Offshore Guidebook | Real Estate Investor Magazine Offshore Guidebook 2013 | Page 7

INVESTOR TALK Spread Your Risk With Offshore Investment W elcome to the 2013 Offshore Handbook. In this Handbook you will find all the information you need to start your investment journey in another country. You might be asking, why you should think of investing in another country? The answer is simple, not only is it the smart decision from an investment point of view, but by diversifying your assets you are essentially spreading your risk. After all having all your eggs in one basket is pretty risky. With the technological age we now live in, investing in another country has never been easier. You have all the information you could need to make an informed decision at your fingertips, and with Google Earth, you can even view the landscape from the comfort of your own home. Before you decide which country you want to invest in, it’s best to start at the beginning and consider what type of investment you want? Are you investing for returns? Or do you want a holiday home that doubles as an investment? Or a retirement home whch you can let out now and earn money from? Globally the property market has been on a bit of a rollercoaster ride, but things seems to have stabilised and there is definite recovery on the cards, and as the economies recover so too will the property markets. One can see this in the USA which not only survived their economic crisis but saw property in the USA becoming sought after as people picked up bargain deals knowing that once the market had hit rock bottom the only place left to go was up. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has predicted that GDP worldwide growth in 2013 is expected to match that of 2012 at 1.4%, before increasing to 2.3% for 2014. With that in mind, I wish you happy reading and researching as you start your offshore investment journey! Angelique Redmond EDITOR “Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing”. Warren Buffet www.reimag.co.za Offshore Handbook 2013 5