Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa February 2015 | Page 19

upfront TOP OFFSHORE INVESTMENT TIPS Take it offshore The four strategies (buy-to-hold, speculating, fixand-flip, and buy-to-let) described earlier, and the various hybrid strategies derived from these, not only apply to the commercial sector, but to residential and commercial properties offshore, too. This means that, quite literally, the world is your oyster. In addition to the significant difference in performance between our local market and many offshore markets, there are numerous other reasons why investors should consider offshore investments. It is certainly one way to hedge against the poor growth expectations locally and to get in on the stronger growth beyond our borders. It is also a hedge against currency risk of a depreciating Rand and a way to diversify an investment portfolio, spreading a nest egg across several baskets to reduce risk. According to