Retirement! Are You Ready for It?

Retirement can creep up on you before you know it, and you don't want to be caught unawares. As such, it’s important to make sure you have planned for it well in advance. These are some of the things you might like to consider when your retirement is impending.

Where Will You Live?

You've got to think about where you're going to live when you finally do retire. If you are still pretty able bodied you might decide you want to stay at home. There are also family members you could stay with if necessary. But, if you want to be in a community among other retirees you should consider moving into a retreat or retirement home. These are often kitted out to suit the needs of elderly retirees, and they have fully trained and professional staff on hand at all times. Think hard about this, and make a decision about whether it’s the right course of action for you.

Are Your Finances in Order?

One of the major factors you need to get right when you retire is your finances. A lot of people don't bother sorting out pensions, or their money for retirement. And they can run into all sorts of problems as a result. You have to make sure you do as much as you can to ensure your finances are in order. That means you've got to plan as much as possible now, so you are financially stable when you stop working. A lot of people consider hiring financial planners to help them with this, and you should consider doing the same. The years creep up, and retirement could be on you before you know it. The problem is that you need to understand that putting money away each but month is crucial. But finding the time to do it is often a big ask sometimes. If you can get this aspect right, you will enjoy a much better retirement as a result.

Keep Your Mind Active

They say that when you have something to do to keep you occupied your mind works better. And when you are retired you need to make sure you keep your mind as active as possible. The mind can go very quickly when you reach your later years, so you have to make sure you do things that will keep you as active as possible in a mental sense. For instance, you need to understand that hobbies and interests are crucial when you retire. You're no longer working, so you still need something to stimulate you. And hobbies can play a massive part in this process. There might be something you've always wanted to do, and now you have the chance to. Retirement is a good opportunity to keep yourself active physically and emotionally.

Retirement comes to us all, and we need to understand exactly what it is that we need to prepare for. We will no longer be working or receiving an income, so there are a lot of considerations that have to be involved with this. Use the points on this post to try to come up with some of the best ideas to help you with your retirement. This is something you've got to sort out as best you can before it’s too late.

Making Your Money Work Harder: Earning Cash With Real Estate

Property is a smart way to invest your money, and while there might be rises and falls in the market generally property prices will increase year on year. Here are just a few of the ways you can make money through property

Flipping Houses

Here you will buy a property, often cheaply at auction, and then sell for a profit. It’s worth bearing in mind however that there is risk with flipping houses and it pays to be knowledgeable about the property market. For example, you need to understand what is going to make you the most profit as opposed to what you personally like in a home. You need to be aware of the ‘ceiling price’ in different areas, as no matter how high spec you finish the property this means it will only ever sell for a limited price. You also need to know what buyers are looking for so that you can make your sales quickly and free up the cash to invest again elsewhere. You don’t want to end up with a situation where you’re stuck with a property and are unable to sell it for many months. If you’re looking to flip houses for a career, you will need a team of reliable tradespeople. Workers you know you can trust to do a good job and not overcharge you, maximizing your profits while restoring properties to an excellent standard.

Renting Out Properties

Instead of selling properties for a profit, renting them out instead can be a good way to go. Once you have a number of them finished with long term tenants, they will continue to earn you money each month. Many areas have a shortage of homes that are available to rent privately meaning you should never be left without a tenant, and will even be able to pick what kind of tenants you want. If you have a number of properties that you rent out, it can be beneficial to hire an agent to deal with them for you. You’ll pay a fee for this, but it means that you don’t need to deal with tenants directly and the agent is responsible for chasing up rent each month.

Passive Real Estate

When you invest in passive real estate, you don’t deal with the hassles of daily management. This is useful for those who aren’t able to become full-time landlords due to time restraints. You also don’t have to deal with the banks since this is done on your behalf by the professional private real estate investment company you’re working with. Plus passive real estate allows tax-deferred cash returns; this means that you keep more of your earnings.

Renting a Room in Your Property

Even if you don’t have money to start investing in property right away, you could start earning money with your own home. If you have a spare room, taking on a lodger and becoming a live-in landlord is one option. Alternatively, in some cases, it can make sense to rent out your property, and you rent somewhere else that’s cheaper. This could be a short-term arrangement of a year or two, and allow you to generate some income before moving back in. But buy a property is always the best option.

To Summarise, earning passive income through real estate is a fantastic way for you to increase your cash flow and create additional income streams. However, getting into real estate requires a good chunk of startup capital to invest. For smaller sums of money, there are many alternative ways to invest your cash for respectable returns. Check out this piece on how to invest 10k to find out more.

Mind the Gap: Real Estate Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

It seems like everyone who’s interested in safe long-term investments wants to jump on the property ladder. They either want to buy and sell homes, renovate old properties to sell or invest in rental homes. If you’re one of these people, then here’s the first tip: it’s not easy. Don’t come into the property market and expect to flip your life savings into even more money. In fact, most people come into the industry and leave with permanent dents to their wallet, and they don’t have a single penny to show for their hard work.

Don’t take the property ladder lightly. It’s an extremely volatile market that requires a lot of planning, calculations and considerations. So to help you avoid these pitfalls, here are some tips and how to avoid making irreversible mistakes.

Don’t go with the flow, have a plan

Don’t do this. Don’t come into the market without a plan, don’t change your strategy as you go, and don’t think that you can just “go with the flow” and expect to make money. Do you see a house that you think it a bargain? Chances are that it’s not and you’re just acting on instinct instead of well-researched information. Make a plan, discuss it with your friends, family or partner, and form a strategy on what you plan to buy and sell.

Trust others and rely on people for help

You certainly won’t make it anywhere in the market if you aren’t willing to listen to others. There are many services available to you that offer everything from listing your property to offering rental properties advice, and unless you’re good with DIY and renovations then you need to get in touch with contractors. It doesn’t matter how knowledgeable you think you are on the property ladder, and it doesn’t matter if you’ve read hundreds of do-it-yourself property ladder guides—you will fail if you don’t seek help.

Don’t forget to do your research

To coincide with the last point—never go into the property ladder blind. Would you drive blind? Doubtful, so why would you invest in a business venture without your eyes open? You need to read as much information as you can (including this guide!). Wannabe real estate investors don’t understand a thing they are doing, and most of the time they aren’t investing with their own money. They’re putting their well-being at risk, but they might also be putting their family savings at risk. Don’t turn your real estate investments into a gamble—do sufficient research and educate yourself. Otherwise, you may as well just go to Las Vegas and throw your money at slot machines and pray.

Don’t overestimate the money you’ll make

Real estate developments and investments aren’t get rich quick schemes. The amount of rent you get from a property could be offset by repair costs that your tenants cause, or the fees you hastily accept might eat into any profit you could have potentially made. Consider all the fees and costs you have to pay before you accept a deal, or else you might be left with less money than you started with.

Rental Troubles: How To Take The Stress Out Of Being A Landlord

A lot of people have realized that property is one of the most reliable and profitable investments out there. With the market in its current state, there's a severe lack of rental properties which means that there are always tenants looking to rent. What a lot of people tend to neglect, however, is just how much work being a landlord entails. Far too often, the standard image of a landlord is one of sitting back and watching the rent money pour in, never having to lift a finger. Now, any landlord will tell you straight away that that's a complete fantasy. But does being a landlord have to come with quite so much stress? Well, fear not! Because here are just a few ways that you can make your life as a landlord just that little bit easier.

Be selective with your properties

One of the biggest mistakes that a lot of landlords end up making is that they assume that a cheaper property will make a better investment. On the surface, this makes sense, after all; you're saving money on your initial investments. But what far too many people fail to realize is how much this cheaper property might end up costing them down the line. You need to ask yourself, "why is this property so cheap?" There's a chance that it's because of the condition that it's in. If you buy a property that's in poor condition, then you're far more likely to end up having to pay a lot of money towards the maintenance, which will also eat into your time. Make sure that you're as selective as possible with your properties and don't just jump at the chance because something seems like a bargain.

Get some outside support

One of the things that can end up being the biggest sources of stress for a landlord is trying to sort everything yourself. From the finances and contracts to the maintenance and dealing with the tenants. Handling all of that on your own can be a seriously daunting task. That's why it's a good idea to get the support of local property managers who will help you deal with a lot of the aspects of your property. This becomes especially useful and important when you come to rent out more than a single property. Dealing with one house by yourself might be manageable but dealing with any more than that is definitely the sort of task that requires some help.

Screen your tenants

Tenants can make all the difference to a landlords stress levels. The right tenants can be a dream, doing their own thing and taking care of the house, as well as paying the rent like clockwork. But if you find yourself with the wrong tenants then that can be a waking nightmare. The last thing you want is to spend your life chasing rent from tenants who don't even look after your property. Make sure that you carefully screen your tenants and always contact any previous landlords for a reference.

How to Maximize Your Rental Return When You Invest in Real Estate

Looking after a rental property is really important, and you need to consider how to maximize your rental return. There are so many things you can do that will help you to improve the property and attract better tenants. Think about what you can do to maximize your rental return and make as much money as possible. Bear in mind that this is your job, so you need to do as much as possible to ensure you are making as much as you can.

Choose the Right Tenants

It starts at the very beginning. If you want to make sure you are getting the rent paid in full and on time every month, you need the right tenants. This is something that can be a bit of a lottery on occasion. There are so many different potential tenants out there, and it can be difficult to pick the right ones. That's why we have references and background checks to help us out. Picking someone with a good track record and history is a good way of ensuring that your rental requirements will be met on time. Many property owners can run into difficulties with this kind of thing, and they tend to suffer as a result of bad tenants.

Landlord Deposit Scheme

There are a lot of finance options for landlords, as well as important things like landlord deposit schemes out there that you can use. These are important because they protect your rights and assets as a landlord. You have to use one of these schemes as much as you possibly can. There are a lot of benefits to entering into one of these deposit protection schemes. You need to bear in a position where you are going to be protected and reimbursed if problems occur with rental payments or bad tenants.

Property Management Company

It’s also important to have some help and support throughout the process. This is something you need to make sure you sort out as much as you can. There are a lot of pitfalls when you become a landlord, and you have to make sure you are maximizing the rental return on your properties. The way to achieve that is to make use of property management companies. They provide lots of services and guidance that come in really useful for you. To protect your future and success as a real estate investor, this is something you need to focus on. A property management company can make all the difference for you as a landlord.

Maintenance

It’s also important to make the property a more attractive prospect for people. There are a lot of different things you can do to draw more people to the property. This will increase demand and improve your rental prospects. Maintaining and renovating the place is one of the best things you can do. It's a great place to begin and will help you to make sure your property looks as good as possible. You can start off small then work up to much more ambitious projects.

You have to do what you can to make sure the property is as attractive a prospect as possible. This is something you’ve got to focus on and try to get sorted as much as possible. Use the ideas and suggestions on this post to help you increase and maximize your rental return as much as possible.

Don't Fall Into These Small Business Finance Traps

There are many financial mistakes you can make which could potentially hurt your business. Taking the first step into business and making it a success is hard enough, but now you’ve got a multitude of things to worry about and fret over. With all of this, it can sometimes be easy to forget about certain things and fall into financial traps which can hurt varying parts of your business. You can see some outlined below.

Tax

Well of course you pay your tax, but are you paying too much? Many small businesses don’t have the time to look too much into their tax so they just pay what they logically owe and move on. However, depending on your business type you could be eligible for tax breaks, grants and varying government schemes that can end up leaving you with more money. Your best bet is to have a consultation with a tax planner who knows all the ins and outs of the trade and can help you get what you owe. Their fee can be worth it when you earn way more in tax breaks. But, if you don’t want a tax planner there’s no harm in looking into it yourself. It’ll take more time but it’ll be worth it if you end up saving money.

Payment

Have you ever been somewhere that says “cash only”? Or somewhere that doesn’t offer contactless pay? It can be quite frustrating, especially if you had planned to pay in a certain way. Well, you don’t want to alienate customers, because by only offering certain types of payment you can limit potential sales. Using a specific card reader can help, if they’re fast and reliable the customer is going to leave happy and not get held up. Customer service is paramount and can keep the customer coming back for more. The option of Apple and Android pay can also be a huge plus, it’s somewhat of a novelty, but allows for speedy service. It will also increase productivity, allowing you and your employees to get more done throughout the day. If you are considering buying a business then you definitely don't want to overpay. Make sure to use business valuation methods to analyze how well the business is doing and what is is truly worth.

Overpaying On Equipment

Some businesses pay far too much when ordering equipment. This is certainly the case with I.T equipment. If you’re ordering servers make sure you have the space for them and that you aren’t ordering too much. In this day and age you may not even need a server, opt for cloud based computing instead which is safer and far more flexible. The same for computers, yes, you may get a great business deal, but there’s no point in buying more than you actually need because it’ll end up setting you back. Watch the software bundles too, sometimes providers will throw extra things at an extra charge that you just don’t need. If you’re uncertain you can use a business analyst to check exactly what a business of your kind needs. Remember, as a business owner buying large quantities of stock you hold the cards and you have a significant amount of bargaining power. Use it.