Hitting the Property Jackpot

There is a fundamental difference between entering a lottery and attempting to make money in the property business. The former relies completely on chance. While there may be an element of luck required in property, you can be in a position to control your own destiny.

If you're serious about making money from property then you need to approach it as a business proposition. Just as you would if you were starting your own business from scratch, you need to consider the various aspects of the property market before you begin.

It's wise to start by drawing up something pretty comparable to a business plan. It may be that you don't like the formality of committing so much information to paper, but such a plan can save you both time and money in the long run.

The reasoning behind drawing up a business plan (it's really a plan of action in this case) is that it offers the opportunity for you to outline your objectives and how you intend on achieving them. There will be times in the future when you may need to refer back to your plan - you'll find that it helps you to retain focus.

Let's think about a plan to make money by buying a range of properties and then looking to rent them out. If I were drawing up such a plan, the first thing that I'd consider would be my target market.

If you're going to be renting out properties then you'll need to have tenants. You should begin by asking yourself which locations offer the prospect of plenty of tenants. Typically, you'll be looking at towns and cities that have high student populations, or maybe locations where property prices have got too high for first time buyers.

These will be your potential target markets. Once you have these identified, you can develop your plan by constantly asking yourself key questions:

Where are the best locations? How much does property cost in these locations? What rental returns might I expect? How would I go about the practicalities of managing and maintaining properties?

You'll see from the questions above that each one that you answer will help to build up a clearer picture. Before you know it you'll have a complete plan for your property investment future.

Next will come the final stage: putting your plan into action!

Keith Barrett has written about finding a good Estate Agent in Winchester and the property market in general. This article may be used by any website publisher, though this resource box must always be included in full.