Be careful what properties you buy

It's so easy to get carried away. I've been to visit properties where the price tag is £2k! So on paper this looks great, a lick of paint and some gardening and you've got a property that will rent for £220 a month. Thats over 100% yield - so good it's ridiculous. Problem is, these houses are in war zones, crack dens mostly. Buy in these areas and IF you're lucky enough to find a tenant, in fact you will find a tenant - or should I say they'll find you. You'll never get any rent from them because they've got no money and nobody is gonna manage the property for you either. Chances are you'll have people squatting in your investment before the end of the month and a once calculated 100% yield has just become the biggest liability you've ever owned! Stay away. Don't trust Realtors (Estate Agents) to find you good properties. A Realtor is working for the seller not for you, ask them what's a good deal and they'll tell you everything is!

Slightly off on a tangent but still on theme. Here are a few things to consider when making an assessment of what makes a good investment. These are the things I've seen a lot of investors fall foul of and there's just no need to.

1. Water Bills.
New York state says that the landlord is responsible for paying the water regardless of who is living in the property. They have the authority to reposses if you don't pay it. Dont leave this up to you tenant. Factor the extra cost into your rent and just pay it yourself - no exceptions, its not worth the hassle or worry.

2. City taxes.
Similar to our council taxes this is used to pay for emergency services, rubbish removal etc. Each property has a semi-regular assessment which indicates what the property is worth and what taxes are chargable. Often this assessment is totally incorrect. You see, if you want low taxes then you want it to be assessed low, but if you're selling you want it assessed high. Be careful, use good property finders (not Realtors!) who know the true market values and whether its been assessed in your favour.

Gotta go, more on this later.