Showing posts with label market. Show all posts
Showing posts with label market. Show all posts

Friday, January 1, 2010

Profit From Commercial Real Estate Investments

Property investors have now turned their attention towards the lucrative deals presented by the commercial properties. This sudden interest is the result of the option to diversify your property investment portfolio, along with a high income and tax breaks. However, it is advisable to conduct a research before taking the plunge.

Commercial properties include hotels, malls, medical centers, retail stores, business and industrial property. These are operated for a profit from rental income or capital gain. Some common commercial property types are:

- Apartments and multi family units: These are the first choice of investors. Apartment financing and management is very similar to that of residential properties.
- Mobile home parks: These can be a profitable investment option especially if you own the land and sell the mobile homes.
- Retail properties: More than one tenant occupies the premises and it is utilized for retail transactions.
- Offices: This category includes suburban garden offices, suburban high-rise offices, medical offices and central business district offices.
- Mixed use properties: These properties are a combination of all the above property types.
- Health care units: They include assisted living centers and congregate care centers and nursing homes.
- Hotels: The properties are categorized as either limited service or full service.
- Industrial premises: These properties can be used solely for industrial purposes.
- Self-storage units: The consumers use them for personal storage or for lease.
- Other specialties: These include oil change facilities and gas stations.

According to a reputed New York based real estate research firm, the price of apartment complexes rose by 26%, retail properties by 14%, industrial properties by 21% and office buildings by 6%, in 2004. Commercial property investment is very profitable but it is a complex business, as compared to investment in residential properties. There are number of factors that affect the property evaluation of commercial premises. It pays to study the market and tread cautiously.

Boom in commercial real estate property:

Commercial real estate includes, but is not limited to, properties used for educational, medical, commercial or industrial purpose. The properties are usable in business or trade and can be sold or bought in the real estate market. The improvement in the economy and growth in business ventures are responsible for the revival of commercial real estate. Another important reason has been the continuous flow of new investment capital. This capital is sourced from people who seek higher returns from large investments. The areas that come under the category of ‘commercially profitable’ carry a higher evaluation, as compared to other properties in developing areas. The rates for commercial real estate properties are calculated differently from the method adopted for residential properties.

The rental yields are better for commercial properties and the monthly cash flow is more than that of residential property investment, in the same area. The quoted expectation of returns depends on the kind of business that would be transacted on the premises. The profit from commercial real estate investments is definitely much higher than profit generated from investments in residential properties. Investment in commercial real estate is as lucrative as investments in stocks and bonds.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Mutual Funds- A Secure Investment

Mutual funds are a collection of stocks and/or bonds invested in different securities, which include fixed market securities and money market instrumentals. It facilitates investors to put their money under an efficient investment management. There are three types of mutual funds namely, income funds, growth funds, and balanced funds.

The basic principle underlying mutual funds is to pool in money with other people to convert it into funds. Mutual funds generally buy shares in stocks wherein an experienced fund manager performs the task of selecting, purchasing and selling off the stocks himself. Certificates are then issued to the shareholders as a testimony of proof of their partnership and participation in the emoluments of funds.

There are particularly three ways in which you can make money from a mutual fund. They are:

1. Benefits can be earned from the commission on stocks, and interests on bonds. All the income received all round the year is paid by the funds in the form of a distribution.

2. The fund will have an outstanding benefit provided the funds sell high priced securities. Most of the profits are given back to the investors in a distribution.

3. The value of the fund’s share automatically increases with an increase in the value of unsold high priced fund holdings. Accordingly, you can always sell shares of your mutual fund for profits.

Many people find investing in mutual funds an attractive option to that of dealing directly with the stock market because it is comparatively safe. In fact, these days, mutual funds have become the first preference of many investors. Mutual funds provide a balanced and better approach compared to conventional stock market alternatives. It has an added advantage of investing in several distinct sectors and firms, so, if one company suffers losses, the others may be rising. Investing in mutual funds, therefore, minimizes the loss-bearing risk of monetary assets.

In a nutshell, here are the salient points of the advantages of mutual funds:

1. Cost-effectiveness of investing in mutual funds: The main advantage of investing in mutual funds is the efficient management of your finances. Investors buy funds because they lack the competence and time to manage their own portfolio. It is a cost effective method, especially for a small investor because it is expensive to get a manager to manage individual investments.

2. Diversification: Compared to individual stocks or bonds, mutual funds diversify the risk of bearing loss. The basic intention being to invest in a diverse number of assets in order to overcome the negatives of loss making stocks or bonds by the profits reaped by others.

3. Economy of Scale: The transaction expenses are relatively low as a mutual fund is bought and sold in large amounts of credits.

4. Liquidity: Mutual funds provide the opportunity of converting shares into cash at any point of time.

5. Simplicity: It is easy to buy a mutual fund. Most companies have their own automatic purchase plans, and the minimum investment rates are very small.

Therefore, investing in mutual funds is certainly a secure investment as the chance of loss is spread out, and the opportunity for gains are numerous. At the same time, it is both cost-effective and an investment that gives great future returns.

The days of depending on government largesse in meeting old age financial requirements are growing dimmer by the day. Hence, investing in mutual funds can be a wise choice, especially for those who plan for an early retirement and hope to enjoy a secure senior citizenship.