yorkiesteve

This varies widely.

some lenders simply insist that you have an income of any amount and others will state £20000-£25000 as a minimum. Some will also impose a minimum age of 21 and wont lend to first time buyers / first time landlords.

what seems like a straightforward question, sadly doesnt have a simple answer.

you will also need a decent deposit to make the costs viable, at least 25% and most lenders will require the rent (assessed by their valuer) to be on average 125% of the mortgage ie if the mortgage is £500pcm the rent must be at least £625pcm

Well...shares may not be the best investments for you, and nobody without accurate, careful understanding of your timescale, income, prospects, age and state of health can really give you an answer. Here are a few points, though.

Individual shares are very risky. A share is the ownership of a small part of one company, and if the company does very well, then so will you. But if the company goes bust you will lose it all. Stockbrokers are the best people to advise on individual shares, but they will expect you to have a substantial amount to invest - perhaps £100,000 or more.

'Funds' are generally also invested largely in shares, but in this case you are participating in the average performance of a large number of companies - maybe 100 or more. Different kinds of funds bear different risks, with 'riskier' funds tending to be more suitable for younger people and those with a resilient attitude, who will still sleep soundly if the value of their funds drops.

Other, lower risk investments include corporate bond funds and deposit accounts. These tend to be suited to people who want to reduce their risk, or need income, or perhaps (to make a generalisation) are rather older. If you are saving to buy a house within say the next year or two, there really is no sensible alternative to a straightforward savings or deposit account.

Then again, other investments such as rental property and so on can form part of a longer term investment strategy. It is more important than ever before to develop and maintain a robust, long-term savings strategy. It is really worthwhile to use the guidance of an independent financial adviser.

Oh dear, I don't think there is a good answer for this. The only investments that a responsible adviser would say are low risk are deposit accounts, which are hardly suitable for long-term savings and and are certainly not alternative. Gilt funds and corporate bond funds are regarded as pretty low in risk, too, but they are also mainstream.

Other investments which might be thought of alternative could include direct purchase of artworks, or fine whisky, for example, but these are certainly not low risk. There is a market known as the Alternative Investment Market (or AIM) which a stockmarket for specialist funds. The link at the end will take you to some more information about this. However, with investment in such things as oil prospecting, or loans to third world economies, although large gains can be made by investing there, the potential for large losses makes AIM investments high risk, in my view.

I'll be interested to know if any other contributors have additional thoughts on this interesting question.

Look at this link: http://www.londonstockexchange.com/companies-and-advisors/aim/aim/aim.htm

ISAs are a good option as you can use them for short term savings in the form of cash up to £5100 per financial year or up to £10200 per financial year in stocks & shares but only if you are prepared to accept investment risk and to invest for a longer term ie at least 5 years. There are many who think ISAs are a waste of time but the thing to bear in mind is that many investment houses will offer charge deals through IFAs so an investment fund can often be cheaper to access through an ISA as opposed to outside the ISA wrapper.

The key with any investment is research and timing.

you need to understand the risks attached to all investments from cash to shares and also identify your time schedule and exit strategy.

no one can accurate predict in advance when to invest but you can look at historic trends. generally shares should be held for the long term, five years or more.

many people have made money day-trading but some of that success has been "accidental" rather than planned and controlled.

this is why when i recommend a portfolio of investments to a client is based on their risk profile, investment term, financial circumstances and a range of investments which have a good proven track record and not just simply jumping onto the bandwagon of the latest trendy or esoteric investment.

sadly many people have been caught out in the past with penny shares and boiler room scams because they have let greed overtake common sense. dont get me wrong, we are all driven by greed and greed can be good but if someone is promising you double digit returns in an investment you have never heard of, tread carefully.

one of the latest scams is encouraging people to buy plots of land on the basis that planning consent will be granted and a £10000 plot of grass will suddenly escalate in value overnight. on the whole its simply not true, sometimes it will be but thats a rarity, most of these scams have been in remote towns, far away from the investors home, where they have no local knowledge and worst of all in green belt conservation areas!

yes it can be but you have to consider why are you investing.

if it is in response to recent media coverage of an investment, the chances are that the profit in the short term has already been made and you are ready a report on yesterdays news.

with any investment you need to consider how long are you prepared to invest, what degree of risk are you willing to accept, what contingency do you have in place for emergencies (always good to keep some cash in the bank for a backup), are there other more pressing reasons to use the money for something else ie paying down a debt with a very high rate of interest?

i dont know if this has answered your question as it was a little vague but if you are willing to expand on the situation it will be simpler to give you a more relevant answer