The principles of blogging are the same no matter which industry or topic you are writing about, whether it is property or cars follow the fundamentals and you will attract readers. Starting out, the most important task is to have a Blog, choose the platform, give it a catchy name and start writing. A Blog is, in simple terms, a website which is updated on a regular basis with information, advice, pictures, reports and general chit chat around a subject or a range of topics. Blogs are in general supposed to be slightly less formal and fun than a website.

Writing for your blog

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Popularity: 7% [?]

Auction day

Auction day tends to be quite frenetic. There are often hundreds of properties for sale, and each property may only take around two to three minutes to sell, so it’s important to keep track of the lots. If you are successful, you become legally obliged to buy the property the minute the hammer comes down. At this point you must pay a ten per cent deposit.

As soon as your bid is accepted, the sale becomes legally binding – it’s too late to change your mind so you need to be sure you’ve made the right preparations.

Possible downsides

One downside of buying at auction is that you’ll need to have organised your valuation/survey, solicitor and mortgage beforehand. And even though you’ve paid a few hundred pounds for these, there’s no guarantee you’ll be the successful bidder.

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Popularity: 13% [?]

Property auctions used only to be for property that was impossible to value. Recent trends, however, have shown that the number of property auction sales has increased by 20% since last year. With property auctions becoming increasingly popular, is it still a sure fire way to bag a bargain?

Not for the faint hearted!

Property auctions are not for the faint-hearted! Most people who buy at auction are investors or developers who have access to cash immediately and also have sufficient confidence to know a bargain when they see one.

Traditionally, those who are prepared to buy at auction would almost certainly get a better price than if they had purchased on the open market. In some cases, the savings can be up to 40%; however, this is no longer guaranteed.

To really pick up a bargain at auction it is important to consider the many reasons why a property ends up in the auction house in the first place. Many properties make it to auction, simply because the agents do not know the property’s value. These can be a real bargain if you understand the market better than others, or if you have local knowledge that will allow you to make a reasonable judgement.

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Popularity: 11% [?]

Property investing is not just for the rich people in the world, it is for everyone. Whether you want a nice little nest egg for your retirement or you want to become a full time property investor there are ways in for everyone.

There are steps you can take to make property investing a reality instead of a dream. In this series of articles I will outline the 8 steps you can use to reach your property development dreams quicker.

Step 1

Define your goal
Unless you know where you want to go you will not get there. You first have to look at your goals for property investing. It’s not as simple as saying I want to make a million from property developing. You will learn that goals are more achievable when you use the S.M.A.R.T system for setting goals.

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Popularity: 10% [?]

The Zen of property developing

Property developing can be an immensely rewarding experience, not just financially but spiritually too.  Before you start thinking I have lost it, think about this for a moment.

The satisfaction gained from buying a property which is run down to seeing it a few months later restored and looking beautiful is a wonderful feeling.  I remember standing back from a property I had renovated and feeling elated, it was beyond words it truly was a Zen moment.

Don’t get me wrong the feeling of seeing the bank balance jump by a few thousand is also rewarding.  However the initial feeling you get when you stand back from a property development project and seeing it completed beats the money side hands down. 

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Popularity: 8% [?]

Self Build – A licence to print money?

Property investors are becoming more adventurous in a bid to make greater profits. Self build is a growing phenomenon and appears to have been very successful for the adventurous few who have taken the plunge. So is self build the next big thing and what is it all about?

Self build in the UK

The number of self build projects, across the UK, has risen dramatically in recent years, rising from just 2,000 houses in 1978 to 15,000 houses in 1999. In 2005, the number of self build houses hit an impressive 25,000 and analysts believe that this number could increase to 40,000, in the next few years.

Of course, many people self build for their own pleasure and not necessarily for investment. However, even these individuals tend to find themselves in the wonderful position of having made a handsome profit on their project. Cost savings on building your own property can be as high as 30 percent, depending on the amount of work that the individual decides to carry out on the project, which is good news for investors and residents alike!

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Popularity: 9% [?]