Previously, mortgage lenders wanted a rental coverage that was over that of the mortgage amount, for example one hundred and fifteen per cent of the monthly repayments. But at present the rules have become less stringent and you can acquire a mortgage with rental coverage of 100 per cent in some cases. The credit crunch currently being experienced by the western world does seem to work in favour of the property investor compared to the standard residential mortgage. japan property agency Buy To Let mortgages can normally be either repayment or interest-only loans. Interest-only mortgages mean cheaper monthly payments but the property will not be yours at the end of the term, japan property agency you will still need to repay the capital amount or sell the property. Repayment mortgages ensure that you repay a bit of the capital and a bit of the interest each month and at the end of the term the debt is fully paid off. Anyone looking to become involved with the property investment market has a steep learning curve to endure. japan property agency Property investment training is necessary and should be overlooked as a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. A house bought 10 years ago, would be worth around 300% more today. If you were to look at house price growth over a longer period, youd be amazed by the results. For example, japan property agency if you had bought a house in 1952, today it would be worth around 90 times more! Even today, as the market shows some evidence of slowdown, there are pockets of above average growth in certain towns and villages across the country. japan property agency Its the job of the property investor to hunt out these areas and milk them for all they are worth. A common misconception among novice property investors is that you can only really make money in property when house prices are going up in value. In this scenario, you would buy a property for x amount and resell shortly after for x+growth amount, pocketing the difference in value. japan property agency If the market was flat, your property would still be worth x several months later, i.e. exactly how much you bought it for. When house prices are going down, your property would be worth less several months later, e.g. x-growth. You can do this by attending seminars, attending courses and meeting others in the same field. Talk to real estate agents, brokers and lenders to gain a good basic understanding of current and future trends in property investments. Furthermore, take advantage of free online courses and material to learn the ins and outs of property investment. You may think your business is located in the safest area of town. You may even have a burglar alarm installed on the premises. But don’t be lulled into a false sense of security literally. Criminals are getting smarter. By the time police arrive after your alarm has sounded, a burglar could escape with thousands of dollars of merchandise or money. And even if images are captured on video cameras, it could take several days to find the burglar and by that time, your property and money are most likely already gone. According to the FBI, businesses lost $17.6 billion because of theft. Have the guards gone through training that prepares them for any type of situation? Do they know the laws and what the parameters are? You don’t want a lawsuit for false accusation or even a false arrest because the security officer was not aware of the law. Who is allowed to be there after hours and who is a trespasser? Is money kept on the premises and if so, where is it? How valuable is the equipment and merchandise in your business? What is the crime rate in the area and what are the most common types of offenses? These are just a few of the questions a good security firm will ask and know.