How to Supplement Your Retirement with Income from Other People's Properties

Property in Europe (Photo credit: Images_of_Money)

Do you have fears about not having enough money for a comfortable retirement? Perhaps you are looking to invest in property, either to supplement your existing pension, or to become financially independent from the portfolio itself. What you may not have realised, however, is that you don’t necessarily need to “own” a portfolio in order to create cashflow from one. Read on and discover how my daughter Emily and I went from 0 to £5000 per month from properties we don’t actually own... 

Would Ownership Work for Us? 

We had heard a great deal about building a small portfolio of properties that we could buy cheap or finance, refurbish and sell or rent to up-and-coming young professionals. It sounded a good plan on the face of it but the problem was that we were quickly running out of cash. Since the credit crunch, lenders usually require a hefty 25% deposit. Even if a property could be obtained below market value, it was costing us around £21,000 per property. After all that investment, we were only making around £200 per month cashflow. At this rate, we realised that it was going to take a long, long time to become financially free, so it was back to the drawing board. We knew that there had to be another way. 

Single-Lets vs. Multi-Lets 

As I mentioned, renting the property out as a single-let property, namely when the entire property is let out on an AST, just wasn’t producing the cashflow we required. It was then, that we discovered how multi-letting a property, namely renting the property on a room by room basis, created substantially higher cashflow each month. It did not take us long to realize that multi-letting was the way forward. However, we still had the problem of stumping up the hefty deposits required by lenders. That’s when the light bulb moment hit... 

You Don’t Need To Own! 

We knew that multi-letting was the best was for us to maximise cashflow, but we still faced the same problem, namely raising the huge initial deposit. It then suddenly dawned on us. Why do we actually need to buy these properties? We knew that there must be struggling landlords out there who are looking for a guaranteed rent and for someone to manage the property for them. We decided to contact letting agents and make arrangements to rent the properties through what a corporate let. We would rent on a room-to-room basis to multiple renters who would be young professionals between the ages of 23 and 35. The agent would have a guaranteed rent, and we would take care of having minimal renovations performed that were necessary to make the house attractive to tenants. Initially we were met with scepticism and were even thrown out a couple of offices! But we persevered and within 6 months we had 9 multi-let houses in 5 months generating £5000 pcm net! 

Finding the Right Properties 

In our target area, we look to acquire properties that had a number of larger bedrooms, such as Victorian houses. Double bedrooms rent out much more easily than singles, especially if they have an en-suite. We normally look to pay the landlord around £200 pcm for each double bedroom in the house. So a property with 4 double rooms, we will rent off the landlord for £800. We then advertise the rooms for around £400 per room. After all cost, we aim to make £500 per month cashflow off each property. 

This system has been working out well for us and we plan on expanding our portfolio of rent to rent properties in the next year or so. We have created systems so that we only spend a few hours each week managing each property. It really has worked well for us and can work for you too. As Nike would say “Just Do It!” Francis Dolley is an expert on this unique rent to rent system and runs courses in the UK teaching students how they can successfully build a portfolio of properties that they don’t own, yet generate substantial cashflow profits each and every month.

The Economic Benefits Of Continuing Your Education

In today's economy, it is extremely easy to become unemployed. There is nothing so sure about your career future when the economy keeps going through ups and downs. The only thing you can be sure is how you are going to protect yourself against this uncertainty and secure your position. One of the best way to do it is to continue your education. If you are currently a teacher, this means that you need to attend more higher learning courses to know how to become an even better teacher.

What Are the Benefits of Continuing Your Education

Firstly, you will be open to a lot of higher paying jobs. With a higher degree, such as masters or PhD, you will be eligible for a lot of high paying positions. You will have to invest some serious money for the degree, but your effort and money will be paid off when you land high paying jobs and become financially secure. Many people do not realize how much potential an advanced degree could give them. They think they have a solid job already and don't want to lose money pursuing a degree all over again. However, it is not true. You need to prepare yourself for the changing work environment.

Even if you don't want to change your current job, getting a higher degree could help you in many ways. Firstly, you will probably have a raise in salary when you have a higher education degree. Secondly, you will have more to offer your company when you enrich yourself with new knowledge from the degree program. You will be able to secure your position against newly graduates who may have received a better education than you used to have.

Some companies even pay for their employees to continue their education. You could ask your employer directly and see if your company has such a policy. If it does, why not join in?

If you fear that continuing your education will take away too much time of your own, you need to know that there are many types of programs available to help working people like you. You may attend a weekend class, or evening course, or even study online if you prefer. The choice is very much yours.

Author Bio: Kimberly Santoyo has been writing freelance for over 3 years. She is passionate about business and finance and would like to become an entrepreneur in the future. Learning Cultures Ltd provides practical and sustainable whole school solutions that deliver high quality teaching and learning and deliver high quality, cost effective and continuing professional development for teachers.

7 Habits of Highly Successful Retirees

retirement (Photo credit: 401(K) 2013)

Planning for your retirement is something that all of us know we must do, but many of us put this kind of planning off, we avoid it as we think we've got stacks of time to worry about it. However, if you wish to have a successful retirement, you must take the time to make plans to ensure that it is everything you desire.

There are seven things that every successful retiree did prior to retiring that has made their retirement happy and secure. Surprisingly, they are not all financially related. Most of these retirees stated the following seven habits as the key to their happy retirement.

1. Savings Accounts

You want to have a bank account set aside just for your retirement. While you are still working, only make deposits in this account. When you retire, use this account to manage your finances. By changing your accounts when you retire, you have mentally created a new way to approach your money. 

2. Have Investments

Take advantage of every investment opportunity you can afford while you are working to guarantee an income when you retire. Make sure that your investments are diverse, and if at all possible, make sure that they have low maintenance fees. You want to make sure that your investments are funding your retirement and not paying high commissions to the brokers. 

3. Pay off Bills

Try to eliminate as many bills as possible before your retirement date. Review your current bills to determine if there are ways you can reduce them, such as downsizing cable options, getting rid of a land line phone and only opting for cell service, and moving credit card debt to low interest cards. Debt free living helps reduce retirement stress.

4. Downsize Your Life

You have spent your entire life working, now it is time for enjoyment. Look for ways to reduce your obligations so that you can only concentrate on your passions. If you have club memberships that you are no longer interest in, get rid of them. If you want a smaller home with less yard work, look for a new home before retiring. Have a pro-active approach to making your life your own and not filled with chores and duties. 

5. Take Advantage of Senior Discounts

There are so many different senior discount programs available, including those for necessities such as insurance policies and utilities, that it is foolish not to use them to your advantage. So many people avoid the “stigma” of senior citizen. The truth is, you need to embrace this title and take advantage of everything that it offers. 

6. Make Plans for Fun

One of the hardest things that retirees must face is waking up in the morning with nothing planned. After a lifetime of getting up and going to work, adapting to not having to be somewhere each morning can be difficult. Successful retirees always make sure they have at least one thing planned each day so that they are never sitting around with nothing to do. 

7. Volunteer

Retirees that offer their services to local charities, even for a few hours a week, seem to be the most successful. There are so many opportunities, from mentoring children to advising business owners, to accepting tickets at the gate of a state park, that any retiree can find a volunteer position that makes them happy.

The tricks to a successful and happy retirement are not as hard as you may have thought. As you can see, it just takes a little planning and a desire to be happy that will make your retirement the best time of your life.

This article was written by Perth Financial Adviser, Medhat Takla from Chambers Investment Planners. You can catch Medhat on Google+ and LinkedIn as well.

6 Ways to Market Your Small Business Via Social Media

Social media is a valuable resource for marketing your small business online. With new social networks popping up all the time, and others gaining mass popularity, it is tough to navigate the maze of opportunity. Here are a few surefire strategies for marketing your small business via social media. 

Engage, Don’t Broadcast

The goal of social media marketing is to start conversations and generate brand awareness—and, more businesses are starting to use social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to provide customer service, as well. The key is to engage your audience, meaning listening, responding and asking questions. If the only thing you do on social media is broadcast your content without ever interacting with users, you won’t grow your connections or make an impact. 

Take Advantage of Platform Tools

Many social networks offer tools designed to help businesses generate brand awareness. Facebook, for instance, allows businesses to create offers, such as discounts on products and services. When users accept an offer, it’s shared with their contacts, leading to more exposure for your business. Other examples of platform-specific marketing features include:

• Google+ Hangouts 
• Facebook Events 
• Facebook Promoted Posts 
• Twitter Sponsored Posts 
• Connect with Relevant Users 

Social media is a two-way street. Follow other thought leaders and relevant users and communicate with like-minded people to get the conversation flowing. You’ll make valuable connections with users who can help share your content.

Capitalize on Multi-Media 

Social status updates that include images capture attention and result in more clicks than text-only messages. So take advantage of the rich media features offered by many of today’s social networks, and incorporate images and videos into your status updates and content when possible.
Use a Multi-Platform Approach

There are so many social networks out there, it’s impossible to manage an active presence on every one. But using more than one social platform reaches a broader audience. The most popular social networks include:

• Facebook 
• Google+ 
• LinkedIn 
• Twitter 
• Pinterest 
• YouTube 

In addition to these primary platforms, there are second-tier networks that aren’t as widely used but are useful for targeting more precise demographics. Examples include:

• Quora 
• Instagram 
• StumbleUpon 
• Yelp 
• Tumblr 

Start by creating a brand page or profile for your business on each platform. This alone will help customers find you and boost your search engine rankings. Start joining in on the conversation and watch your brand recognition grow.
Tie in Your Email Marketing Campaign

Cross-promotion is one of the best ways to maximize your exposure online. Tying in your other marketing efforts, such as email marketing, by letting your subscribers know when you’ve posted an offer to Facebook or are hosting a Hangout on Google+, helps boost your follower counts and engage users.

There are dozens of ways to use social media to market your small business. It all starts with a presence across the social web. Combine your marketing efforts across multiple channels and actively engage your audience for the best results.