If you are a homeowner you are a property investor, you have taken the long term view and invested in your family's future. In this guide you will learn techniques many property professionals do not want you to know.

We would all like to own a holiday home or retire to a country with a stunning climate and breathtaking scenery, but realising that dream can be tough; especially if it involves investing your nest egg you worked so hard to grow. However, you can greatly reduce your risk with a little patience and the willingness to research the market.

How to boost your investment opportunities

You do not need a masters in economics to realise there are indicators which can determine the viability of a property investment. Firstly, you need to look at the area or country you wish to invest in. At this point several questions need to be answered.

• Is the local economy growing - is the government investing in the area or are large businesses fuelling growth through expansion?
• How have property prices changed over the last 5 years, have they moved down, if so what was their previous peak?
• Politics, has any legislation been passed which makes it easier or harder to buy, sell or develop property?

You can find this information online; at this point Google is your greatest ally. Online newspapers, property investment blogs and forums often cover recent developments in the property market and economy. Once you have answered these questions in as much detail as possible you can start to produce an overall picture of how attractive an investment may be.

Your research can help you make the right investment decision. For example the EU and the Portuguese government have recently invested billions in to Portugal's transport infrastructure. This level of investment not only shows the potential in the country's economy, but will also better enable transportation of goods and services, making it a hotbed for economic growth which means more jobs and a stronger economy. Not only this Portugal has tightened up its planning permissions for property developments boosting confidence and better controlling demand for property compared to many of its neighbours.

In addition many foreign property investors particularly from the UK are now choosing Portugal over other countries such as Spain because of its close proximity at just over 2 and half hours from Heathrow it is an ideal weekend retreat or holiday home destination for UK property investors. Indicators such as these for example provide investors with insights on economic stability and future growth, which can have a positive effect on the property market

Resources for your research

• Epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu: great resource this site provides information on EU countries economy, such as unemployment rates, which are a good indicator of economic health as well as insightful articles on economic conditions
• Nethouseprices.com: find out what properties sold for in a certain area, useful if you want to know if the property you are looking at is a good price
• Upmystreet.com: good source to find local crime rates, school performance and council tax charges

How to Calculate Your ROI

If you want to invest in a buy to let property which is worth £90,000 and you take out a mortgage with an £18,000 deposit this means the lender has loaned you 80% of the value and you have invested a 20% deposit. If after 12 months the value of the property increases to £100,000 this means you have made £10,000, this is equal to an 11% increase in value, which is already a 56% return on your investment of £18,000. This is one of the basic methods investors use to calculate the return on investment from a property.

To calculate the return on your original investment based on your deposit, divide the amount the property went up in value (£10,000) by the deposit amount (£18,000) and multiply by 100. This will provide you with the percentage return on your deposit which is 55.6% in our example.

When investing in property you have to look at your requirements in terms of location and the needs of your family. The type of property you most desire and information on crime, school performance, local economy and government regeneration investment. More money being invested in the area equals more demand for housing and jobs which will increase local house prices. Changes in government legislation concerning the property market can have an impact on property prices, be sure to evaluate these developments and how they can affect demand now and in the future before you make a purchase.