One thing is certain about the market - and that is its uncertainty. How as investors can we survive and make money?

The market today is very different from a year ago and the advice I am giving to clients has now changed considerably.

The market is like a living entity, changing from week to week, month to month. It is vital that as an investor you keep on top of these changes and understand the implications for your investments.

You also need to be clear about what you can be sure of - and identify what you can’t but which could be important.

These are the things you should be sure of:

• Know your attitude to risk
• Be clear about the amount you wish to invest
• Research carefully
• Take out rental guarantees to minimise your exposure to bad tenants
• Ensure you have adequate buildings insurance to cover as many eventualities as possible. These are the things that are unclear but could have an impact:
• The economy is changing and consumer spending is falling. This is likely to lead to more cuts in interest rates - however, no one can be certain as to when these will occur and whether they will stimulate the economy or not. As investors, during uncertain times it is advisable not to fix your rate. Flexibility is key. If you need to sell quickly, you don’t want to have massive redemption penalties to pay. If interest rates fall dramatically, then you will benefit.
• Another unknown is the effect European, Asian and American economies will have on ours and on the housing market. Politically and economically, Europe is going through a transition stage and no one can be sure what the outcomes will be. In the US, industries are struggling and there are big corporate pension deficits.
• Our government is constantly legislating and more red tape is being inflicted upon us, so don’t buy the kinds of properties that are likely to come under too much government scrutiny, such as Houses in Multiple Occupation. This means not purchasing properties that are three storeys and more and which have four or more bedrooms.

If you are a first time buy-to-let investor, you should:

• Think of the investment as medium to long term
• Research the local market thoroughly
• Research your loans carefully
• Decorate to a high standard to attract high-quality tenants. You should not:
• Purchase anything with serious maintenance problems

Builders are everyone’s biggest challenge. Whenever I ask an audience of investors how many of them have a good reliable builder, only about 4 or 5 per cent put their hands up.

At the beginning of my career in property, I had a ‘wonderful’ builder called Dennis. He would paint a whole house for £600. He was reliable and he would do any little handy jobs for free, just to help me out.

This went on very nicely for about a year. Then, gradually, his prices began to creep up. I didn’t really notice it a first, but soon he was charging me £70 to come and look at a leaking tap and I was being ripped off.

Now, even though it is very timeconsuming, I always get three quotes for every job that I need doing.

You may be able to get a good builder through your local building inspector. Every day, these inspectors go out to view the works being done by all the builders in the borough. While they are not supposed to recommend anyone, my own local building inspector took pity on me after seeing so many jobs that were botched and abandoned and had to be redone time and time again.

The builder he recommended was extremely busy and I had to wait over a month. However, his work is of excellent quality, he will not do anything without the building inspector’s approval, and whilst I will always have to keep an eye on his prices, I do know that I not have to deal with upset tenants a few months later who are falling through the floors or who have no electricity or water and cannot find the stopcock as it has been buried under the carpets and floorboards!

If you can get estate agents on your side, you will have access to some of the best properties coming on to the market. However, you will have to watch out for unscrupulous agents. They can cost you a lot of money.

First, I make it a point never to deal with an agent who will put any of my clients or myself into a contract race. Once I have offered and agreed a price, I expect the property to be taken off the market for two weeks in order to arrange a mortgage valuation. Even in the fastest-moving markets, it is still possible to find agents who will do this.

For example, in Stratford right now, the market is really hot and many agents are allowing contract races to go on. However, I have found several properties for my clients which are in the process of going through, and in all cases the property is taken off the market. If the agent is unwilling to do this – do not agree to buy the property. Run! There are plenty of other deals and other agents.

Many agents will not sell you the property unless you agree to use their mortgage services. This goes on all the time and there is no law against it despite the fact that it lacks integrity. Indeed, a recent client, a BBC producer, was absolutely furious with a local agent in Manchester. He had offered the asking price and was putting down a deposit of 50 per cent, but the agent would not allow him to buy the property as he had his own mortgage broker. Scandalous! Avoid these agents at all costs.

Negotiating with agents is an art. I was recently able to secure a property for my client who offered £215,000, even though there was another offer in for £220,000. Due to the excellent relationship I had with the agent, I was able to argue the case in favour of my client and persuaded the agent to put her case to their vendor. Better to have a buyer who will definitely buy at £215,000 rather than someone who will mess you about and then possibly pull out after several weeks.

Remember, property buying and selling is really a game. You want to be able to play whether it rains or shines - whatever the market.

Barbara Goldsmith is a property investor with a portfolio worth over £10million which she has built up with none of her own money. She also offers consultancy services to other investors all over the UK. She is based in Stratford, east London, and was almost alone in forecasting London’s successful Olympics bid. She can be contacted on bg@stratfordproperties.com