My name is Gwen Petitpierre, and I decided to set up this site as a way of exploring how to achieve sensible investment in property.

Like many others, I have often wanted to be in a position to buy more property, both here and abroad, and to have the luxury of living off the income. The cold reality is that it is rather more complex than swanning of to your local agent and signing the deal. The resources, knowledge and contacts to make sensible investments require hard work and constantly keeping your eyes open for opportunities.

I have been very lucky in that, having had an interest in property since I was a teenager, I have been able to spend considerable time making friends and acquaintances who are of a similar mind.

I have had a lot of help and support with the developments that I have made in the last 7 years, which include buying two flats which I now let out. I have discovered that endless research helps, asking other people's opinions can be interesting, watching the market for months can be very revealing, but none of these things can take the place of personal experience and holding your courage in both hands, launching out and trusting all that research, networking and learning that you have spent months doing, and just going for it!

My flats pay for themselves - they won't keep me warm at night if I lose my day job, but in 10 years time they could well provide my children with either their own base or the deposit for something bigger. They might just provide me with a pension when I retire, but they are never going to make me a millionaire by themselves.

My aim is to be comfortable in my finances, but to be able to provide my children with a solid base as they grow and develop into adulthood. We have all heard about the Credit Crunch and how the Buy to Let market has crashed, and how investing in property is not viable at the moment, but done carefully, with wide eyes and mind and clear information, it is possible to make some very healthy long term investments in the property market, and this site is designed to give you the contacts to help you achieve this.

Good luck and enjoy your properties!

Page updated: 10th September 2008