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To buy or not? – a tricky question for property investors

There are would be property investors who are waiting until the market hits bottom before hopefully finding bargains, those who see bargains now and buy as a long term investment and those who think putting their money elsewhere is still the best move.

Then there are those who think they might have missed the good times especially when it comes to emerging markets. But according to one thread on the totallyproperty.com forum it is never too late.

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Key pieces of advice include the reasons for buying, how quickly you want to sell and how stressed the whole process could be. Then there is the question over whether to buy with a mortgage or go in at launch and 'flip' before completion but risk not being able to find a buyer.

For those with the cash it would seem that doing both is a popular option. Use a mortgage to buy as a longer term investment and have another property that you can flip if cash flow becomes a problem.

But as member kennyhubbard points out; 'Flipping takes a certain level of expertise and know how. I don't think it a good strategy for a first time investor.'

Dubai and Brazil emerge as two of the very popular locations to follow the kind of joint strategy outlined above. But doing research is vital in order to buy the right kind of property.

In Brazil, for example, there are some key issues that might not be obvious according to another thread on the same site. It point out that some luxury developments look very attractive but you need to think ahead to the re-sale market and they may be too expensive for the local population and can only be bought by a foreigner.

It is suggested that those new to property investment must be wary of falling for the glossy marketing and pretty beach photographs.

In Brazil some developments are marketed to different groups of investors. Natal is very much marketed to Europeans by Europeans, Ceara to Brazilians by Brazilians and Bahia internationally and internally.

There is also a suggestion that US and UK are guilty of overpricing in Brazil to cover high overheads and commissions.

The woes of the property market in Spain continue to be debated on the international property forums. With developers and house builders facing financial difficulties and even going bust there are a lot of investors who don't know if they are ever going to see their property built or get their money back.

Advice and cheer can be found among the many posts on this subject. One crucial bit of news on the eyeonspain.com forum informs those who have invested in San Jose projects that they have until August 8 to lodge their claim as a creditor.

Reading the whole thread shows just how worried some investors are. One set of investors paid their initial deposit three years ago for a property in Jumilla and only knew that there were problems with the company last month.

Perhaps it is a lesson for all overseas investors to be aware of what is going on with a development on a regular basis. What this situation shows is that even investing near to you home base is not without its problems and checks and caution are needed whether it is a well established market like Spain or an emerging market like Brazil.

However with countries further away it is not always possible to visit regularly to check on developments. This is where the property forums can be really useful with members who have visited updating information on what they found. One regularly updated post on the Porto dos Corais development in Brazil on the Channel4 overseas forum provides a lot of useful information.

There are updates on infrastructure in the area including new roads, bridges and airport. One person reports 30 to 40 villas finished and that you can really start to see how the whole project will look when finished.

One issue that is mentioned on the forums is what a property actually looks like and is it good architecture? Recently posted on the skyscrapercity.com forum are pictures of the extensive developments currently underway in Vladivostok, Russia.

These include hotels, an ultra modern church, a yacht club, conference centre, medical centre and office blocks.

For those who might have thought it is a backwater with little potential the pictures show the extent of the projects. But as one poster says: 'That's some really ugly architecture,' and other remarks; 'stunning' it is clear that beauty and investment don't necessarily go together.

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