Before you become involved in investing in property there are some matters for you to consider:

1. Investing in property has generally proven to be an excellent investment vehicle in the past .
2. The most important matter to consider is whether the property will be easily let .You need to do your homework here through enquiries with locals and understanding the letting market in the area.
3. With prices of many properties falling and people opting to rent instead of buying there are likely to be some attractive opportunities towards the latter end of 2008.If your thinking about investing ,we recommend that you arrange loan approval now so that you can act quickly when good opportunities come your way.
4. You need to be prepared to become a landlord and take on the responsibilities associated with this. You will need to arrange lettings,collect rent ,deal with repairs and maintenance and someties deal with difficult tenants.There is work involved and before embarking on this type of investment for the first time, talk to somebody who has already been down this road.
5. We believe that you are better off looking after tenancies yourself rather than passing this task over to an agent.If you get the tenant right at the start you will have less problems.
6. When letting you will need at least ome months rent up front and a damage deposit .The damage deposit is usually set a minimum of €500 euro although many landlords look for amonths rent.
7. Always ask tenants for at least three references,one from their existing landlord,one from their employer and a third from a reliable source.Ask for the references in writing and contact the referrees involved to verify everything.
8. If your not a handy man, you should find one.Investment properties need attention( not too onerous) but its great to be able to pick up the phone and get somebody to sort it out.
9. Drop up five or six times a year and walk around the apartment or house.Tell the tenants at the outset that you will be dropping in and that you will give reasonable notice and that you expect the property to be well maintained.
10. Many investors purchase apartments.Lenders have scaled back the amount they will lend on apartments( Bank of Scotland for example , now have a maximum 80% loan to value ) and this development if it is followed by others will have the effect of driving the price of apartments downwards.As this happend investots will return to this market if rents stay high and prices fall.
11. With apartments come management companies and common areas .We strongly advise that you and your solicitor give this area some attention.Your solicitor can review the finances of the managemnt company by undertaking a search at the companies office .If it is a new apartment you need to know what are the plans for the managemnt company.Ask your solicitor to check the situation on management companies with whom the devoper is associated from previous developments.If it is a second hand apartment ask your solicitor to get an up to date account or report from the managemnt company. We have seen to much grief in this area so please do a little extra homework.
12. Use our future cash flow calculator to assess your proposed investment under different occupancy rates, Satisfy yourself that you can carry a no rental period.
13. Before buying, work out exactly what is included in the sale and budget carefully for fit out costs and other associated costs e.g. stamp duty etc.
14. In many instances purchasing a residential investment property requires the release of equity your current residence .For first time investors please review our 'can i afford an investment property calculator.Your mortgage consultant will advise you on the merits or otherwise of switching lender in order to move to a cheaper rate on your increased residential mortgage.
15. Ask your solicitor to draw up a standard rental agreement and you can use this for all proposed lettings.You should ask ask your solicitor to advise you about the rights of tenants ,especially with long term rentals.