Making the tough decision 

Dear Investor

Even the most ardent member of the 'property haters club' (BBc journalists, Money Week etc) have never defeated the property investment law that property increases in value over the long term. Despite them enjoying their minor victory over the last 12 months ( I liken it to the fact that a broken watch is still right twice a day) no-one is saying that by 2015, 2020 or 2050 property will be cheaper than it is in 2008.

Thanks to tectonic plate movements and a (somewhat strange) liking people have for mundane weather, we have the fundamental problem in the UK of a lack of living space and a growing number of people who want to live in that space. So good old supply and demand is the reason why prices have an upward trend over the long term. Its all a case of perspective. Consider the following;

• Average increase in prices over the last 12 years 1995 - 2007: +180%

• Average increase in prices over the last 12 months 2007 - 2008: -6% 

Whilst we are the first to admit property prices have fallen in the last twelve months we are also the first to stress that anyone who is serious about property investment should be taking advantage of the current situation.

It is a simple fact that we are in the best buyer's market for more than a decade.

The trouble is many people have realised this fact and just like our businessman friend above are fighting their natural inclination to "remain on the fence" and wait for something to happen. When confronted on why they are not taking advantage of this opportunity people tend to murmur things like "waiting for the market to drop further" or "just waiting for the right deal to come up then I'll buy". Whilst we would always encourage the necessary diligence before any investment we would like to point out the biggest danger with this approach.

"If you never do something, you cannot fail at it. However you can never succeed at it either"

Time * money * effort = a chance of success

(if effort = 0 then so does the chance of success!)

The simple truth is that the vast majority of people never stop waiting. Whether it be for prices to stop falling, stop rising, keep rising, the best deal etc etc we can always find an reason why we should carry on doing nothing.

Another frightening truth is that for the majority of people a comfortable retirement can only be achieved by supplementing their income with another form of investment. As a property investment company we are convinced that if you have decided that property is a good investment then you are better off with our help than going it alone.

If you are keen to get off the fence then do something pro-active today call an advisor on 01342 840 000 to discuss your situation.