrow and the yield renting out the property? Or is it just the first stages of an idea?

dunstonh

Taking that into consideration, would it be a good idea for a person in my situation to invest in property?

You have to ask yourself if you can run the business and provide a profit that is suitable for the work it will require. If you have to use builders/decorators and management companies then your net rental yield is going to be eroded. There comes a point where the yield, if too low, is not worth the hassle. Do you have the skills to pick the right property and tenants?

geek84

Hi folks

Thanks for your replies, so far.

I am at early stages of the idea of investing in property. I won't have to borrow too much from the bank, as I have quite a bit of savings and the rest can be vborrowed from family and friends.

The biggest concern I have is my disability. Do you think it will cost me a lot of money in terms of maintenance if I get someone else (e.g. maintenance company), to look after the property?

Thank You.

Loughton_Monkey

I would be very 'cautious' about this as an 'investment'.

It has maybe caught you attention partly because currently, house prices are perceived to be 'low' and can only go up, and partly because there are currently many renters on the books and in some areas rents are going up considerably.

However, if your intention is to 'invest' the bulk of your savings into 'a' property, then it is not really that simple. Such investment should be considered a 'business' and not simply an investment. It needs 'work' and 'activity'. It needs 'control' and 'management' when things go wrong.

It usually falls foul of the "all eggs in one basket" syndrome and so is much riskier.

Successful 'Buy to Let' merchants are typically those that (a) have a lot of local knowledge and experience on rental values, (b) know intimately the value of houses and can buy them at the correct price in an auction, (c) have the means to do significant rapid 'improvements' at cost price, and (d) can select 'good' tenants themselves without use of expensive agencies.

geek84

Hi

Thanks for your reply.

From the general responses I am getting, it seems as though investing in property is not a good idea. Am I correct?

The only reason why I thought of investing in property in order to sell at a later date in future for a profit, is because it is 'bricks & mortar', which is usually a 'safer' investment than stocks & shares.

Thanks.

BackOnTrack

We still live on an island that doesn't have enough houses so as a long term investment property seems a reasonable bet, and it is a bet.

MsHoarder

Note that this is the "Savings and Investments" board. You may get a different answer if you ask the landlords in the House Buying, Letting and Selling board (or you may not).

But a lot of the value gained from letting does come from the landlord being able to work on the house themselves. And you will need to work to keep tenants happy.... Jobs you need to consider will include decorating, exterior work, structural work, gardening, cleaning, replacement of furniture/white goods... Getting an agent to take on all this will eat into the rental income. Then there's voids, problem tenants and changes in local employment to consider.

Have you thought about an appointment with an IFA if you have enough savings to buy a house without a mortgage? Buying a house is not risk-free and they may have more suitable options for you.

smeagold

geek84 wrote: »

Hi

Thanks for your reply.

From the general responses I am getting, it seems as though investing in property is not a good idea. Am I correct?

The only reason why I thought of investing in property in order to sell at a later date in future for a profit, is because it is 'bricks & mortar', which is usually a 'safer' investment than stocks & shares.

Thanks.

what happens to your investment if you get some undesirable types that move in and decide to not pay the rent? they live there rent free for who nows how long and it costs you a fortune in legal fees and lost rent to get them out and when you do get the house back its been destroyed. renting proprty carries risk and if you havn't got the capital to ride out such things then don't invest.

Don't borrow money off friends and family, how will you feel if it all goes wrong and they suffer loss too? Invest in commodities they will keep going up. Food energy metals is a far better and less risky investment and you can do it all from a computer so a disability is no handicap, wishing you all the best and success in your investments.

lisyloo

I don't think it's a good time to invest in property.
There are a lot of public sector job losses on the way. It's hard to imagine that house prices won't go down.

Your disability doesn't help.
The people who make the most money are people who can do a lot of stuff themselves rather than paying commercial prices.
I would find an alternative.
Personally I think equities are a good choice right now.