Hello all,
I'm contemplating my first investment in property with a sum of about £20,000(either as a mortgage deposit or outright purchase). Now with all the collective knowledge available on here, I was wondering which routes the more experienced of you may take. Obviously this is a bit of broad question, so I'll try and narrow down my wish list a bit:

I'm interested in investment rather than speculation. I'd like to get property (with the view to developing a portfolio over many years) that will a) pay for itself as a rental concern from roughly day 1 and b) have a little bit left over as a monthly income top-up. Obviously some capital appreciation prospects would be nice, but buying a beach in Brazil in the hope that it will triple in value in the next five minutes isn't in the game plan!

I'm looking to buy in around 6 months (or there abouts) and the pound/dollar exchange rate is showing prospects of being considerably weaker then. As currency swings can add/remove double figure percentages from an initial investment, I'm perfectly prepared to have a range of target markets to take the worlds financial circumstances into account (as long as I've had time to research them well in advance). I do want to avoid anywhere potentially unstable though - volatile countries (particularly those with large factions openly hostile to westerners) present risks that I'm not happy to take on.

I do have some of my own ideas - but I'd rather see what everyone else comes up with, rather than just a view on what I think!

I'm looking forward to hearing all your thoughts and suggestions.

Cheers,

Tim.

20000 won't get you much outright.
if u get a mortgage, then you're talking about 70K being your budget. In the UAE you can get something for that, and you'll have a good rental yield of at least 10%.
Problem: Even 70K is on the very low side for Dubai itself. It's worth checking Ras AlKhaimah or Umm AlQuwaim.

North Cyprus is another good option. I was personally about to invest there 18 month ago [after making all the ground work] but decided to stick to Dubai and Lebanon.

Lebanon is an excellent market, but too complicated to understand. And at 20 K or even 70K, it's not worth you looking at it.

Good luck,


Rammah

Hi Cagla,

In which country is the investment building, and is it still off plan?

Regards,


Rammah

Hi There,


You can buy at Moy Holiday Village Bulgaria - Home Page where you only need to put down £10'000 the price is £50'000 we can arrange a mortgage and give you a rental guarantee of 6% net so you will have a small profit each year but be able to sell the property for a lot more in a few years.

Alternatively you can purchase property in egypt outright for £20'000 and be able to rent it out year round both of the areas are emerging markets and there is a lot of money to be made !!!

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Investing in Overseas Property go to 4Front or Looking at specific large scale resort communities visit - The Bulgarian Aheloy Residence & Moy village or Cape Verde's Dunas & Tortuga

I think you have to get down to basics.
1. Where is going to grow in value
2. Where are you going to get rental yields
3. Where is the tax burden not to onerous
4. Where can you get good currency exchange now
5. Where can you get good financial leverage
6. Where is going to be a safe investment for your money

Most people look at about 1 or 2 of these elements but not really the package. Most people dont nail the rental, ie. income aspect of investing and in truth there is only a few markets and products that really ever stack up. And that my man is where the fun is. Good luck. Cut through the BS and you will start successfully investing.

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And yes of course we have things, but you are best to find some areas you like first and then come to us, we will give our opinions after you have made some choices. Shop around. The truth and best products will come up but this is the work.

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i think you have to carry out as much research as you can and feel confident in the country you are looking at i always find that looking at the economic situation of the country without the real estate and construction aspect of the country is a great indication to how the investment will do long term if the country has a high dependance on construction for its gdp growth then you could find yourself in a sticky situation once the market cools
it is always better to look at cities rather than lifestyle investments as these are more relistic in the long term to gain in both rental and capital value

Hi Tim,

I currently have two sets of investment criteria, though I am onto our 30th+ property:

1 The UK. Yield 7.5%, cash into deal < £10K, cash on cash return of > 10% p.a. I've actually just agreed a deal which is £5K cash in and 18% cash on cash return p.a.

2 Spain. I've been buying on one complex last year (I have 8 units) where the current deal is to take a €58K mortgage on a property costing €50K, but valued at €80K. Even with Spain's ridiculous transaction costs, the net entry cash required is less than £2K per apartment, though these investments cash flow negative by €70 per month right now. Once I get majority control of that community, I have a work plan and schedule (2 years) to uplift the value of each apartment by €20K with little cost other than to remove corrupt management (for which by law you need more than 1/4 of ownership of the complex)

These are the two main targets of my 2008 investment, both easily within your reach with a sum of £20K to invest. Up until 18 months ago, I was paying around £15K per investment in the UK. Now I buy BMV with bridging.

Hi Tim, have a look at Egypt. Keep to your initial figure and dip your toes in the water, it might not be for you. If it is then you have a property that you can then use to gear up and look at others. If you have £20k to spend stick to it don't start having to rely on rental income to cover mortgage costs.

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Best, Regards, Neil Hollingsworth
Email - neil@rivermeadglobalproperty.co.uk
Find us on the FreeIndex directory http://freeindex.co.uk/profile(river...rty)_98122.htm and read our reviews.

I bet you are looking for those investors. At 2,000 Euro per square metre, that's more expensive than a UK 4 bed detached house. Why would anyone pay a fraction of that price in Tangiers?