Property investment is regarded as one of the safest ways to produce a steady return on investment as well as providing a perfect accompaniment to your pension through retirement. But can there be an age limit placed on property investment?

Ultimately, the answer is no, however often more care will need to be taken as you get older. It is important to recognise that in theory purchasing a property on your 100thth birthday and selling at a profit a year later on your 101st birthday would still be classed as a successful short-term property investment, providing profits have been made.

One of the biggest drawbacks of old age and property investment is the access to finance as very few mortgage lenders, if any at all, will consider lending money to anyone over the age of 65. This is due to the fact that most lenders want mortgage loans repaid by the normal retirement age of 65. Quite often, even someone at the age of 55 would struggle getting a 25-year mortgage and 10 years would be more likely.

With age comes slight risk. This is down to the fact that you no longer have the luxury of investing for the long term, it is predominantly for short term only. To put this into context, if you are 80 years old and invest in a property at a time where the economy is fruitful and market trends for return on investment are looking high and profitable, two years later the market may start to decline. If the market then recovers after 10 years it could put you back into high profits.

Profits can be gained through rental yields on the property but also from capital growth produced by a developing area. As an 80-year-old, after 10 years you may not be around to experience the full prosperity of the investment. Essentially, the older you are the more limited your investment opportunities become. At a younger age the opportunities to recover from numerous hits that may arise from tax changes, political instability and an unpredictable market are higher and can eventually put you back into high profits over a period of time. For the older generation these factors are a lot harder to overcome.

If you are a cash purchaser, you can pretty much invest in property at any age but if you need financial support from a mortgage this is unlikely. Purchasing a property outright and either renting it out or leaving it empty would still provide a lucrative investment, as long as the market has risen from purchase price to the point of sale. RW Invest, one of the UK’s leading property specialists, offer a diverse range of buy to let opportunities available to cash buyers that provide the potential for staggering capital growth and healthy returns.

Often, investing in a property during or after retirement stands as a project for those with spare time and spare cash and can be a fantastic way of making money, regardless of age. Providing you have the cash flow, determination and knowledge, they are the fundamentals that are required to be successful.

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