Despite, or perhaps because of the present economic downturn, there is an ever growing number of Home Buyers Firms coming into the UK market. These are either private individuals or companies who have come to the conclusion that, even with House Prices sinking, it’s still a far safer bet to put spare cash into Properties rather than leave it in a Bank.

The view behind this is uncomplicated enough. Hefty deposits in banks along with any cash belonging to companies are not covered by government guarantees, so could in theory disappear if the Bank crashes. Properties on the other hand can’t under normal circumstances disappear. It’s also beyond belief that their values could drop to anything approaching zero, and in the medium to long term, it’s highly likely that they’ll recover as the economic situation picks up.

Nonetheless, it’s simply too easy for the House buyers to get carried away, and stock up more problems for themselves. Let’s just halt and consider for a moment about what that phrase “under normal circumstance” means. Just as we are experiencing big upheavals in the financial situation, we must also be aware of the potential changes in our real climate due to global warming.

These changes may have a devastating impact on the value, and perhaps the continued existence of any House you may choose as an investment. The House Buyer who’s buying for an investment or as a safe home for his spare cash may be tempted to just look at the findings of a good survey which sets out the value and condition of the home along with any present threats that may affect it.

A “real” House Buyer who’s planning to live in the House will look much more attentively at such items as coastal erosion, increased rainfall, old mining works, altitude, present and future industrial, commercial and Infrastructure developments, schooling etc. etc, and make his considered opinion about the effect of these during his lifetime.

Anyone lucky enough to be cash rich at the moment can be forgiven for keeping their eye firmly on the present economic downturn and its possible consequences. However, when buying Properties as an alternative to cash in the bank, you need to treat the due diligence as seriously as though you were going to live in the House.

To paraphrase: Let the Home Buyer beware! When people buy Properties to live in; they make sure of all sorts of things; like present and potential future risks of flood, storm, landslip and other risks. It’s much too easy for those who buy Properties for investment to forget these aspects.

These types of investors often just watch for a call from a property owner in trouble to “Buy House”. They jump on the opportunity with a minimum of effort, and go back to running their businesses. However, before I Buy Houses, I take as much care as if I was going to live there myself.