Property Investment Strategies

Billy — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 02:33:54 +0000

Three years after the collapse of the real state market, we still wonder if we’ve seen a bottom yet. Some say we did and many more say not so. The June 2011 existing home sales report was released this past week and it’s more of what we’ve been getting for some time.

Existing-home sales eased in June as contract cancellations spiked unexpectedly, although prices were up slightly, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Why is it that every month lately when any economic report is released, it contain the word “unexpectedly”? How can they be surprised? Yes there have been buyers out there keeping the market moving, but are they moving at the right time?
Look around in your neighborhood and I’m sure you will see many “For Sale”, “Bank Owned” and “Auction” signs. That’s only part of the story, the other part is the fact that the unemployment rate is still unstable in many areas of the country. The reason I bring this point up is that if people are not going to work, they’re not going to buy a house. To add to the matter, is the fact that there are still home owners who are in the beginning stages of foreclosure. so how is that going to help when more people are losing their homes?

Analysts feel that there is some devaluing still to come. For those looking for some real estate investment advice, I want to tell you to wait. Some feel that there’s at least another 10% drop left in the housing market, so why not wait? Being patient is the best thing you want to do. Yes you want to get the possible best price on a home, however if you jump too quickly, you may find out that you didn’t catch the bottom, but now you’re riding it out. Taking your time may cause you to miss the bottom, but at least the value of your home will rise as the market picks up strength. Chasing the bottom is not the wisest thing to do. Just like trading stocks, you most likely will not catch the bottom. Like Jim Cramer from Mad Money says… “Bulls make money, Bears make money and Pigs get slaughtered.” Chasing the bottom will only get you burned on an investment.

During that time you can also work on improving your credit score, so this way you’re be able to get a better interest rate when you apply for your loan. The magic number you’re looking to be over when it comes to your credit score is 740. If not, expect to pay a higher interest rate than what the bank may offer you before the paper work is started. A better interest also increases your profit.

Instead, take your time and work on your property investment strategies. Are you going to rent the property, fix it up and sell it quickly or is it for you and your family as your new home? Most likely, you’re thinking about using it as an investment and in that case you must remember that you don’t make you money in real estate when you sell your property, it’s when you buy it. That’s right, i’st important for you to work out the numbers good enough so you can increase your investment when you purchase it.

Dividend Reinvestment Program

joanne — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:35:08 +0000

Investing in the stock market is a subject of intense curiosity for a huge percentage of wage earners. The images of the flurry of activity at stock exchanges, and the stories about day traders raking it in, are appealing for those who want to be able to provide a better lifestyle for themselves and their families into the future.
However the truth of it is that for the great majority of investors, any gains on the share market will have to be made by sensibly choosing a balanced portfolio and letting it grow over time. The good news is that there are plenty of relatively safe investment strategies that are very likely to offer a reasonable return on your money over a long enough period! One of the less well known options that is worth pursuing if you are interested in developing a long term strategy is a Dividend Reinvestment Program, or DRIP.

A DRIP is a program run in-house by a publicly listed company. They are often offered to employees of the company, but they are also open to external investors who can meet the companies minimum share threshold to participate – usually this threshold is quite low.

The benefit of DRIP investment is that you can start with a very low volume of shares, and gradually increase your shares over time. You usually set a fixed cash amount that you will use every month to buy more shares, and this can be set up to be automatically deducted from your bank account – in essence, it is a forced savings system. The strength of a DRIP lies in the fact that any dividends paid by the company on your shares are automatically reinvested, and this has a compounding effect on your number of shares over time. Many companies also offer shares to participants in the program at a reduced rate, and of course you pay no brokers fees if dealing directly with the company!

Although it might not suit day traders out for short term gain, a DRIP is a great tool to have in your arsenal when building a long term portfolio.

Beginner Investing » investment strategies

Property Investment Strategies

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