UK best place for property investing
05-23-2014
The world of property investment keeps getting better for those investing in the UK, at least where media coverage is concerned.
One of the latest positive reports comes by way of an April 18 piece published by the Economic Voice. According to that story, data compiled by Taxland shows the UK to be among the cheapest places for property investment. Their data was analysed according to what Taxland calls 'total tax take'.
Total tax take involves the total cost of taxes as they relate to property development, sales, and purchases of property and property rental. The UK has the second lowest tax rate on development at 8.88% following Luxembourg's 8.46%. Where rental rates are concerned, the UK is fourth best in the world at about 23%. The highest of the surveyed countries was Argentina, coming in at an astonishing 44%.
Making the UK even more attractive is the fact that there is no tax on land ownership. Instead, council taxes and business rates for rental properties are levied on the occupant rather than the owner. The one exception is an empty property, in which case the financial obligation would become the responsibility of the owner. All in all the UK remains an attractive option for property investments, both domestically and internationally.
More Stable than Equity
There is no shortage of investment experts who do not think property investment pays enough to be worthwhile. They prefer equity investments in stocks, bonds and the like. Such reasoning is understandable among investors looking for quick turnover with potentially high profit margins. However, for the investor looking to build a long-term portfolio with increasingly greater yield over time, nothing beats property.
The one thing property has going for it over equity investments is stability. Moreover, that stability is one of the reasons the UK has been such an attractive investment location for so long. Other than the downturn caused by the housing crash – which affected everyone else in the world, too – the UK property market has remained solid for decades.
The stability of housing investments is really the result of one simple thing: need. In other words, there will be a need for rental housing as long as there is a need for housing. That means the housing market is not as easily influenced by every little thing like equity markets are. When you invest in stocks, you could be independently wealthy one day and flat broke the next. It is a great way to invest for those who do not mind the risk. Nevertheless, property is a better way to go for those who want a greater return than savings and pensions without the instability of equity markets.
Choosing the Right Properties
Despite the fact that the UK is one of the cheapest places for property investment, you still have to be careful. Not every property is a worthwhile investment. Being a successful investor is a matter of learning how to identify the right properties at the right prices. It is also a matter of learning to take advantage of off-market channels that enable you to acquire properties at prices significantly lower than retail.
Fruitful Property is one example of an investment firm that focuses on off market properties. By offering their clients prices as low as 30% off retail, they make it possible to start making money from a new property very quickly. Any investor that is new to the market would be foolish to go it alone, without the services of an established company like Fruitful Property.
It is true that you will not make 10% or better with property overnight. Property investing is a long-term strategy that requires patience and vision. However, over a ten-year period of investing in cheap houses in the right locations, you are likely to do far better than most other types of investments you can think of. Property is stable, property is a necessity, and property is not subject to as much fluctuation as other investments. You can bank on that.