The Coronavirus pandemic has been affecting many of us globally for months at this point. We’re certainly in worrying times economically, with many different people being furloughed from their regular jobs, and some losing their jobs entirely. However, those that have the right amount of capital to invest in property will actually find that now might be a great time to invest.
Considering a venture into the property market, and want to make efficient use of your time during lockdown? For your benefit, we’ve compiled a short list of tips that you may want to consider.
Start by educating yourself
If you’re stuck inside during lockdown, with more time on your hands, and you haven’t properly looked into investment before, then now might be the perfect time to get to grips with some of the different markets, and find out which one is best for you. With property investment specifically, there are a ton of different materials available through the internet, allowing you to learn about the different components in an investment. This includes what’s important, and what you need to look out for.
If you’re someone that wants to consume information in different ways, then that’s absolutely fine too, as you can find the information in a range of different formats, from social media posts, to podcasts you can listen to while doing something else, to videos you can watch without having to read/write, to full guides with statistics, facts and figures backing up certain areas that you might be unsure about. RWinvest, a property investment company with offerings throughout the UK, have many different guides that you might find inspiring, from over-arching guides on the UK market to deep dives into specific hotspots, such as Liverpool and Manchester.
Research the area
Something that you’ll no doubt understand if you’ve done your research is that the area you’re investing in with property is absolutely crucial; the area needs to be popular and in-demand, not just currently, but also with promise for the future. You could have an absolutely incredible apartment or house at a great price, but if the unit is located in an area with no demand, then you likely won’t find much success. UK-wise, currently, Liverpool is among the best areas to invest, with low property prices compared to some of the other areas in the country, strong potential for the future with the amount of regeneration that the area is currently enjoying, and even some of the best rental yield averages in the UK from within its city centre.
Understandably, some property investors like to visit the site/unit that they’re looking into purchasing before going ahead with an investment, getting to grips with the area. If you’re a hands-on investor then this might be something important to you, but there are a ton of different virtual tours that you can do of areas, and with off-plan developments there are plenty of CGI’s and blueprints you can look into when researching a development.
Use technology to your advantage
As touched upon in the previous point, of course not being able to visit the property you’re looking at in person can be a hurdle for many. However, that hasn’t stopped international investors in the past, and for those investing in off-plan developments, there are plenty of tech-focused solutions to give you the best information possible to aid you in making your investment decision for the future.
Here are a couple of the tech solutions that you might be able to take advantage of from the comfort of your own home:
- Screen sharing consultations – Companies and investors can schedule meetings as normal, making the most of platforms such as Zoom or Skype in order to go through different properties and showcase some of the supporting materials, evidence, and handling any queries that they might have. This may not be as personalised as a face-to-face meeting, but it’s the next best thing.
- Virtual Reality Viewings – If you’ve got a virtual reality headset, or can make your phone into one using a cheaply available kit, VR viewings are something that many companies offer to investors both locked inside and internationally. Providing an immersive, 3D view of a potential investment, this tech not only allows them to look around at an existing property, but also of ones that have not yet been development and are still in concept phases – something that you wouldn’t have been able to view anyway!
Alternatively, if you don’t have a VR headset lying around that you can use or make with your smartphone, you can always just use your phone to view the file, moving it around and getting a similarly realistic view.
