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4 Must-Read Books On Real Estate Investing

Books will always serve as a clever investment. Books will offer you the chance to learn new strategies to become a better real estate investor. Furthermore, you can save a substantial amount of money by avoiding the expensive mistakes of other authors.

On that note, here are the must-read publications if you are looking for ways to make the most of your property investments:

1. REAL ESTATE INVESTING FOR DUMMIES BY ERIC TYSON AND ROBERT GRISWOLD

Buy it here.

The preconceive notion of purchasing a “For Dummies” guide is that you are utterly clueless about a certain topic. Do not mind this! This book is a good resource for newbies in the Real Estate scene, especially made for those who have no prior experience. It elaborates difficult concepts in simpler terms.

The authors do not promise an overnight success story. Instead, they offer practical and realistic advice for its readers. These advice will help you conquer the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities ahead.

2. LANDLORD ON AUTOPILOT BY MIKE BUTLER

Buy it here.

The rich wisdom of this book grew from the author’s experiences after he managed 75 rental properties while he still committed to a full-time job as a police detective. It may seem impossible to juggle the two worlds but, it is doable.

Landlording on AutoPilot features useful information on dealing with the dynamics between the tenants and the landlord. It can dramatically improve your rental business and its surrounding relationships. If you are afraid to jump in this field or if you are struggling as a landlord, you must give this book a shot!

3. RICH DAD POOR DAD BY ROBERT KIYOSAKI

Buy it here.

As you dive in the world of investments, feed your mind with the philosophy of the renowned author and lecturer Robert Kiyosaki. I was intrigued about his teachings after I watched the book summary video by Evan Carmichael. See it for yourself.

What you can expect from this book is a lot of motivational talk. It is one of the library staples among investors because it contains a massive amount of thought-provoking content. He created two unique perspectives about money that emerged from two of his fathers – the rich and the poor. While the poor dad will tell you to work for your money, the rich dad will tell you to let the money work for you. The author did a great job in encapsulating the what I had been feeling for a long time.

4. THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT IN SINGAPORE BY ISMAIL GAFOOR

Buy it here.

When it comes to the big players in the Singapore real estate industry, Ismail Gafoor leads the wolf-pack. This book is the culmination of his passion and hardwork. Let us begin with his inspiring life story.

Mr. Gafoor and his family struggled with money when he was young. At the prime age of 7, he was tasked to deliver newspapers with his dad. This means that he was constantly late for school. As a young adult, he began a career with the Singapore Armed Forces. His cumulative salary led to his brave decision to buy his first property at Normanton Park. Because he saw the potential of real estate investments as a decade passed, he decided to open his own property agency with his wife. Nowadays, we know this leading agency by the name of PropNex Pte Ltd.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Enclosed in this book are answers to various questions that investors ask. It is hard to go wrong with this book knowing that its contents came straight from the workings of a top real estate pioneer.

Sources: 1 & 2

4 Benefits of a Monthly Investment Plan

Based on a Worldwide Cost of Living survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Singapore has been ranked as the world’s most expensive city to live in for the third consecutive year. Indeed, many living in Singapore have to contend with the high property and car prices. Healthcare and education costs are also not far from people’s minds.

Investment is seen as a way to potentially amplify one’s wealth to better fulfil these life goals. But what if you do not have a substantial amount of capital or time set aside for investing? A Monthly Investment Plan or what’s also known as a Regular Savings Plan, could be something for you to consider.

Affordable

There’s a common misconception that you need to have sizeable capital in order to start building a nest egg through investing. However, with a Monthly Investment Plan, you can decide how much to invest based on your personal financial situation. You can even set aside just $100 a month, and put that money into blue chip stocks, exchange traded funds (ETFs) and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) listed on global markets to build your portfolio.

Takes Advantage of Dollar Cost Averaging

Monthly Investment Plans follow the principle of dollar cost averaging. By investing regularly every month instead of trying to time the market and find the best time to buy and sell shares, the risk of investing a large amount in a single investment at the wrong time is reduced.

To gain a better understanding of dollar cost averaging, consider this example where two siblings are given $10,000 each, but choose to invest it in different ways.

Luke used the money to buy 1000 shares at $10. Drew, on the other hand, invested a predetermined amount each month, and he ended up buying more shares when the price was low and fewer shares when the price was high.

Drew’s average price per share ($8.90) is therefore lower compared to Luke’s ($10) – this is how dollar cost averaging works and by extension, how Monthly Investment Plans can help you achieve your investment goals.

Automated and Hassle-Free

No one can exactly foresee and predict the behaviour of the stock market. Instead of trying to time the market and finding the right time to enter and exit, Monthly Investment Plans focus instead on long-term gains, and build your portfolio by automatically buying your shares for you every month. Your work is done at the outset. All you need to do is choose your desired shares and set your monthly investment amount. From that point on, you can sit back and watch as your portfolio grows and your shares accumulate.

Diversification

Monthly Investment Plans enable you to diversify your investment portfolio in a couple of ways.

Most of these plans allow you to invest in ETFs like SPDR STI ETF or Nikko AM STI ETF which are funds that invest in the 30 largest companies listed on Singapore Stock Exchange. More conservative investors can go for these ETFs. In addition to these ETFs, your Monthly Investment Plan may allow for investments into REITs. If you are interested in investing in property, then this is something to look out for; REITs don’t just give you exposure to one property – they give you exposure to a whole portfolio of properties. Some Monthly Investment Plans will also allow you to access stocks listed in markets like the US, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand. Expanding your horizons and looking at offerings listed on these global markets is another way to diversify your portfolio.

If any of these four benefits sound appealing to you, then you should find out more about how Monthly Investment Plans can help you along your investment journey.

Advantages of Forex Trading for SMEs

The forex market is the largest and most liquid in the world, with around $5.3 trillion traded every day on average. This makes it highly attractive for individuals to begin trading in an attempt to make a good profit, yet trading forex also holds many advantages for small businesses. There is an element of risk involved, and many companies won’t want to put some of their profits on the line, yet if your businesses does and has worked out how much it can afford to trade, there are various reasons for doing so.

Flexible Ways to Profit

There are many different ways to trade on the forex market, meaning you can make a profit whether a currency is rising or falling, depending on the type of trades your business makes. With much more flexible ways to trade than other markets, such as the stock market where you can only profit if they increase in value, it provides more opportunities to be successful. As a highly volatile market it can therefore be better to place trades on the assumption of some currencies weakening.

Simplified Choice

For beginners, the forex market appeals due to its more simplified nature and lack of choice compared to others. There are around seven major currency pairs that provide a good starting place, with a lot of information, news and analysis surrounding all of them to keep you well informed when making trades. Then it is simply the decision of whether you think a currency will increase or decrease in value.

Diversified and Expanded Portfolio

Trading forex with Oanda offers the opportunity to diversify the company’s existing portfolio. All SMEs need to expand and grow to be a success, and widening forex trading capabilities is a good start. Spreading your small company’s investments into more places reduces volatility and means if something goes wrong in one area, it may hopefully be offset by successes in another.

Tax Incentives

The first 40% of profits made from forex trading are taxed at short-term capital gains rates, whether they are made in the first minute or month after you enter a trade. The remaining 60% is then taxed at long-term capital gains rates, but this is still a lot better for SMEs than other options available. There are also no commissions involved either, offering more financial advantages. Consider these points before your SME begins trading forex.

(This post is brought to you by Oanda Europe Limited.)

Three of the Best Investment Options to Consider

Investing is a pursuit that suits many. An ideal means of increasing your income and boosting your bank balance, it also offers excitement, challenge, and complexity to those seeking a new and compelling pastime.

It’s common for those thinking of investing to struggle at the start of their venture. Many people simply don’t know where to begin, and with so many instruments and options to consider, this is hardly surprising.

So, to help you gain a head-start, here are three of the best investment options to add to your portfolio…

#1: Precious Metals

Precious metals are always a good starting point for those who choose to invest, and this is largely down to their ‘safe haven’ properties. Gold, in particular, tends to hold its value during periods of economic turmoil, and indeed often sees an increase in its price tag when times are tough. Silver acts in a similar way, but has the added advantage of enjoying a surge in popularity thanks to its growing usage in industry. With products as diverse as cars, cameras, and even industrial machinery utilising it, it’s worth looks set to continue booming throughout 2016, making it an ideal addition to your portfolio.

#2: Forex

For those looking for a more high-risk venture than precious metals can offer, the foreign exchange might be worth considering. Trading around the clock, the currency markets are flexible, accessible, and have the potential to be highly profitable. Indeed, with a reputable broker like OANDA to aid them, many investors enjoy significant successes. Although the risks can be just as great as the potential rewards, forex trading remains an ideal challenge for those looking for excitement, exhilaration, and the chance to make big money.

#3: Shares

Thirdly and finally, look at investing in shares. The stock markets are filled with a wide variety of different businesses, all offering you the opportunity for part ownership. A lot of inexperienced investors, in particular, gravitate towards these, thanks to the familiarity of the names that you’ll be trading. Offering a unique chance to play a role in the future of your favourite companies, as well as the possibility of making some tidy profits, the stock markets can be an ideal addition to any investor’s portfolio.

Choosing the assets that you add to your portfolio is essential to your success on the financial markets: choose well, and profits are there for the taking; choose poorly, and you could scupper your opportunities. Do your research, make your selection with care, and secure the future you’ve been dreaming of.

What Exactly Are Mutual Funds And Unit Trusts?

Before investing your hard-earned money, it is a good idea to educate yourself about the different types of investments. Let us start by defining both Mutual Fund (MF) and Unit Trust (UT).

MUTUAL FUND

MF is an investment that gathers the investors’ money into a pool to make multiple types of investments known as the portfolio. The compensation of the investment managers rely on how well the fund performs. Thus, you can rest assured that they will work hard to make sure the fund grows well.

Derived by accumulating the status of the underlying investments, the performance of the mutual funds are typically tracked as the change in the total market cap of the fund.

Players

There are two important entities when taking on the Mutual Fund. I am pertaining to the professional investment manager and the shareholder. Professional invest managers operate the MF by investing the capital and attempting to produce gains for its shareholders. Therefore, each shareholder participates proportionally in the gain or loss of the fund.

Process

As an example, let us consider Canada’s stock market. Gabby wants to try his luck at the Canadian equity market by investing in the S&P/TSX Composite Index. It consists largely of the energy, materials, and financial sectors with different percentages allocated. Performance of the MF is tracked as the percentage of change to its overall adjusted market cap.

UNIT TRUST

UT is distinguished from the MF as it follows a trust structure. Rather than putting the gains back into the fund, it provides profits straight to the individual. This investment scheme is available in Australia, South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Fiji, Ireland, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Singapore. Both the local and foreign funds are regulated as collective investment schemes in our country.

It works by pooling money from multiple investors to invest in a portfolio assets in lined with the stated investment approach and objective.

Players

There are several important entities when taking on the Unit Trust. Professional investment managers or fund managers operate trusts for gains. The trusts as well as its rights are owned by the unit holders. The unit holders and the fund managers are mediated by the registrars.

Process

The process that the UT goes through depends on the goals and objectives of the investment. The value of the assets in its portfolio is equates to the amount of units issued multiplied by the price per unit. Afterwards, you must subtract other costs such as management and transaction fees.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

COMPARISON

Both the MF and UT gathers the investors’ money into a pool to make portfolios, which are managed by the professional investment manager. The major difference between these two investment schemes is in its structures. Basically, Mutual Fund issues redeemable shares while Unit Trust issues units. It is up to you to find an investment scheme that suits your lifestyle.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5

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