The Property Investor

If you are a home owner in the UK then there are a number of reasons why you might want to get your property valued.  You may be planning to sell your home, be looking to remortgage or you may simply be curious to find out how much your property is worth.  Whatever the reason there are a number of ways that you can find out the value your home.

The simplest way to gain an idea of the likely selling price of your property is to compare it with other homes that have been sold recently in the same area.  Look for similar sized properties on your street or in your town that are listed for sale and find what price they are being advertised at.  Although prices will vary a certain amount according to factors such as the age of the property and how well it has been maintained you should be able to gain a reasonable estimate of how much you would get for your home if you decided to sell it. 

For an estimate of how much your home is likely to be worth in the future a good idea is to look at current market trends.  If property prices are growing by for example 5% each year then you can calculate how much the value of your home is likely to increase over the next few years.  Although looking at market trends can be useful you should remember that trends are likely to change and so any estimate may eventually prove to be inaccurate.

In the UK there are many websites that will provide you with an estimated value of your property online for free using a collection of property market data.  These websites require you to enter certain details about your property such as its postcode, the year it was built and the number of bedrooms. Although these sites can be useful they are unable to account for factors such as the condition of the property and so the estimated worth of your home may be set too high or too low.

If you are planning to sell your home then it is advisable to have your property valued professionally.   In the UK professional property valuations are performed by qualified chartered surveyors who often work for or are associated with estate agency firms.  Most people requiring a property valuation will use estate agents.  Using estate agents is beneficial for a number of reasons.  Estate agents are experienced in valuing properties, have local knowledge and in many cases offer their services for free. 

Popularity of commercial real estate is reaching new heights with so many options available for a customer it sometimes becomes almost impossible to venture into the correct form of real estate and be satisfied by the investment done. Every deal relating to property business is presented in the best form to attract more customer traffic towards a property and thereby earning profits from it. Those who are concerned with selling the commercial real estate have to actually to put in a lot of hard work along with skilled marketing tactics to sell their respective property in total profit deal. There is always an advantage of selling a commercial real estate than buying because the job is to just convince the customer about the property to make a venture.Commercial property can include homes, flats, and offices, plots etc. many waste a lot of money by hiring the wrong person as there property agent to advertise and marketwise one’s property. Free classified are available to help people for listing their real estate and save a considerable amount of money in hiring do nothing agents. There are many successful tips given by various experts of property to help people resolving their doubts in selling commercial property. These tips are a global guide which tells various simple yet efficient tactics of making a successful venture thereby earning profit. These tips serve as ultimate methods which can advertise one’s real estate without costing anybody a fortune.Many methods include numerous steps for publicizing a commercial real estate but the basic include mere three steps to crack down a successful venture. First being listing the real estate on free classified available online. These free classified are offered by various networking sites hence not even a penny is wasted in advertising the concern property. Since the details are available online anybody who is interested can contact undersign for further development in the deal. Investing in a quality property or commercial real estate is very important many good real estate deals are sometimes surround people but they don’t look around, hence one should also consult the nearby property deals as well. Third option can be advertising one’s property in real estate publications where people can refer to various details about the property and the concerned owner. These simple tips will always result in numerous gains if implemented accurately thereby leading in an successful venture.

Economists agree that as the global recession takes hold and economic growth comes under threat, interest rates will begin to decline prompting a revival in South Africa’s property market by the beginning of 2010.Even though the sub-prime mortgage collapse in the United States sent the world economy into a liquidity crisis; South African banks were virtually unaffected and still considered to be some of the most stable in the world.Giving credit to consumers who are considered uncreditworthy puts banks in a position where they are at risk of being unable to finance debt as clients cannot pay their loans. The National Credit Act (NCA) came into effect on 1 June 2007, which has made receiving a loan from any bank more difficult than in the past.

An inflationary cycle that started in June 2006 spurred the South African Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to raise interest rates 10 times, or a cumulative five percent, until the repo rate was left unchanged at 12 percent in August 2008.A large number of South Africans had to sell their properties as they had exceeded their financial capacity by taking out too many bonds on existing properties and were unable to keep up with their bond payments in the wake of continually increasing interest rates.In 2009, the direction of the property market is largely defined by what is happening globally as well as politically in South Africa.With the introduction of the National Credit Act as well as high interest rates, loans became difficult to get approved and people were already financially stretched; this made buying property extremely difficult for many people in 2008.Potential buyers could no longer receive 100 percent of the value of the home as a loan because the lending criteria at banks had changed. Now, before qualifying for a loan, buyers also have to put down a deposit of between 10 and 15 percent of the value of the home.Property owners were forced to sell their properties at prices much lower than initially desired due to high interest rates. Sellers who took 5 to 10 percent off their price in the past were now having to take 20 to 30 percent off their original price.If there is a swing in the property market in 2009 and if interest rates continue to come down, consumers will be encouraged to once again invest in property.In the recent past, the property market was more of a buyers market as people were forced to accept lower offers for their properties.Experts however are finally beginning to feel positive about the notion that interest rates will come down. The market should begin to pick up from the middle of 2009 and onwards. Some economists say that even though the South African property market will be fairly weak for most of 2009, it will begin picking up as we near 2010.In the midst of global economic turmoil, South African property has been rather resilient. A decrease in interest rates is expected to pave the way for greater interest in the property market once again.

As of now, it appears that we seem to have reached the lowest point to which the property market can go, and with cuts in interest rates and salary increases, interest in the South African property market is bound to take off again.

With thousands of foreclosed properties being advertised each passing day, it is extremely important to choose well what to buy, where from who and when.  Here are a number of important things to take into consideration before you finally decide to invest on foreclosed properties:

1. Location

Location, location, location! Yes, location is the most important thing that each and everyone could first consider when buying any kind of property, and so do you when buying foreclosed properties. Location, in most cases will determine the rate of profitability for your property since it determines the selling price in the future when you decide to sell the property. Consider if the place you are going to buy the foreclosed property is a slow growing or quick growing area which can bring you benefits in the future.

Accessibility, availability of utilities and security will also be determined by the setting or rather location of your desired property. The place should be conveniently accessible to churches, hospitals, and markets, grocery stores among other necessary and basic utilities.

2. Property condition

When investing in a foreclosed property, a real property for that matter, then it is important to look for a sound investment, made of durable materials meant to last for quite a long time. It is considerably rare to find foreclosed properties in poor condition but if they need any kind of repairs then make sure that they are made.  Watch out for any termite infestations, water damages or rotting wood. You might need a contractor to check on the physical condition of the place before you make any payments.

3. Selling price

You will make money if you buy the property at a price below the market value. Make sure that you consider other costs like major taxes, because some buyers at times transfer such costs to the buyer. You’d better know this early enough just incase the buyer transfers the payments to you.

4. Seller motivations

Go for a seller who really needs to sell his property as soon as possible-a motivated seller. Banks for instance are motivated sellers though they at times sell their properties below market values. Motivated sellers offer discounts and bidding might just become an option rather than a necessity.

5. Financing

Apart from considering favorable selling prices, it is also important to consider the availability of financing that basically provide flexible payment terms and preferably low mortgage rates.

As much as you are doing a bargaining, it is far much important to consider the period to make your payments, a week for instance or cash payments might not be of help at all, you need enough time to come up with the money.

During the bargaining period, ensure that you get in terms with the interest rates and the period to pay the interest. The rates should be friendly and fair enough; not too high, not too low.

Investing in foreclosed properties can hold a great investment in your life. It can bring you great opportunities for now and for the future. Go for it, don’t waste more time.