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You may have heard that owning an investment property in the UK can be lucrative. Well, you heard correctly. Real estate investing, such as flipping real estate and rental real estate investing is amongst the most profitable investments around. The basic premise is that you make a purchase on something like a vacation property. You then turn around and figure out a way for it to make money so that you can increase your earnings.

Types of Investment Properties

There are two basic types of properties: residential and commercial. The broad definition is any property that people live in. This includes homes, apartments, mobile homes, etc. Commercial properties are anything that is used for businesses of any kind such as office buildings and shopping centres. Some places, such as apartment buildings with a store on the bottom level are considered commercial

Purchasing a Vacation Property

Vacation properties are a great option when it comes to buying an investment property especially if you purchase it in a coveted vacation market. Vacation properties come in different types. You can purchase a hotel or bed or breakfast. Or, you can buy a home or cottage property or a beach investment property which you can then rent primarily to vacationers. The drawback is that some places may have a peak rental season. However, with proper planning the off-peak time of the year will not hurt you financially.

Proper Planning is Key

To invest in real estate successfully, proper planning is a must. Each property needs to be well researched and considered before purchased. There are several people who can help you plan, such as a listing agent, financial advisor, or even a lawyer. All it takes is to make that first property successful, and then you can build on that success and build up your portfolio.

Build Up Your Portfolio

The most successful real estate investors out there have a diversified portfolio. This means that they have a combination of different properties which are all making them a profit or have the potential to do so. The ultimate real estate portfolio will include a combination of residential and commercial properties as well as land. They also will not invest in just one market. They may have income properties all over the globe. However, it all starts with that first property.

Keep in mind that there is nothing wrong with specialising in commercial or residential properties. You can easily diversify within the two. For example, if you want to focus on making money with a commercial investment property, consider making your next investment property in the UK to be a commercial one as well, just of a different type. It is much better financially to spread your money out instead of investing all in one thing.

Ian Clark is a real estate consultant and advisor in UK. He has extensive experience in all aspects of Real Estate Investment built over 20 years . He is also the Director of Midas Estates, an online real estate website offering property investment opportunities in UK and overseas. Midas Estates is a property investment company who also deals with Investment Property with an aim to provide maximum capital growth for the clients as the majority of the clients are looking to secure financial security in the shortest time possible. Ian’s honest presentation of the real estate investing business, including both profit and risks is respected for his sincere, candid approach. He is highly regarded as one of the most sound, dependable source for the specifics behind the sometimes tricky and exigent facets of real estate investing.

To get more information and for a 30 minute no obligation absolutely free consult in how to make your property investment strategies work log on to http://www.midasestates.com

Author: I Clark
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Guest blogger

Investment in commercial real estate offers great rewards. It also offers great risks. The key to seizing the opportunities and minimizing the risks is knowledge and preparation.

All that’s required beyond that is common sense and an objective eye about the risks and rewards. And that’s the purpose of this article-to give you a quick guide to those rewards and risks so you can decide if the field is the right choice for you. Let’s look at the rewards first.

1)The first reward of commercial real estate investment is that it’s relatively easy to get into. In other words, you don’t need a PhD to be successful. In fact, you don’t need a degree at all. What you do need is a willingness to learn by yourself and from professionals in the field.

2)The second reward in the commercial business is it offers a great variety of investment opportunities. Properties can range from duplexes to multi-unit dwellings to shopping centers. This provides you with a wide range of possibilities-and profits!

3)The third opportunity lies in the ability to take advantage of leverage. Leverage is the use of other people’s money (OPM) to finance your commercial real estate investments. Through the use of leverage, you can get into the market by investing little of your own capital.

4)The fourth is the opportunity to achieve good returns. Historically, U.S. investors have received an average 8-10% annual return on such investments. Plus, unlike the stock market, commercial real estate is not volatile and doesn’t suffer the sometimes extreme ups and downs of securities investments.

5)The fifth -and one of the best!-is providing long-term appreciation. In other words, such investments tend to increase in value over time, putting money in your bank account on a consistent basis.

6)The sixth is that commercial real estate generate income and can do it over long periods of time (e.g., apartment buildings, office buildings, etc.).

7)The seventh reward is that they provide three real tax benefits–deductibility, depreciation, and deferability. You can deduct normal expenses, depreciate your investments, and defer taxes through the Tax-Deferred 1031 Exchange.

8)The eighth reward of investment is that it permits you to build wealth. With solid purchases, you grow equity over time, and, all the while, you receive income. Talk about a great retirement plan!

Now, let’s look at the other side of the coin-risks.

Risks of Commercial Real Estate Investment

The first risk is risk itself. By that, I mean that risk in commercial investments can be much higher, especially with larger projects such as office buildings or shopping centers. That’s why it’s important to keep a cool head and objective eye on every deal you consider. Remember this central point-the numbers must always add up! Never, ever fall in love with a property!

The second risk is the lack of knowledge on your part. In this field, amateurs are goldfish swimming among sharks. My best advice is to start with small investments and learn as you go. The best way to learn is to find yourself a mentor who’s willing to teach you the tricks of the trade. You may want to join a firm specializing in commercial real estate investments and work your way up.

The third disadvantage is that it requires capital. Since you’ll be dealing with professionals, you’ll definitely want to “put your money where your mouth is.” You’ll go nowhere without proof of capital.

A fourth risk of commercial real estate investment is that it ties up capital. You have to have the ability to carry the costs of such investments over a long period of time. In most cases, commercial real estate is simply not easy to sell quickly so you’d better have the reserves to meet ongoing expenses.

A fifth risk is a downturn in the economic cycle. If a recession occurs, jobs are lost and businesses suffer. In that case, your investments may produce little or no income for a while. As mentioned above, reserves of capital can help you weather such economic “storms.”

So, there you have it-a quick guide to the rewards and risks of commercial real estate investment. Now it’s up to you to weigh those risks and rewards and arrive at a decision-to invest or not to invest.

Good luck!

Jack Sternberg is a nationally recognized expert on real estate investment who’s been in the business for more than 30 years. Sternberg’s deals have totaled over $750 million and he’s been to the closing table more than 1,500 times. For more, visit http://www.askjacksternberg.com

Author: Jack Sternberg
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Guest blogger

Overview

There are no restrictions on foreign nationals investing or buying real estate in South Africa. Indeed, for generations, foreign nationals have been very active in the real estate market in South Africa.

As will be discussed more fully later, real estate in South Africa actually is known as or termed immovable property

Investment Property in South Africa

The investment real estate market in South Africa has been profitable for foreign nationals for years. There were some tentative times directly after the end of Apartheid in that country. However, as time has marched on from the period of transition, foreign nationals have carried forth in their investment in South African real estate — immovable property — on many fronts.

By way of example, foreign nationals play a significant role in the ownership of real estate or immovable property in the commercial sector. Foreign nationals own everything from office buildings to hotels and resorts.

There are no restrictions on the types of real estate that a foreign national can invest in within South Africa

Residential Real Estate in South Africa – Single Family Properties

Many foreign nationals have taken to purchasing some fairly high cost properties in South Africa. These men and woman have purchased these costly residences to be used as second homes and for holiday or vacation purposes. Many people — including a significant number of Europeans — regularly take extended holidays in South Africa. Since the end of Apartheid, a greater number of people from across the globe are taking to spending extended holidays in South Africa. This includes an ever growing number of North Americans, Canadians and U.S. citizens alike.

The single family dwelling market is fast moving and brisk in many different areas of the country. Not only can foreign nationals be found investing in these types of residences in the more urban centers in the country, but they are making purchase of these types of property in rural areas as well. As will be discussed, many foreign nationals enjoy making an extended holiday stay in South Africa (and have done so for many years). Thus, many of these foreign nationals have been interested and continue to be interested in buying single family residences — and at times very substantial properties — in urban and in rural regions of the country where they can live for a portion of the year.

Residential Real Estate in South Africa – Apartments

Because of the high rate of foreign investment in all sectors of the South African economy, many foreign nationals regularly can be found purchasing apartments in the major urban centers in that country. These foreign nationals find themselves in country for more extended periods of time. These men and women find the purchase of apartments to be an economical manner in which they can provide themselves housing during their time in South Africa on business.

There has also been a brisk business in the buying of apartments in resort communities by foreign nationals. Many foreign nationals are taking a two-pronged approach to buying apartments in resort venues. First, they are using these properties for their own holiday purposes. Second, they are letting out these premises to other foreign nationals when they are not personally using the property. Many foreign nationals have found that they can make a tidy sum by renting or leasing an apartment in a resort locale during that part of the year when they are not personally in residence in the resort community apartment.

Holiday Property in South Africa

For generations, Europeans and men and women from other countries the world over have made South Africa a holiday destination. Indeed, the history of people from Europe and elsewhere around the world making long and extended holiday stays within South Africa is long and legendary. As a consequence, the market in vacation or holiday real estate in South Africa is well established.

For the foreign national interested in purchasing vacation or holiday property in South Africa, the options and opportunities in regard to such property is extensive and varied. A foreign national has the ability to purchase anything from a high priced villa in a trendy resort community to a snug and tidy apartment in a sprawling urban setting to a lovely chateau in a rural area in the country.

A number of foreign nationals have taken to investing in different holiday and resort properties. Indeed, foreign nationals have been active in the development of hotels, apartments and free standing dwellings that are leased or rented to people who have traveled to South Africa on holiday. Overall, this type of investment has proven to be very lucrative for many foreign nationals from different countries the world over.

Specific steps to buying real estate property in South Africa

In South Africa, the laws governing the buying and selling of real estate actually are called laws governing the buying and selling of immovable property or land. At the present time, there are no restrictions on a foreign national buying and owning real estate in South Africa. Indeed, foreign nationals have bought and owned real estate — immovable property — in South Africa for generations.

Generally speaking, the buying and selling of immovable property or real estate in South Africa is governed by decisions of the courts of that country. The one area in which statutory law does play a role when it comes to buying and selling real estate/immovable property in South Africa is in the area of the ownership of mineral rights. When it comes to mineral interests that might be underneath the surface of a particular piece of property, that interest as a general rule belongs to the “people of South Africa.” In other words, even though a foreign national may be able to buy real estate in that country, more often than not a foreign national will not be able to easily purchase a right to extract minerals from that real estate. (Of course, a contract can be entered into with the government that will grant an individual of business the right and the ability to withdraw minerals from underneath the surface of land.)

Because there are some tribes that exercise some degree of local autonomy in South Africa, some foreign nationals wonder what impact these more or less autonomous governing authorities might have on their ability to purchase real estate. Historically, local, tribal or customary law had little impact on the buying and selling of real estate in South Africa. However, in recent years, the national government has given some recognition to parallel lines of authority within the country. Therefore, if a foreign national is interested in buying immovable property in an area that is included within an autonomous, that foreign national will need to make certain that he or she understands the particular regulations in that area that might have an impact on the purchase of real estate in that area. Because there are so many different local variants that might come into play depending on what region of the country a person is considering investing in real estate in, it is impossible to detail them all in this limited space. Therefore, a foreign national who is interested in purchasing real estate in South Africa will want to make certain that he or she has access to very capable legal representation.

The underlying real estate purchasing process in South Africa is simple when all is said and done. A tentative or preliminary contract is entered into between the buyer and seller. As in many other countries around the world, a deposit is made upon the property by the purchaser. The amount of the deposit is negotiated between the parties. Additionally, the terms of under what conditions a deposit might be returned are also negotiated between the parties to the agreement.

Following the execution of this preliminary contract, the buyer will embark on his or her efforts to find appropriate financing for the real estate. There are many different mortgage lenders within South Africa that deal regularly with a foreign clientele. With that said, it is also perfectly permissible for a foreign national to obtain mortgage financing from a firm located in that person’s country of origin. The government of South Africa is flexible as to where a person obtains his or her financing to fund a real estate or immovable property purchase in that country.

Once all of the requirements of the initial agreement have been satisfied, a final agreement of sale and transfer of immovable property is executed between the parties. It is at this juncture, when this agreement is duly executed, that ownership of the immovable property is transferred from the seller to the buyer. With this conveyance, a new title to the real estate is registered immediately with governmental authorities.

Again, it is important to keep in mind that there might be some slight variances in this procedure in some of the more autonomous regions of the country. However, with the assistance of capable legal counsel, a foreign purchaser of immovable property or real estate in South Africa will be able to maneuver through the legal requirements.

Property Abroad always recommends using a Solicitor or Lawyer.

Les Calvert – the Director of http://www.property-abroad.com often writes articles and information on the overseas property market. Visit their site with useful information and properties for sale in South Africa http://www.property-abroad.com/south-africa.

Author: Les Calvert
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Are you somewhat confused by all the terms that real estate agents throw around like nothing?

Well don’t worry, I can assure you that you are in good company.

Lets get a few of the basics out of the way and then we can move on to some of the specifics.

One of the first things you have to understand is that there are several components to the overall rental rate that you ultimately end up paying. There is the rent that you pay the Landlord for the use of their space, but also as a commercial Tenant you will also pay for the following items; the maintenance of the overall building, the property taxes, building insurance and management of the property. (I know, I know, it doesn’t seem fair to be paying for the management and maintenance of someone else’s property, but that’s the real world, so get used to it!)

There are basically two types of rents that you will be quoted when searching for commercial space.

They are Gross rents and Net rents. They are two separate ends of the spectrum of what is included in the rent. Gross rent is an all in rent. A true Gross rent includes all of the above mentioned expenses (Property taxes, insurance, maintenance, management, utilities etc. etc.) and any other expense that might be particular to a specific property.

Net rent is a type of rent that includes nothing extra. Net rent is simply the amount that you are paying the Landlord for the right to use their space for a specified period of time. In a single tenanted property the Tenant simply pays for all additional expenses themselves. In multi tenanted properties such as office buildings or multi tenant retail malls the Net rent is commonly accompanied by Additional rent (Also called CAM/Tax which stands for Common Area and Maintenance plus Property Taxes).

The Additional rent covers the expenses mentioned above. The Additional rent is usually an estimated amount based on the previous years operating expenses. The total expenses for the property are added up and then divided by the rentable square footage of the building. The expenses are then allocated to each tenant proportionally to the amount of space that they have of the building. So if a building has 10,000 Sq Ft of rentable space, and a tenant has 1,000 Sq Ft retail store, then they would pay 10% of the total expenses. The Additional rent is quoted on a per Sq Ft basis as well.

In different parts of the country the rents may be quoted differently. In Winnipeg the rents quoted are usually quoted as a price per square foot per year. In other parts of the country they may be quoted as price per square foot per month. When in doubt, ask.

About the Author:

Harry Logan is a Commercial Realtor with RE/MAX executives realty in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Harry represents Buyer’s & Seller’s and Landlord’s & Tenant’s in all aspects of Commercial Real Estate including the Leasing and Sales of Retail Shopping Centers, Apartment Blocks, Investment & Income Producing Property, Industrial & Warehouse Space, Office Leasing and the Sale of Businesses.

He can be reached at 204-667-SOLD (7653) or through his website at http://www.WinnipegCommercial.com

This is not intended to be Legal or Tax advice. Please discuss these ideas with a competent advisor.

Author: Harry Logan
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Electric Pressure Cooker

What does Miami real estate investing really means? If you are going to ask this to different people, you could obtain different answers as well.

Indeed, if you ask this question to real estate investors, they know what does it really means. But to other people, they would answer differently with this certain question.

The only one thing for sure in this question is that it involves Miami real estate. Maybe, now you are wondering what I mean by that.

If you ask a certain person, what is Miami real estate investing, he or she can say that it is buying and selling a property. Usually, they buy a property with low amount and sell it at a high amount. In this kind of investing, the property will not be kept for a long period of time but instead the buying and selling process comes quickly.

Then if you ask another person this question, it may mean buying and holding to them. This type of investing is that the owner is willing to manage tenants and collect rents. And the words maintenance and upkeep are not problem to them. Actually, this is how they find Miami real estate investing really is.

What is Miami real estate investing to other person would mean having a commercial property such as hotels, office buildings, and malls. This type of investing requires high risks, great skills and abilities but it is a highly rewarding type of investment.

To other may mean rehabbing and repairing. Another type of real estate investing is that one buy an old property and uses its skills and abilities to turn it to a good one. In this way of investing, involves making an excellent thing form nothing. And this type of investing is appropriate to investors who have construction experience or project management skills.

And there are some people who answer the question of what is Miami real estate investing by not buying any property at all. For them Miami real estate investing, involve partnerships, trusts, and possibly even the sale of notes, mortgages, and other financial instruments.

Investing in Miami real estate is wide, there are too many answers and too many options in answering the question, What does Miami real estate investing really means?, to a lot of people and individual investors out there.

Yes, indeed, there are heaps of ways in investing to Miami real estate. There are a lot of options to choose from.

Now, having all these options and ways, all you have to do is research. Researching is very important in investing, know all the valuable details, and then learn the strategies. And as soon as you have research, possess valuable information and have learned the strategies, then you finally decide which strategies will fit you.

Better to determine which strategies that will fit you, by knowing the skills and abilities you have. Since in investing, it requires some important skills and abilities in order to be successful in that investment you are doing.

So if you are into Miami real estate investing, start researching, learn the strategies and obtain the necessary information about Miami real estate.

Article Author Eliza Maledevic from Jump2top.com, a SEO Company.Visit Miami Real Estate Websites at http://www.aquabluerealty.com & http://www.miamirealestateinc.com

Author: Eliza Maledevic
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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