So what does this mean?

Well when real estate is on its knees as it has been for the last here or four years now, a solid rental is far more important to you than a rising capital value. In short, capital values aren’t going anywhere. So let’s say you bought at the absolute peak of the recent property boom right at the end of 2006 or maybe in early 2007 – still long before the Lehman’s collapse – and at a time when people still seemed to think property was a one way bet.

If, at that time, you concentrated solely on the income the property would be likely to continue to provide through the good times and the bad and you weren’t thinking; “I’ll make a quick buck here as it’ll be worth half as much in again in a few years’ time,” then you’re probably doing OK.

Sure, the value has probably fallen along with everything else – but your focus is on the yield right?

Sadly, this isn’t what most people did and the bubble was a bubble like any other; irrational in other words. The long and short of it is that the yields didn’t make any sense back in early 2007, so following the principle of focussing only on the income rather than the capital would have safely ruled you out of any overly optimistic bubble-related irrational purchase. You wouldn’t find David Lichtenstein or any other savvy real estate developers buying around the peak – they knew it didn’t make sense; all they had to do was look at the percentage income figures and it was a case of “no thanks!”

If you’ve already been a successful property investor, you may want to try an additional area like oil to boost your income. There are absolutely no guarantees of success, of course, but for those of us who do believe in peak oil, then we really ought to be putting or money where our mouths are.

First off, what is peak oil all about?

Very simply put, peak oil theory has it that as oil is a finite resource and as the so called BRIC economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China are growing like there’s no tomorrow, then the world’s demand for crude oil will keep on rising as these hugely populous countries all want cars and generally increase production to meet demand of various oil-consuming products like plastics etc.

That’s a very crude explanation of course – pun most certainly intended.

No-one really knows how much oil we can yet reasonably access as a species, but BP’s Deep Horizon oil well disaster in the Gulf of Mexico last year shows just how desperate the companies are to drill deeper and deeper for the black stuff. The peak oil theory holds that we’re near to passing or maybe have even already passed peak production.

Most pundits agree that we’ve used up most of the easy-to-access oil, so the remaining reserves are less accessible and so costlier from which to extract oil.

Ergo… you’ve guessed it, the oil price keeps on rising until we find sufficient alternatives and find ways of using less. Alongside the environmental concerns, this really explains the world’s increasing fascination with alternative energy forms and cars that run for 100 miles or more on a gallon of petrol etc.

Anyway, if you believe in the theory as I do and think the price of oil will gradually move to $200 a barrel over the next five to ten years, perhaps you should be trading oil – or at least trialling it with a broker in a demo only environment to see how you get on?

This article was written by David, a keen trader. Recently, he has been trying to boost his knowledge of oil trading, hoping it’ll help him score bigger deals.

Unfortunately, such profit wasn’t really real – save for the lucky ones who managed to enter somewhere near the bottom and exit somewhere near the top.

The property price falls of the last few years have taught such investors a valuable and salutary lesson, sadly.

The price falls have been seen as some as an opportunity to get back in. In the UK, rental yields have also increased, but not enough in most cases for the investment to make a great deal of sense – unless we start to see the kind of capital gains we saw from the mid 1990s until early 2007.

This doesn’t look likely.

But there is an easy easier of investing in real estate that could provide the kind of returns we saw previously. This is via listed companies involved in real estate and real estate development. Many of such companies’ valuations now lie at healthy discounts to their net asset values – so if you believe they’ll survive and eventually prosper again – you’re effectively buying a part of the properties they own at around 60-80% of their true underling value.

It’s essential to have a good look at the companies’ investments of course; just as closely as you might a real ‘physical’ property investment of your own.

Also, if you believe in the ‘first in first out’ type of principle when it comes to a recession, you may want to take a look at US properties. These have seen some of the sharpest declines and may yet see the steepest rises as we come out the other side; maybe!

Go for a diverse portfolio of solid investments. The Lightstone Group may be worth a look. Connect with David Lichtenstein (founder and CEO) and follow the company’s broad investment principles and you shouldn’t go too far wrong trying to emulate them.

With so much to take into account when you first purchase a property for investment, including purchasing unlimited insurance cover in some cases, it can be difficult to know where to start when safeguarding the building itself, but it really shouldn’t be a tricky process.

Firstly, the main entrance door to the property needs to be fitted with a mortice deadlock of at least five levers or rim deadlock which conforms to the appropriate industry standards. Any other single external doors need to have either a mortice deadlock or rim deadlock as with the main entrance door, but you also have the option here of fitting a key-operated lock with a bolt at the top and bottom.

Obviously the material of your door will affect which lock you choose to use. For example, doors made of glass panels suit key-operated mortice rack bolts, so make sure you bear this in mind. The thickness of the door will also affect your choice.

If you have patio doors, make sure each door has a key-operated patio door lock at the top and bottom as well as the main lock fitted by the manufacturer.

The world of windows security is a little simpler to understand; just make sure all windows that can be opened are fitted with key-operated locks designed especially for windows.

Follow these simple tips and you’ll be well on your way to turning your property into a safe haven for your tenants, while making sure your building contents insurance policy premium is kept as low as possible.

One insurance company has taken this opportunity to warn property investors that they should be making significant modifications to their properties in order to make sure their tenants (especially their most vulnerable tenants) don’t face a winter of hardship and misery as the snow, wind, hail, and rain become permanent fixtures on the UK’s weather map.

The main points of concern for anyone who rents out a property include issues with the water pipe insulation. Burst water pipes over the winter lie behind one of the most popular reasons for claims made on home buildings contents insurance policies. Now is the time to check the pipes throughout your property, and take action immediately if you notice any torn or damaged insulation, even if it doesn’t look too bad from first glance.

Furthermore, any loose tiles on the roof or dodgy fixtures on or around the chimney can cause untold damage to the property as a whole in high winds, so set aside an hour or so this weekend to get up onto the roof to have a good look around.

The insurance company also warned property investors that they should be double checking their home and contents insurance policies to make sure that every potential eventuality is covered before it’s too late.

Although this advice was issued for property investors, it represents sound advice for anyone who owns a house; the main tip to follow is to act now, be proactive, and double check your policy in detail, or pay much, much more in the long-run.