Archive for the ‘Investing’ Category
Stock Investing Basics – 3 Things to Do Before You Get Started
No doubt you can make millions of dollar and get rich from stock market, but it won’t happen if you missed these critical checklists in the first place. In case you are so eager to invest in stock market, hold yourself first. Make sure you have the right starting point before putting any money in any stock.
Have Enough Money
You can invest everything you have in savings into stock market, but it is like risking your life into it. The truth is, there is nothing as guaranteed as cash deposit when it comes to investing no matter how strong the stock is. So, it is a wise decision to create an emergency fund in case the stock is turning against you. I always advise my friends to keep at least six months income worth in savings before investing in share market.
Trust me, you can concentrate much better by doing just this.
Understand Yourself
There are many ways to make money in stock market. For instance, you can buy and hold the stock forever, buy and sell stocks after holding them for few years or even trade the stocks in the same day. Believe me, there is no one way that is better than the other. It is really up to you which investing style suits your needs. Besides, your investing capability, commitment and the available fund will affect your preference too.
Spend time asking yourself, which investing style you prefer the most.
Aware of the Risks
There are three risks associated with stock investing; namely individual financial risk (possibility of you went broke), company business risk (possibility of the company went down) and market risk (possibility of weak market sentiment). There is no way you can avoid these risks, but you can reduce the risks by applying some mitigation measures. For example, invest in stock market whenever you have enough money or buy stocks that offer huge growth potential only.
It is not about avoiding risk that matters, but how you can manage the risk is more important.
Not many investors did these whenever they’ve decided to invest in stock market. What they do is simply jump into the market using others tips. Stock brokers, insiders and friends influence them the most in deciding which stocks to invest. If you are high risk investors’ type, then it is fine. But if you are looking for long term profits, I suggest you stop it now.
Six Real Estate Investing Tips
The following collection of real estate investing tips will probably have a few things that you already know. That’s okay. There will be a few you haven’t heard before as well, and in any case, we sometimes need to be reminded of what we know.
1. Find an agent with the right experience. When selling real estate, drive around and see what else is for sale in the same area. Look particularly at the name of the agents on the signs. The agent whose name shows up the most in your neighborhood will likely know best how to price and market your property. You can also do this by looking through real estate guides to find those agents who are either active in your area, or with your type of property.
2. Make low offers correctly. When making a low offer that may offend a seller, let him know that it isn’t personal, that this is just what you need to make daily deal work for you. You can include a list of concerns or of things that you will have to repair, to justify the lower price. If you have a choice in a situation like this, it may be better to let the agent present the offer without you. It can be tough for a seller to hear you say anything bad about his property in person. A list of concerns is less personal, and less likely to offend him – which makes it more likely that he’ll seriously consider your offer.
3. Look for “extra” opportunities. When flipping a house, you might normally look for fixer uppers that can simply be “put into good shape” and sold for a decent profit. But if there are “extra” opportunities that other investors aren’t seeing, you can make even more. These are things like a full basement that can be converted into living space, or attic space that can be made into a bedroom or office, or an extra lot that can be split off and sold without reducing the value of the home much.
4. What to do when rentals won’t produce cash flow. People often buy rental houses, duplexes, and even four-plexes for homes, thinking they are “investing” as well. They pay according to personal values, so these properties can be priced well beyond where they would produce cash flow. Apartment buildings, on the other hand, are priced according to one thing more than anything else: net income. The lesson? When you can’t make cash flow with small rental properties, think bigger.
5. How to find motivated sellers. Real estate investors will often talk about the importance of “motivated sellers,” but how do you find them? When searching newspaper classified advertising, pay attention to the wording. “Need to sell,” “Must sell,” and “Will look at all offers,” are the usual indicators, but you can look at the rental ads too. “Must have a good job,” may indicate a landlord who is tired of tenants and ready to sell. Searching county records for out-of-state owners is another way.
6. Don’t rely on appreciation. If you are planning on rising real estate values as your primary way to profit, you’re speculating, not investing. Recent drops in values in many areas show the flaw in this strategy, but also keep in mind that transaction costs can be up to 10% of the sales price, so you have to have a big increase in value just to break even. Enjoy any appreciation as a bonus, but buy based on the cash flow, a plan to increase the value (fix and flip), or some other well-thought-out plan for profit. This may be the most important of these real estate investing tips.
Investment Basics
Every wise man knows the importance of making an investment if they are to have a bright future. Putting some money in a kind of scheme that is likely to bring some extra money is what a person should strive to achieve. However, the process of deciding where to put money into is not an easy one and calls for a lot of consideration.
This is because, if you are not careful enough, you could end up losing all the money you thought would bring you good tidings. This said therefore, it is good to have some basic knowledge on how to go about choosing which company to invest with, and which type of security to buy. These two factors especially go a long way into dictating the kind of returns that one is going to get. An investor may have bought the best kind of security, but if the manager of that money does a shoddy job, losses are bound to occur.
You therefore need to learn from the basics. Familiarize yourself with the procedures and the legal aspects that govern the investment process. Get to know the rights that you are entitled to. For example, you may need to know if you have a right to complain if you feel that your money is not fetching good enough returns and especially if that fact is contrary to what the market trends reflect.
Other investment basics that you should have at the tip of your fingers have to do with the rates that are borne by each type of security. The rate and the risk normally go hand in hand and you are likely to find that the higher the risk, the more money the security is likely to fetch. This is not a rule of thumb though because you might find that some securities like those of the mutual funds mare have low risk and high returns. It is up to you to research thoroughly.