Property investment - Lessons Learned? Tips for the future?
Written by Dave Moore
Property investment - Lessons Learned? Tips for the future?
If this was your first try at property investing, don’t beat yourself up about it. If it wasn’t for such a financial crisis which apparently so few people saw coming it’s quite possible you wouldn’t have lost any money at all. Furthermore, you weren’t the only person to invest in Sunny Beach or Bansko between 2005 and 2008 – literally tens of thousands of British and Irish folk all thought they would make themselves a fortune. Please remember, many people have made millions from investing on property between 2005 & 2008, they just used a bit of a different strategy.
There’s no question when you see so many property shows on television, when MRI have a 24 hour advertisement running under the guise of an independent property channel, when there are property exhibition shows all around the country, when the glossy brochures and the big advertisement boards at the airports are all telling you to do the same thing, it’s no surprise that you actually ended up doing it. The reason successful companies spend so much on advertising is because it does work, otherwise what would be the point.
Investing in property is a good thing to do if you look at it objectively to start. Don’t think that by you investing in Sunny Beach or Bansko you have made the sort of mistake you wouldn’t have made by investing elsewhere. Although not an expert in other parts of the world, it seems most who’ve invested in Southern Spain, Cape Verde, Egypt, Morocco, Calabria, Florida and many other places between 2005 and 2008 have all seen the perceived values of their investment plummet in some cases by about 65%. In short ‘There is a Global over-supply of Beach property around the world’ - Turkey has fared quite well over the past few years, but this has been driven through local demand, a rapidly growing, large economy and has the added value of a very long season.
It’s not true that anyone investing in Beach property can’t make money from it, it just means you have to be much more careful about investing in the right project. A few golden rules that apply are listed below;
- Choose your location carefully. Areas where everyone is investing are almost never the right opportunity – instead they have usually past the best time for investment. Bulgaria is a perfect example, if you bought in 2002, you would have made a fortune by selling in 2007. When every property stand at a property show is advertising one area, the only people are who are going to make money from that sort of investment are the sales agents and developers.
- Choose your property carefully. The most resilient properties during the recent turmoil have been right at the top end. If you invest in a unique development, with great facilities, views and quality, you will almost never lose as there will always be someone who wants to buy a top quality product from you. If you are looking at buying coastal property and buy a studio apartment 1km from the beach on a site with few facilities who would want to stay there – who would want to buy the property from you in the future?
- Don’t fall for the trap of thinking every property in the same country will be party to the same fate and market conditions. Some people who have invested in Bulgarian property have actually made money, but they were the ones who invested in something a bit different.
- If buying in an un-tested market – understand that you are speculating. Buying property in Bulgaria, Cape Verde, Morocco, Egypt was always a risk and anyone who thought not wasn’t actually using their grey matter. If you want a steady, predictable return on investment, buy something boring like a terraced house in Manchester. If you want to go for something a little riskier, understand it’s a risk, don’t invest your life savings and also expect you might lose.
- If the value of your investment has fallen, enjoy the asset and make sure you go on plenty of holidays there. After all, it’s not only monetary reward that can make an investment successful – if it was, no one would ever buy a new car.
For those who just bought their property for somewhere to go on holiday – what does it really matter how much your property is worth now – that’s only important for people who are looking to sell. Enjoy your asset and enjoy the beautiful beaches & ski resorts of Bulgaria.
Those reading this article might think, this advice would have been useful in years gone by & it’s easy to get things right in retrospect and both of these statements are true. But consider this, if you spoke to me in 2006, 2007 and 2008 about where to invest I would have told you to steer well clear of over-priced, poor quality, poorly located developments in Sunny Beach, Bansko or many areas in the countries listed above. I did see this bubble bursting but it gives me no pleasure in saying I told you so – instead I hope it encourages you to trust me in the future when seeking advice about Property Investment.
For hints, tips and for a bespoke property investment strategy please contact me on +44 1142852958, +44 7738887555 or email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Whilst my service isn’t free, it’s un-questionably valuable because it could save you a lot of money initially and make you a lot of money in the future.
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