3 major property investment pitfalls and how to avoid them

Only who does nothing, commits no mistakes (and even that is not entirely accurate as you will read below). There is no 100% guarantee in property investments, however, secure they may seem. Nevertheless, many mistakes can be avoided easily.

1.Ignoring the importance of location, location, location

Choosing the right location for an investment property, or, for that matter for any property, is key to obtain the desired return on your investment. The location is one of the main elements that determines the value of a property. Two identical properties in two different locations, can go at totally different prices, even half or double the price.

If you are not familiar with the location you are aiming to buy a property in, getting expert advice is a must.
Many people will be ready to “help” you with their self-declared expertise, but, even with the best intentions, friends, relatives, and acquaintances who know something about the location from their own experience, cannot be considered as experts.

Unless they are seasoned real estate investors that know the area and the properties as their pocket, your friends that have bought a property there simply cannot give you the information a professional sits on.

Therefore it can be useful to look out for an established real estate agent with an office in the area you are aiming at and with a solid reputation. Do not hesitate to ask for references!  A good real estate agent will help you to find what you need and will not try to sell you at all costs what he has in his portfolio at the moment.

2.Following the lead of a fake self-professed expert

We already mentioned above, that a lot of people consider themselves as experts – even with the best intentions – although they are all but that. But the real estate business, like any other, also has it’s wolves in sheep’s clothing. These people will try to play you in any way, kindly, serviceably and some even aggressively in order to sell their own product to you, whether it fits your requirements and investment goals or not.

Many offer free seminars where you can learn all about investing in real estate and in many cases it’s all about getting you to buy their off-the-plan projects. Being under pressure to sell their own or their bosses’ particular project, you cannot expect them to give you impartial advice and to put your investment goals in the first place.

Some are even so generous as to offer you to take care of financing en rental returns. They may even proclaim these are rental returns are guaranteed. It remains to be seen if this is a genuine guarantee or a mere commercial pitch.

The best way to avoid becoming a property seminar statistic is to know your own investor’s profile, to have a clear vision on your long term objectives, and, last but not least, to keep this as a firm guideline for your investment strategy.
Only by doing so, you can avoid being (mis)guided off the path you set out for yourself by any self-proclaimed would be expert.

3. Doing nothing | Property investment

Hardly anyone can claim he or she never missed an opportunity. Unfortunate coincidences, bad timing, …, it can happen to everyone.
However, failing to act when you have the means available and you come across good opportunities, gives you the best guarantee to miss your investment objectives and to create capital growth in the long term.
But how do you know what is a good opportunity?

Again hardly anyone can claim he or she never made a mistake.
One thing is sure: inertia and procrastination kill good opportunities!
The best any investor can do is to come well prepared.

As we said above, know your own investor’s profile, including the risks you can and wish to incur.
Consult genuine experts, as well about your investment profile and portfolio, as about the object(s) you want to invest in.
And then go for it!

At Z-Yachting & Golf-Estates we are ready to help you with our expertise on real estate at the Costa Blanca.
We focus on your requirements and your goals because we treat all our customers as long-term relations, not one-shot gains. Therefore we will put everything at work to find what you are looking for. Rather than to try to sell you what we happen to have at hand momentarily.

Come and talk to us about your goals, we will be happy to listen and to work for you.