As investors or prospective property buyers, it is important to be in a position to act quickly when attractive purchase opportunities arise. To this end, I'd like to share with you the following piece provided by Century 21 Home Loans, which appeared in the May 2012 issue of Century 21 Wentworth's Property Investor.
Forward planning essential for investors
For many investors looking to build up their property portfolios, financing will likely be a key consideration and determinant of their investment success. And just as planning ahead is important to ensure that your property selection is the most appropriate choice for your investment strategy, so too is it intelligent to consider your loan in advance - ensuring you are best placed to act quickly and decidedly when an attractive purchase opportunity arises.
Obtaining pre-approval for finance is one such way that investors can look to prepare themselves for a future property purchase. Harry Bozin, Head of Century 21 Home Loans, believes that for those investors considering further acquisitions, it is a certainly a good idea to see if a loan pre-approval can be secured well in advance of identifying a potential investment.
"With the lending criteria of banks constantly evolving, investors may find that they no longer actually qualify for a loan despite their own situation remaining unchanged," said Harry Bozin.
"A Century 21 Mortgage Consultant will be able to let you know pretty quickly if pre-approval is possible, or more importantly if not, the reasons why.
"Armed with such knowledge, they can then go about working with their mortgage consultant to make any necessary and possible changes required by lenders to ensure that they are once again conforming with policies and able to gain pre-approval."
In addition to gaining financing pre-approval, having market appraisals regularly conducted on the property/properties in your portfolio is another valuable means of staying ahead of the game.
"Having an annual market appraisal will ensure you remain informed of the available equity in each of your properties, allowing you to tap into that unused equity," continued Harry Bozin.
"Having a solid knowledge of these values will allow you to gain a better understanding of your financial position and the subsequent amount you can afford to invest into your next acquisition," concluded Harry Bozin.
As property investors will know, it is often the case that unique and attractive purchase opportunities can present themselves out of the blue with quick and decisive action needed in order to secure them. By planning ahead and remaining up to date with the values in your portfolio, investors can ensure that they are ready and able to take advantage of chance investments as they arise.
For more information regarding financing for your investment portfolio, please contact Century 21 Home Loans.