Wealth Assist is a trendsetter in the property investment space and offers various uniquely packaged property investment opportunities, which are available “off the shelf” for property investors to choose from. These are residential, commercial, and industrial. They offer predetermined contractual returns, whilst not exceeding 75% of market value, all cost inclusive, with yields that are positive from day one and substantially higher than what the current property market can offer through conventional investment mythologies.
Furthermore, when we package the normal typical buy-to-let property investments, we present the property with additional benefits e.g. tax advantages, rental guarantees, added finishes, and more. Opportunities for the more experienced property investors include joint venture transactions in developments and various other non-conventional opportunities.
The most important aspect which makes our property investment products is to be truly out-of-the-box is that you achieve all of the previously mentioned property investment returns whilst you are making a positive and potentially life-changing impact in the lives of the property owners.
Our top five tips for property investment
- You need goals for your property investment and do not just buy property just as an investment – “if you aim at nothing you are sure to hit that”
- You need a personalized property investment strategy to be planned in such a way that you can reach your goals in the shortest time possible, by using the best possible property investment options, without neglecting the fundamentals and with property as security. Stick to the plan and revise regularly to determine the success. This helps you to stick to the right property investments when you are flooded with all kinds of opportunities. There are organisations that will help you and can give you a proposed plan, based on statistics and assumptions for the next 5 to 10 year to establish how long it will take you to reach your investment goals.
- You need to do a proper due diligence on the property (structural, new developments, roads and plans in progress in the area, title deed restrictions and encumbrances), property owner (ownership and solvency) before purchasing. If you do not have the time, means and or parties to assist, you need to connect with property investment companies such as Property Assist, who will do that for you and which has 203 years collective management and staff experience in the industry.
- The purchase price will determine your returns. Ensure that you purchase the property at the right price, which will determine the return on investment in the long run and secure you capital in the investment period. The most important of all, is the assessment of the value of the property, seeing that it is the one factor that determines the investment return. Do not accept that every estate agent knows the market in the specific area – they need to be area specialists. Work with property investment companies that can assist with securing the correct value, that do not have conflicts of interest. Property Assist provides this service to property investors, even if they have no interest in the property and provide professional valuations through their power partners, at a predetermined fee.
- Ensure that your investment will withstand property cycle changes and that you have an exit plan. Any property investment needs to have an exit strategy, which will ensure that you recover at least your capital amount invested, even in the various property cycles which you may experience during the investment period. Proper homework by astute investors with regards to statistics and property investment companies, will be able to provide you with these statistics, so you can stress test your investment for various property cycles. Property Assist has statistics from 1972 to 2018 against which we measure our investments. These can illustrate the worst scenario that can be expected.
A few further tips!
- Upskill with regards to new and innovative property investment types and opportunities available in the market. A wise man, Zachariah, once said that due to a lack of knowledge, people perish. That is so true because people have been “stuck in a rut” for so long, on how to do investment in property. We deal with various funds, private wealth managers and other investors who struggle to make the mind shift of leveraging investments made with property as security during the investment period versus owning the property in the long term. Upskill continually about new and innovative ways to participate in property investment opportunities, so that when you choose to invest you can do so wisely. Rather establish what the fundamentals are and make sure they are always in place but stay with new and innovative investment approaches.
- Property management is a mayor part of your investment success. Even with the best property investment but where there is bad management, it will end up in an unfulfilling experience, to say the least. This scares property investors away form an excellent investment class. Proper management of the property and rental collection are an integral part of property ownership and investment. It’s one of the keys to a successful property investment.
- Be an impact property investor: Unfortunately, most property investors are focussed on buying as low as possible to market value to make as much profit as possible without taking in consideration what the seller experiences e.g. in Sales In Execution, other auctions and other such scenarios. People get trained to misuse and look for the people that are vulnerable just to maximize their ROI. That is not sustainable and will not last as an investment strategy. We all know the saying “what you sow you will reap”. Become an impact property investor and make a difference in peoples lives whilst making good returns with good security and helping others in the process! These kinds of investment are far and few between but there are organizations who are currently providing those opportunities which will help you to sleep well whilst making good returns. Property Assist is one such organisation.
- Calculate the return on investment and secure a predetermined return where possible. There are trendsetters in the property investment industry (like Property Assist) that can provide you with products with predetermined returns at prices not higher than 75% of market value (all cost inclusive) which may not yield as high a return as your high risk investment opportunities but have substantially lower risk. Practicing and including these pointers in your future property investments will ensure that you will minimize risk, avoid pitfalls and will enable you to secure predetermined returns (17% p.a. and more) which organisations like Property Assist have been able to consistently achieve over the last 5 years. Thus, irrespective of the growth rates which were and are expected to be lower than 5% and rental returns that were and expected to be 7% more or less in 2019 you can, with the right team and strategy, ensure much better returns whilst helping those in need.
HOW DOES ONE GO ABOUT INVESTING IN PROPERTY?
There are many who want to become property investors but are unsure about the process.
It all depends on the investors’ current financial status, employment and creditability, which a property investment company needs to take into consideration to advise the potential property investor correctly. It’s easy to say: “just buy what maximum you qualify for, so you can enter the market”. That is not true though, and many novice property investors have burned their fingers that way.
So many young people are advised incorrectly, when they enter the property market, to just buy a property to keep and live in. That, however, is not property investment but rather buying a home, which is not a good property investment. Live at the lowest cost possible (with your parents if required) and utilize your creditability and available cash to invest in property, that will enable you to purchase a larger property in 5 years’ time to live in and have money spare. This will allow you to keep on investing and pay a substantial deposit towards the purchase of your home.
Yes, it’s true we need to enter the market as soon as possible, but strategically, with proper advice from a reputable property investment company.
Find yourself an asset originator or property investment company, instead of spending the time to continually look for property investment opportunities yourself, if you are not doing it full time.
Property Assist has capital growth (buy and sell or “flip”) opportunities (6 to 12 month duration), income and capital growth (sale and repurchase) opportunities (1 to 5 year duration) and normal buy to let opportunities available
All opportunities have been screened by a thorough due diligence process on the property and the property owner by legal, financial, property, maintenance, sales, property investment, rental and property management specialists, before being listed as available to the property investor, which includes all the costs not exceeding 75% of market value.
Requirements to enter the property market
You can be assisted by Property Assist to enter the property market if you:
- Qualify for flisp (finance linked individual subsidy programme) earning between R 3,500 to R 22,000 p.m.
- Together with a group of friends qualify for bond financing or just have some cash available
- Have some cash available (not qualifying for a bond or in combination with a bond)
- Have proven consistent income (with impaired credit record) to purchase property
- Can access some of your pension funds or expect pension pay-out shorty
- Have an existing property or properties with low or no bond and with equity in your property or properties
- Are a foreigner with part cash and meet the bond qualification criteria
- Are just a property investor who wants to reach your goals with the correct strategy
- Are an institutional investor with funds looking for income generating investment opportunities that yield 13% plus roi in the residential market and qualify for reit
- Are a private wealth investor who is looking for unique and alternative property investments with a proven track record for more than 6 year.
You can also enter the property investment market on your own but then we advise that you upskill as much as possible by attending property investment seminars, without being lured into paying exorbitant amounts, to get the basic information about property investment. Most of such service offerings and information about the subject is available in property investment magazines like Real Estate Investor Magazine and property investment industry articles like this one presented by Property Assist as property investment advisory.
Our ultimate short checklist for property investment
- Location
- Research the area and current status of the area
- Determine demand and current trends in the area
- New developments, roads and spatial plan of the area
- Review new or changing legislation
- Ascertain the current position in the property cycle
- Property due diligence
- Structural property inspection
- Plan Scrutiny: Plans in line with the current structure build on the property
- Property owner due diligence (Solvency)
- Purchase price of the property
- Property Assessment by area specialists
- Suburb actual sales
- Comparable properties for sale
- Registered Valuations
- Condition of the property and cost of repairs if applicable
- Maintenance quotations
- Compliance certificates & quotations
- Rates clearance amount (arear rates and who is liable to pay it)
- Copy of Title deed for restrictions and more
- Research Investment Risk and return
- ROI
- Risk rating in relation to exit plan and property as security
Our advice to those who invest in property about their safeguard in an unstable economy
The only way that you can completely mitigate the risk of the various cycles and influences in an unstable economy or even political insecurity is to use uniquely structured property investment opportunities. These opportunities should have a proven track record for at least 5 or more years. Further need to for the last 30 years of property cycles in South Africa show that they would have withstood the stress test over this period and can continue to withstand such tests.
Another method is to lower the risk for loss of capital is to buy at the right price and thus purchase the larger part of the return which provides a buffer for the various influences of an unstable economy.
Another way to deal with this issue, and which has more application in the commercial and industrial space, is to ensure that your lease is signed for longer terms but at the same time to ensure that at least 65% of your tenants are national tenants with reasonable yearly escalation rates written into the lease agreements.
Predetermine your affordability through a mortgage originator if you want to use bond finance. They will provide you with a pre-qualification certificate
Determine what you want to invest and contribute in cash if you have it available
Find a property investment originator/advisor to assist you and guide you on how to find property investments with a good yield
Work out a strategic plan with the property investment originator/advisor regarding which investment opportunities to employ to achieve your investment goals in the shortest time with the least possible risk.
Select your investment opportunities and get advice from your property advisor.
Purchase and sign the agreements for your property investment.
Revisit and measure your investment returns against your strategy and plan with your property investment advisor quarterly.
Alternative Approach to Real Estate Investing – Part II
Get in touch with us today and we can assist you on your journey
