Is Property The Best Side Hustle Ever?

If you have a savings account full of cash, you probably want it to work more aggressively for you than it currently is. With minimal interest accruing, it can become frustrating to see your money languishing when it could be making you a lucrative return. Looking back twenty years, investment managers and TV shows alike would suggest that you invest in property. By either becoming an amateur landlord or property developer, you could make yourself a handsome profit on your investment. You could flip properties, buying them cheaply, renovating them, outperforming the market and selling them on quickly. Oh, how times have changed.

Property is now seen as a much more ruthless game. The tax system regarding second homes has been overhauled making it more difficult to make money from bricks and mortar, and the property market itself has slowed down. This doesn’t mean property isn’t worthy of your consideration, but there may be other avenues down which to channel your funds.

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Property

Being an amateur property developer should be simple if you go by what the makeover and investment TV shows spout. However, in real life things are all the more difficult. Firstly, you need to decide whether you want to flip property or whether you are in it for the long haul. Nowadays, the safer bet would be to become a landlord. Making bricks and mortar a long term investment means investing your cash to then rent out a pad.

You need to buy a property in a well established area for as little as possible that requires a little bit of attention. By making your own mark on a property, you aren’t paying a premium for a completed product. You only need a minimal cash injection to clean a pad, and make it habitable. To be a landlord, you need to show a home loan lender that you can afford the repayments on any mortgage should the home be unoccupied for any length of time. Hopefully, as you secure long term tenants this will not be an issue. Investigate the rental income for dwellings in the same area and work out whether your rental yield will cover any potential mortgage you may obtain. If it does and the property is fit for families or the young professional market, snap it up. Keep hold of it for a decade or more, watch it increase in value, and then sell to pocket the return.

Alternatively, you could purchase a pad overseas using a company like PropertyGuru to help you source the best stock. Letting out an abode to holidaymakers can be lucrative, especially if you can secure a piece of real estate in a tourist hotspot.

Wine

If property seems too risky or too labor intensive, why not have a dabble in investing in your favorite tipple. If you know your chardonnay from your riesling, you might be tempted to purchase a great vintage crate. Think of wine in the same way you think of art and antiques. The older a wine gets, the more scarce it becomes and the more desirable it is. If you purchase a case of excellent 1982 vintage rioja and store it for a decade in a wine cellar, you can then sell it on to the highest bidder. Keep an eye on the wine market as it will fluctuate in the same way as stocks and shares.

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Bitcoin

For an investment a little more risky than anything else, cryptocurrency could be worth your time. You will need nerves of steel to invest in bitcoin and ethereum. These virtual currencies are largely unregulated and there have been reports of online criminality linked to the theft of cryptocurrency from online vaults. To protect yourself as much as possible seek independent advice. However, you must see cryptocurrency as a short term investment. If you only have a few dollars to invest, purchase part of a bitcoin one day, and sell it one week later. There are few trends to analyze, as the market is that volatile. Keep your wits about you and never invest more than you can afford to lose. No one stays in bitcoin for the long game, and this won’t be the mode of investment to top up your retirement fund.

Being an amateur investor can be fun when things are looking up. Stick to property and a couple of other investments so that you spread your risk appropriately. With any luck, your money will be outperforming any savings account that you can lay your hands on.

Tia, and TipsfromTia.com  is trying to keep you looking good and
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