Real estate development is still the safest way to invest

World over, real estate remains the best investment vehicle, and the easiest and safest way for people to invest and make money. Over the last couple of years, there has been a real estate boom in Uganda. While some analysts have pointed to a potential bubble within the real estate industry, for the savvy investor, this is still one of the best ways to build assets, create wealth and earn a passive income.

Demand
One reason for this is that there will always be a need for a roof over one’s head, office space and many other needs related to real estate. In Uganda when banks increased interest rates on mortgages, many people were negatively affected because the new rates impacted on their lifestyles.

You might have read articles about key city businessmen losing their properties to banks and the banks being stuck with houses they had foreclosed on. The real estate market seems tricky now, and for some, your fingers have might been burnt, so to speak.

In these articles we show that the secrets to real estate investment include educating oneself, learning how to identify good property deals, putting deals together and raising capital. With property, you can diversify your investment portfolio. We will also show how you can eventually diversify your portfolio by having properties in other markets around the world.

Asset protection
Property still remains the best way to protect your assets and increase your wealth. We cannot state it more clearly than to say that the golden rule is to do your homework. This will help you ascertain whether you are dealing with legitimate developers or sellers. It is important to carry out background checks, obtain the knowledge and understand the market.

Beware of fraud
Like any other good business, property, will always attract people that are in for the quick buck/ conmen. You may be reading this article and could have been a victim of fraudulent land deals or know someone who has been a victim. Perhaps you were tricked or misinformed about the deal. Had you had all the right information, it could have been a different scenario, all together.

Before getting into any transaction, you are required to do your due diligence, and always verify any information that you get. With the right information you are in a better position to make an informed decision on a property deal.

Great property investment opportunities
Despite what seems to be like a downtime in the real estate industry in Uganda for investors, we argue that there will always be great property investment opportunities, if you know how to look for them. Property has created more millionaires and billionaires worldwide than any other commodity on earth. Some of the richest people made their money through property or invest in property as a way to keep their wealth.

With the international rush into Africa at this point in time, real estate, is one of the key areas investors to the continent, are devoting their time, money and energy. The question then is what do the others around the world know that we do not know?

Next week we shall look at different types of property investments.

Francois Griessel is a successful South African real estate investor who has closed over 1,000 real estate deals in 25 years. Jackee Budesta Batanda is a Ugandan journalist and writer. They are co-authoring a book, Secrets of the Millionaire Property Investor, drawing on Griessel’s experience real estate.
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