We are now back from our August break and looking forward to the rest of the year and all the investment opportunities it will bring.  We had a fabulous time over the last three weeks and met some great people on our travels from Johnny Ball to P.D. James and many others who made our trip such a wonderful experience.

 

Part of the time was spent in New York, a city which is always a pleasure to return to.  Not being able to draw my attention completely away from property I had occasion to speak with a few property people who informed me that the US market is distinctly on the slide – we will return to this in the next few days.

 

I have noticed from my inbox and also comments in Property Investor News (which we at Bewarethesharks.com thoroughly recommend) that there is concern that properties in some parts of Eastern Europe just do not stack up.

 

The promise of capital gains appears to deflect attention from the fact that rents do not cover costs, assuming that you can let the property in the first place.  On some property internet forums investors are nine months post completion without the whiff of a tenant and in some cases elaborate investment appraisals have overplayed rental prospects and capital growth. 

 

The fact that an investment appraisal appears to be detailed and has many pages does not necessarily mean that it is accurate!

 

Markets in places as diverse as Slovakia, Czech Republic and the Baltics are not living up to some of the promises made by finders or agents.  So what?

 

Well become your own “expert” and learn about the key factors which affect property prices.  It doesn’t take Einstein to realise that wages are not growing as fast as property prices in some Eastern European countries and therefore rentals and re-sales will not be as predicted in some of these investment appraisals.  It is simple economics which any A Level student will be able to tell you.  If you are willing to hold some of these negative cash flow properties for at least 10 years then you may see a decent return – but short-term gains are not to be found in some of these markets.  In my view the risks of investing in these markets are not adequately explained by sellers.

 

Remember so called “paper profits” are very different to having to sell your property in an oversupplied market where the indigenous population cannot afford to buy, never mind rent!

 

In the next few weeks we will look at the advantages of short-term lets.  Presently some of our investors in our investment company are pooling tenants as the demand for their properties exceeds their ability to supply – a nice position to be in.  In some cases just 13 weeks of rental income covers their costs for the year!

 

We have a detailed chapter in the book on successfully marketing your investment property.  This is the key as you can have 2 identical properties with very different occupancy levels.

 

If you want to be able to professionally assess your property investments we still have some places available on our acclaimed “Fundamentals of Property Investment” course Saturday 16th September in Central London.  The investment is £495 plus VAT for 1 delegate or £595 plus VAT for 2 delegates, so if you wish to bring a partner or friend then the individual price reduces to £297 plus VAT.

 

Our Friday newsletter returns after the summer break this………………Friday!

 

Best wishes

 

Dominic Farrell

 

www.bewarethesharks.com