Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Residential property offers a lot of flexibility. Today, if you need cash in a hurry you can actually draw the equity off your own home simply by refinancing. If in a worst case scenario, an income stream is cut off for an extended period of time and there is no other redeemable asset base to turn to, the investment property can be sold to pay back the loan.

If this is a concern a long term or fixed interest loan can be arranged. This gives the investor two advantages firstly as the amount of repayment is known in advance, it is easier to plan financially and second the amount of interest paid will remain constant for the duration of the fixed term, despite a rise in interest rates.

It has been our experience that, provided a building is in a reasonable state of repair, and you are not a greedy landlord, you can find a tenant for it.This is particularly true of the lower end of the rental market. If there is a protracted vacancy rate (for example, anything more than two weeks) it may be a matter of adjusting the rent slightly. With the right property management in place, however, vacancy should not be a problem. A good manager - in the form of either on site management, or a local real estate agent should have no difficulty finding suitable tenants with whom they can foster a long term relationship.