Thursday, March 22, 2007

Fixer Upper Fortunes

Fixer Upper Fortunes is a book and the author said to be the penultimate guide for individuals to be able to make a killing in the real estate business. Fixer Upper Fortunes is made interesting by the fact that the author and the sales pitch for the book says that this particular guide will turn any individual from being a real estate dummy to a real estate tycoon.

In fact, the author claims to never had any prior extraordinary knowledge about landed property when he suddenly announced that he intended to make it big in real estate to his friends. True enough, the copy of Fixer Upper Fortunes' sales pitch says that not only did the author decidedly turn himself into a real estate tycoon from scratch, he now also wants to share his "secrets" with everyone by writing and selling his book.

Based on the sales pitch and copy for the Fixer Upper Fortunes book, it seems like just any other grossly exaggerated marketing ploy intended to make a hard sell. Usually, products that are sold through hard sell marketing means are usually unsatisfactory and hardly live up to the promises that they made during the sales pitch.

If you are having a difficult time thinking up an example for what a hard sell product is, just think about the home shopping network products. All products sold here employ hopelessly exaggerated marketing and advertising that leave the consumer wanting once they realize that the product they purchased is not at all exactly as it claimed. Unfortunately, the fixer upper fortunes book seems to this type of product.

Fixer upper fortunes claims that any Tom, Dick and Harry can make it big in the real estate business by buying and reading the book. Then it goes in for the kill by painting the picture of financial freedom and being your own boss that can be yours if you read the contents of Fixer Upper Fortunes. The seemingly too good to be true claim of Fixer Upper Fortunes in terms of enabling every reader to make their dreams happen is further quantified by a quotation of actual profit and the amount of turn around time on investment. The entire feel of the marketing ploy for the Fixer Upper Fortunes book is simply too hard sell that leave the discerning customer in doubtful of its claims.

You do not have to be particularly jaded to think that maybe Fixer Upper Fortunes is not all that it claims to be. For one thing, the sales pitch for fixer upper fortunes says that it is not for individuals who are looking for get rich quick schemes. Instead, it is said that Fixer Upper Fortunes is a legitimate business opportunity and is precisely not one of those bogus claims about making you rich without any real substance.

However, despite saying that, it also says that the author himself made $43,969 in profit only after three weeks. Fixer upper fortunes does not say that it will make people get rich quick, instead it translates that phrase into an actual figure combined with an actual measure of a short return on investment duration.

There actually is some money that can be made in real estate, particularly in buying and selling foreclosed properties. This is most probably what the Fixer Upper Fortunes is about. However it is important to understand something that Fixer Upper Fortunes does not tell you: it takes a certain amount of luck to be able to find the right kind of real estate property to be an ideal Fixer Upper Fortunes type. Now, no one's luck runs forever so before quitting your day job to go full time into this Fixer Upper Fortunes business, think again.
Fixer Upper Fortunes is a book and the author said to be the penultimate guide for individuals to be able to make a killing in the real estate business. Fixer Upper Fortunes is made interesting by the fact that the author and the sales pitch for the book says that this particular guide will turn any individual from being a real estate dummy to a real estate tycoon.

In fact, the author claims to never had any prior extraordinary knowledge about landed property when he suddenly announced that he intended to make it big in real estate to his friends. True enough, the copy of Fixer Upper Fortunes' sales pitch says that not only did the author decidedly turn himself into a real estate tycoon from scratch, he now also wants to share his "secrets" with everyone by writing and selling his book.

Based on the sales pitch and copy for the Fixer Upper Fortunes book, it seems like just any other grossly exaggerated marketing ploy intended to make a hard sell. Usually, products that are sold through hard sell marketing means are usually unsatisfactory and hardly live up to the promises that they made during the sales pitch.

If you are having a difficult time thinking up an example for what a hard sell product is, just think about the home shopping network products. All products sold here employ hopelessly exaggerated marketing and advertising that leave the consumer wanting once they realize that the product they purchased is not at all exactly as it claimed. Unfortunately, the fixer upper fortunes book seems to this type of product.

Fixer upper fortunes claims that any Tom, Dick and Harry can make it big in the real estate business by buying and reading the book. Then it goes in for the kill by painting the picture of financial freedom and being your own boss that can be yours if you read the contents of Fixer Upper Fortunes. The seemingly too good to be true claim of Fixer Upper Fortunes in terms of enabling every reader to make their dreams happen is further quantified by a quotation of actual profit and the amount of turn around time on investment. The entire feel of the marketing ploy for the Fixer Upper Fortunes book is simply too hard sell that leave the discerning customer in doubtful of its claims.

You do not have to be particularly jaded to think that maybe Fixer Upper Fortunes is not all that it claims to be. For one thing, the sales pitch for fixer upper fortunes says that it is not for individuals who are looking for get rich quick schemes. Instead, it is said that Fixer Upper Fortunes is a legitimate business opportunity and is precisely not one of those bogus claims about making you rich without any real substance.

However, despite saying that, it also says that the author himself made $43,969 in profit only after three weeks. Fixer upper fortunes does not say that it will make people get rich quick, instead it translates that phrase into an actual figure combined with an actual measure of a short return on investment duration.

There actually is some money that can be made in real estate, particularly in buying and selling foreclosed properties. This is most probably what the Fixer Upper Fortunes is about. However it is important to understand something that Fixer Upper Fortunes does not tell you: it takes a certain amount of luck to be able to find the right kind of real estate property to be an ideal Fixer Upper Fortunes type. Now, no one's luck runs forever so before quitting your day job to go full time into this Fixer Upper Fortunes business, think again.

Four Ways to Get Money From Your Real Estate Without Selling

If you have an existing piece of income producing real estate that you bought within the last couple years, you most likely have a significant amount of equity in that property. Even if you put a traditional 80% mortgage on the property when you purchased you may now have anywhere from 20% to as much as 60% to 70% equity on the property. How do you get that money out and put it to use in a new investment or use it to pay bills without selling your property.

Well, here are my top 4 ways to put cash in your pocket without having to SELL your real estate...

Place a private second mortgage on your property – One of the best ways to get cash out of the property is by borrowing money from a private lender and giving them a second mortgage on the property as security. By way of an example, if you bought a property 5 years ago for $100,000 and put an $80,000 mortgage on the property at the time of purchase you had $20,000 equity. That property today may be worth $130,000 and mortgage paid down to $75,000 leaving you with $55,000 in equity. If you borrowed $30,000 from a private lender you now have $105,000 in total debt on the building. This leaves the debt-to-equity ratio at a very reasonable 81%. We do not recommend ever going above 90% debt-to-equity to allow some margin for future down turns. One of the primary ways we attract private lenders is through group luncheons and private meetings. We use the Private Lender Presentation Kit as our primary marketing tool to generate leads and convert individuals into our program.

Put a Rent-to-Own Tenant in the building – Under a rent-to-own program a renter with the desire to ultimately purchase is given 12 to 24 months to rent while fixing or improving their credit to the point where they can get a mortgage and cash you out. The great advantage of this method, and are many, is the tenant/buyer typically pays you 3% to 10% of the value of the property upfront in the form a non-refundable purchase deposit. This deposit can be anywhere from $2,000 to $20,000 cash in your pocket. If the tenant/buyer does not cash out or decides to move out you can legal keep the deposit and do the whole thing over again. Another advantage is that a tenant/buyer feels much more compelled to pay rent on time to get the purchase price credit that is only given if the rent is paid on time.

Refinance the existing mortgage with a new private lender mortgage – If you have an existing first mortgage on a property you can refinance the whole amount for new higher first mortgage using a private lender as your lender. Using the above example, if you have property worth $130,000 with a $75,000 first mortgage, you could refinance the first mortgage with a private lender for $105,000 and cash out $30,000 for yourself. The advantage of this method is that the cost of first mortgage alone will be lower than a first and second combination as describe above. You also avoid having the loan show up on your credit report and this usually improves your credit score.

Use your property to secure a line of credit – If you have one or more properties with a significant amount of equity you can use that equity to get a line of credit from a bank or local saving and loan. Again using the above example of property with $55,000 in equity you may be able to get as much as a $30,000 line of credit. We have found that banks will never go above 80% debt-to-equity with these types of lines. This type of financing has several advantages including no interest cost until you actual use the money and generally the interest rates are very competitive in the prime plus 3% to 6% range.

In Conclusion, we have outlined four ways to generate cash from your real estate with out having to sell your property. This has tremendous advantages in allowing you access to cash to do new projects or pay operating expenses.
If you have an existing piece of income producing real estate that you bought within the last couple years, you most likely have a significant amount of equity in that property. Even if you put a traditional 80% mortgage on the property when you purchased you may now have anywhere from 20% to as much as 60% to 70% equity on the property. How do you get that money out and put it to use in a new investment or use it to pay bills without selling your property.

Well, here are my top 4 ways to put cash in your pocket without having to SELL your real estate...

Place a private second mortgage on your property – One of the best ways to get cash out of the property is by borrowing money from a private lender and giving them a second mortgage on the property as security. By way of an example, if you bought a property 5 years ago for $100,000 and put an $80,000 mortgage on the property at the time of purchase you had $20,000 equity. That property today may be worth $130,000 and mortgage paid down to $75,000 leaving you with $55,000 in equity. If you borrowed $30,000 from a private lender you now have $105,000 in total debt on the building. This leaves the debt-to-equity ratio at a very reasonable 81%. We do not recommend ever going above 90% debt-to-equity to allow some margin for future down turns. One of the primary ways we attract private lenders is through group luncheons and private meetings. We use the Private Lender Presentation Kit as our primary marketing tool to generate leads and convert individuals into our program.

Put a Rent-to-Own Tenant in the building – Under a rent-to-own program a renter with the desire to ultimately purchase is given 12 to 24 months to rent while fixing or improving their credit to the point where they can get a mortgage and cash you out. The great advantage of this method, and are many, is the tenant/buyer typically pays you 3% to 10% of the value of the property upfront in the form a non-refundable purchase deposit. This deposit can be anywhere from $2,000 to $20,000 cash in your pocket. If the tenant/buyer does not cash out or decides to move out you can legal keep the deposit and do the whole thing over again. Another advantage is that a tenant/buyer feels much more compelled to pay rent on time to get the purchase price credit that is only given if the rent is paid on time.

Refinance the existing mortgage with a new private lender mortgage – If you have an existing first mortgage on a property you can refinance the whole amount for new higher first mortgage using a private lender as your lender. Using the above example, if you have property worth $130,000 with a $75,000 first mortgage, you could refinance the first mortgage with a private lender for $105,000 and cash out $30,000 for yourself. The advantage of this method is that the cost of first mortgage alone will be lower than a first and second combination as describe above. You also avoid having the loan show up on your credit report and this usually improves your credit score.

Use your property to secure a line of credit – If you have one or more properties with a significant amount of equity you can use that equity to get a line of credit from a bank or local saving and loan. Again using the above example of property with $55,000 in equity you may be able to get as much as a $30,000 line of credit. We have found that banks will never go above 80% debt-to-equity with these types of lines. This type of financing has several advantages including no interest cost until you actual use the money and generally the interest rates are very competitive in the prime plus 3% to 6% range.

In Conclusion, we have outlined four ways to generate cash from your real estate with out having to sell your property. This has tremendous advantages in allowing you access to cash to do new projects or pay operating expenses.

Why Invest In Bulgaria

Property is the fastest growing asset in Bulgaria. With its approaching integration in the European Union the country presents a prime opportunity for investments with very promising growth potentials.

Investing in Bulgarian real estate now means simply following the logic of the real estate trends in Europe in the past 20 years. For example, Bulgaria today is what Spain was two decades ago with regard to real estate development and growth, boom in tourism, and general economic advancement.

Bulgaria is particularly attractive because of its diverse and striking natural terrain-the beauty compacted into such a tiny country hasn’t stopped to fascinate visitors and investors alike. Relatively low urbanization and a good climate, combined with the rich cultural heritage, numerous historic and natural attractions, and friendly local environment have made Bulgaria a desired place for a second home or a permanent residence.

In the last 18 months property prices in Bulgaria increased more than 25% and in certain cases real estate value increased by 50%. Now, after this initial big jump, the real estate market has taken a slower but steady trend of going upward. Prices of property and land are expected to increase by an average of 10 to 15 percent for the next few years and experts agree that now is good time to catch the wave of the growing real estate market in this country.

Whether investing in real estate development or buying land, or acquiring a vacation property, Bulgaria is a market that should not be overlooked. The prime real estate areas are obviously the bigger beach resorts along the Black Sea coast like(Albena, Golden Sands, St Konstantin and Elena, Sunny Beach); the coastal city of Varna; the country’s capital Sofia; the mountain resorts of Pamporovo, Bansko and Borovets; and the numerous towns and villages close to the sea coast. At the same time the Bulgarian inland, with its authentic towns, bucolic villages, and landscape, unspoiled by industrialization is a long-forgotten site for many West Europeans and also an attractive option for investment in real estate.

Low cost of living, great food and services, developed infrastructure, spectacular scenery, and easy accessibility from Europe due to the expanding network of airline charters, have made Bulgaria not only a desired vacation spot but a place for sound investment.
Property is the fastest growing asset in Bulgaria. With its approaching integration in the European Union the country presents a prime opportunity for investments with very promising growth potentials.

Investing in Bulgarian real estate now means simply following the logic of the real estate trends in Europe in the past 20 years. For example, Bulgaria today is what Spain was two decades ago with regard to real estate development and growth, boom in tourism, and general economic advancement.

Bulgaria is particularly attractive because of its diverse and striking natural terrain-the beauty compacted into such a tiny country hasn’t stopped to fascinate visitors and investors alike. Relatively low urbanization and a good climate, combined with the rich cultural heritage, numerous historic and natural attractions, and friendly local environment have made Bulgaria a desired place for a second home or a permanent residence.

In the last 18 months property prices in Bulgaria increased more than 25% and in certain cases real estate value increased by 50%. Now, after this initial big jump, the real estate market has taken a slower but steady trend of going upward. Prices of property and land are expected to increase by an average of 10 to 15 percent for the next few years and experts agree that now is good time to catch the wave of the growing real estate market in this country.

Whether investing in real estate development or buying land, or acquiring a vacation property, Bulgaria is a market that should not be overlooked. The prime real estate areas are obviously the bigger beach resorts along the Black Sea coast like(Albena, Golden Sands, St Konstantin and Elena, Sunny Beach); the coastal city of Varna; the country’s capital Sofia; the mountain resorts of Pamporovo, Bansko and Borovets; and the numerous towns and villages close to the sea coast. At the same time the Bulgarian inland, with its authentic towns, bucolic villages, and landscape, unspoiled by industrialization is a long-forgotten site for many West Europeans and also an attractive option for investment in real estate.

Low cost of living, great food and services, developed infrastructure, spectacular scenery, and easy accessibility from Europe due to the expanding network of airline charters, have made Bulgaria not only a desired vacation spot but a place for sound investment.

Duplex Real Estate

Look out sunshine state we have a duplex for sale. Duplex or homes in general around certain areas of California are costly. Therefore, you want resources to assist you with finding some of the best bargains.

Today, you have more resources than you can imagine. The Internet opens doors to duplex for sale, including real estate duplex in Baja, Orange Country, San Diego, San Francisco, Hollywood, and so on. Some of the listings online include the triplex, fourplex, two story duplex and multi-family units. Rentals and leased units are offered online at real estate centers too.

Look around Baja, since you will find ocean view duplex homes for less than $400 per month. The three bedroom duplex, include the modular.

Some areas sell duplex around Mediterranean areas. You have the duplex for sale that make up the three stories with a panoramic ocean view. The area alone will astound you. You have a view of the Pacific. The duplexes in some areas surround undeniably beautiful Coronado Islands. Living near the sandy beaches you will enjoy California homes with over 200 square feet of meter lots, leveled across lovely Mediterranean attractions. Some of the duplex real estate in California are, as low as $110, 000.

Around Baja, you will find lovely beach duplex for sale California homes. Some of the duplex are situated at ocean view sites. You will find the two bedrooms, with a single bath and so on. The duplexes, some have huge patios so that you can relax while enjoy lavishing, views of the ocean. Some of the two bedroom duplexes have one and half car garage.

Real estate sites online give you many resources. You will find thousands of listings at the real estate web sites. Some of the listings include three-bedroom duplex for sale. Some owner gives you the option of renting for a night, or else will negotiate pricing if you choose not to buy. Three bedrooms often have two baths, dual private sleep lofts. Some duplexes are completely furnished; as well, you have utensils available with some duplex homes.

Some of the three bedrooms situate near the sea. In addition, you have options with the duplexes surround the lovely California Mountains and Estuary. You have over 39 yards of surfing line at some duplex California homes.

Check the Internet for bargains since some are available. Specifically, if you are searching for duplex in California real estate, you want to the best deals you can find. Use the real estate web sites to get quotes, compare costs, and check pricing, specifics and more. Most real estate sites offer free tools. It pays to speak with real estate agents also, since these people specialize in assisting you with finding duplex for sale in California that fit you lifestyle and budget. In addition, you will find duplex real estate in other areas of the world.
Look out sunshine state we have a duplex for sale. Duplex or homes in general around certain areas of California are costly. Therefore, you want resources to assist you with finding some of the best bargains.

Today, you have more resources than you can imagine. The Internet opens doors to duplex for sale, including real estate duplex in Baja, Orange Country, San Diego, San Francisco, Hollywood, and so on. Some of the listings online include the triplex, fourplex, two story duplex and multi-family units. Rentals and leased units are offered online at real estate centers too.

Look around Baja, since you will find ocean view duplex homes for less than $400 per month. The three bedroom duplex, include the modular.

Some areas sell duplex around Mediterranean areas. You have the duplex for sale that make up the three stories with a panoramic ocean view. The area alone will astound you. You have a view of the Pacific. The duplexes in some areas surround undeniably beautiful Coronado Islands. Living near the sandy beaches you will enjoy California homes with over 200 square feet of meter lots, leveled across lovely Mediterranean attractions. Some of the duplex real estate in California are, as low as $110, 000.

Around Baja, you will find lovely beach duplex for sale California homes. Some of the duplex are situated at ocean view sites. You will find the two bedrooms, with a single bath and so on. The duplexes, some have huge patios so that you can relax while enjoy lavishing, views of the ocean. Some of the two bedroom duplexes have one and half car garage.

Real estate sites online give you many resources. You will find thousands of listings at the real estate web sites. Some of the listings include three-bedroom duplex for sale. Some owner gives you the option of renting for a night, or else will negotiate pricing if you choose not to buy. Three bedrooms often have two baths, dual private sleep lofts. Some duplexes are completely furnished; as well, you have utensils available with some duplex homes.

Some of the three bedrooms situate near the sea. In addition, you have options with the duplexes surround the lovely California Mountains and Estuary. You have over 39 yards of surfing line at some duplex California homes.

Check the Internet for bargains since some are available. Specifically, if you are searching for duplex in California real estate, you want to the best deals you can find. Use the real estate web sites to get quotes, compare costs, and check pricing, specifics and more. Most real estate sites offer free tools. It pays to speak with real estate agents also, since these people specialize in assisting you with finding duplex for sale in California that fit you lifestyle and budget. In addition, you will find duplex real estate in other areas of the world.

5 Tips To Maximise Your Return On Investing In European Property Investment

At a time when everyone seems to be chasing the next hot spot for property investment, where should you invest, why, and how will you get the best returns on your money? All is revealed here…

Romania is increasingly earning the accolades as one of the best property investments in the world. PriceWaterhouseCoopers ranked Romania as the most profitable property investment in Europe in January 2006. They estimated a 414% return on investment over the next decade, which works out at approximately 17.8% annually, a considerable return. Coliers International, one of the world’s largest real estate consultants rated Romania as the second most lucrative investment in the world in July 2006. Given its rapidly expanding economy, booming tourism, impressive foreign investment, and its EU membership from 1 January 2007, Romania clearly possesses the attributes to be a thriving property investment for the astute investor.

Whilst the ingredients for a lucrative investment are there, how exactly, do you maximize your profitability from am investment in Romania? Here are 5 top tips to achieve a commanding return on your money and possibly exceed the promising forecasts from PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Channel 4:

1. Leave the capital and go for a secondary city.
Bucharest is a sound investment and the large majority of experienced foreign investors concentrate the bulk of their investments in the capital. However prices in the capital have risen exponentially over the last three years, with most property doubling in price. Prices will continue to rise, but at a slower pace than that of many secondary cities in Romania. Hence a large number of the country’s biggest developers and investors are moving gradually to other major cities in Romania, such as Cluj, Constanta, Timisoara, Iasi, and other locations. These are areas of strong growth and whilst the rental yields will generally be lower than in Bucharest, the capital growth can be substantially higher.

2. Buy off-plan very early in the development process
Most development projects take 12-18 months to complete. If you buy very early in the development process you will benefit from one or two price rises during the property’s construction. The developers usually raise their prices to align with the soaring market prices and to allow for the increasing material and labour costs. If you buy at the beginning the development you can see an official 15-25% price increase during the construction phase.

3. Leverage your money using bank’s money
Mortgages for foreigners are still difficult to come by and fairly expensive. There are 4-5 banks that offer mortgages to foreigners and the interest rates range between 6-10%. If you get a rate of 6.5%, which is comparable to the rates in the UK, there are still considerable bank arrangement fees, up to 3% of the property value. Even at these costs it is still very lucrative to leverage your investment with bank financing in Romania. However, if you can raise finance against a property in the UK or even better, in Europe where rates are lower, your investment will be even more profitable.

4. Invest in land
Land investments have consistently outperformed property investments in Romania over the last three years. Depending on your available capital and preferred investment duration, buying land at low cost in strategic locations can bring stunning returns. As more and more property is being built, less and less land is available and of course this will increase land prices faster than property prices. Beware though, this is not an investment to take lightly, you need to have a very accurate knowledge of the market, especially prices, locations, zoning plans of the local authorities, etc. Only venture in this direction with reputable and reliable real estate and legal advisers.

5. Invest in renovation projects
Renovation projects, whether in the capital, a major city, holiday resort or a historic town can be a very lucrative investment. The costs vary depending on the location, type and size of the project, but impressive returns can be achieved in a matter of weeks. Should you aim for low cost renovation projects, head for a small town or a well-known village in a popular tourist area with good access. Here you can start with the lowest possible capital, often under £10,000. Beware the weakness of such a location though: the resale market may be very slow and it could take you a considerable amount of time to sell your renovated property.
At a time when everyone seems to be chasing the next hot spot for property investment, where should you invest, why, and how will you get the best returns on your money? All is revealed here…

Romania is increasingly earning the accolades as one of the best property investments in the world. PriceWaterhouseCoopers ranked Romania as the most profitable property investment in Europe in January 2006. They estimated a 414% return on investment over the next decade, which works out at approximately 17.8% annually, a considerable return. Coliers International, one of the world’s largest real estate consultants rated Romania as the second most lucrative investment in the world in July 2006. Given its rapidly expanding economy, booming tourism, impressive foreign investment, and its EU membership from 1 January 2007, Romania clearly possesses the attributes to be a thriving property investment for the astute investor.

Whilst the ingredients for a lucrative investment are there, how exactly, do you maximize your profitability from am investment in Romania? Here are 5 top tips to achieve a commanding return on your money and possibly exceed the promising forecasts from PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Channel 4:

1. Leave the capital and go for a secondary city.
Bucharest is a sound investment and the large majority of experienced foreign investors concentrate the bulk of their investments in the capital. However prices in the capital have risen exponentially over the last three years, with most property doubling in price. Prices will continue to rise, but at a slower pace than that of many secondary cities in Romania. Hence a large number of the country’s biggest developers and investors are moving gradually to other major cities in Romania, such as Cluj, Constanta, Timisoara, Iasi, and other locations. These are areas of strong growth and whilst the rental yields will generally be lower than in Bucharest, the capital growth can be substantially higher.

2. Buy off-plan very early in the development process
Most development projects take 12-18 months to complete. If you buy very early in the development process you will benefit from one or two price rises during the property’s construction. The developers usually raise their prices to align with the soaring market prices and to allow for the increasing material and labour costs. If you buy at the beginning the development you can see an official 15-25% price increase during the construction phase.

3. Leverage your money using bank’s money
Mortgages for foreigners are still difficult to come by and fairly expensive. There are 4-5 banks that offer mortgages to foreigners and the interest rates range between 6-10%. If you get a rate of 6.5%, which is comparable to the rates in the UK, there are still considerable bank arrangement fees, up to 3% of the property value. Even at these costs it is still very lucrative to leverage your investment with bank financing in Romania. However, if you can raise finance against a property in the UK or even better, in Europe where rates are lower, your investment will be even more profitable.

4. Invest in land
Land investments have consistently outperformed property investments in Romania over the last three years. Depending on your available capital and preferred investment duration, buying land at low cost in strategic locations can bring stunning returns. As more and more property is being built, less and less land is available and of course this will increase land prices faster than property prices. Beware though, this is not an investment to take lightly, you need to have a very accurate knowledge of the market, especially prices, locations, zoning plans of the local authorities, etc. Only venture in this direction with reputable and reliable real estate and legal advisers.

5. Invest in renovation projects
Renovation projects, whether in the capital, a major city, holiday resort or a historic town can be a very lucrative investment. The costs vary depending on the location, type and size of the project, but impressive returns can be achieved in a matter of weeks. Should you aim for low cost renovation projects, head for a small town or a well-known village in a popular tourist area with good access. Here you can start with the lowest possible capital, often under £10,000. Beware the weakness of such a location though: the resale market may be very slow and it could take you a considerable amount of time to sell your renovated property.