WHO ARE YOU??? Property Speculator OR Property Investor

I would categorized myself as an INVESTOR. Which one are you?? SPECULATOR or INVESTOR.. Article below will enable you to differentiate who you really are or what are you going to be.

Different between speculator and investor is SPECULATOR makes money only when he/she SELLS an INVESTOR makes money when he/she BUYS.

For example, a speculator buys a RM100K property for RM100K, and hopes to sell at RM120K. An investor buys a RM100K property for RM60K, thus making a "profit" when he buys. He might sell it at RM100K, but usually he sells it at RM90K (leaving "some" profit behind) for the speculator.

In my opinion, I think a property speculator is someone willing to gamble on the unknown in the hopes of making significant gains. A property investor is someone who decides exactly what it is worth (value-wise) and makes a 'safe' property investment in an established place.

Speculators in property have a short time horizon. Most are looking to flip properties & make a fast buck in times when property prices are moving upwards. They typically want to get out within a year or even weeks if possible.

In terms of knowledge, most speculators do not really comb through the property in detail. They have no interest in looking at rental yield, mortgage cost, location, condition, etc, factors most investors are concerned with. As long as they believe a property will move up in price quickly, they will jump into it. In short, most speculators are only looking for a rapid rise in capital appreciation. An investor on the other hand has a longer time frame & spends lots of time reading & researching his/her investments .

Micro & macro economic factors such as:

1) The rental yield & how it compares with comparable units

2) The mortgage cost, whether rental can cover mortgage cost & have some left over for time when units will be vacant.

3) Specific location of the unit, development & its comparison with similar properties. If other nearby projects are slated for development & how that would affect the property in question.

4) Tax issues, use of properties to offset taxes

5) The economy, how the economy will fare in 3, 5 or longer years & how that will affect the property concerned.

6) Only 70% Loan to Value (LTV) for third house and above

In short, an investor wants to maximize all possible returns from the property from all possible angles: from capital appreciation, mortgage payment, cash flow & taxes. Whereas, most speculators are only concerned with fast capital appreciation. Speculators try to anticipate and profit from price changes while investors seek only to acquire property at a reasonable price.

Property Speculator

1. Makes short term gain (30% or more), 3 months to 1 year.

2. Normally, buy at developer price & resell, and make significant profits

Property Investor

1. Using own system, plan well when buying.

2. Looking for rental/passive income.

3. Long term goals: 5-year plan, 10-year plan etc

4. More on buy & hold property as long as it makes significant passive income.

P/S : Most of the input taken from Properties Guru, Milan Doshi