They’re often called recession-proof: steady investments that are inexpensive and easy to maintain with consistent profit margins. Not to mention, they’re an area of real estate that seems largely unaffected-if not helped-by current rough market conditions.

They are self storage units, and people always need them. And all across the country, with a growing population that provides a constant supply of people in transit and in need of storage, they’re shooting up everywhere. Self storage facilities require relatively low building and management costs.

Storage facility operators are capitalizing on a constant of modern culture: Americans own a lot of stuff.

According to the Self Storage Association (SSA), self storage has been the fastest-growing sector of the U.S. commercial real estate market for the last 30 years, growing into a $220 billion industry. The rate of growth, however, has slowed somewhat over the past two years.

A slow housing market can actually help storage facilities, according to industry analysts and local facility operators. As the housing market slumps, people downsize their house sizes, and some are even foreclosed upon.

People with second homes often store their large possessions like snowmobiles and RVs in units while they’re away.

Businesses use storage units too. Companies like the Old World Cabinet Company use the spaces as warehouses. With the high price of real estate in offices, sometimes it’s more economical to rent storage units than to buy up more space.

The fastest growing commercial real estate sector

According to the Self Storage Association:
Self Storage facilities are real property designed and used for the purpose of renting or leasing individual storage spaces to tenants who are to have access to such space for the purpose of storing and removing personal property. They offer rental on a month-to-month basis of individual spaces where customers provide their own lock and have sole access to their space.

Today’s typical storage facility may comprise several one or two-story buildings on 2 to 6 acres of land, or a multiple-story building, containing a carefully designed unit mix of spaces. The units typically range in size from 5 x 5 to 10 x 30 feet with 30,000 to 120,000 total rentable square feet of space.

Self storage facilities frequently have large roll-up doors and drive-up access to outside spaces and offer outside parking for storage of boats and recreational vehicles, which often cannot be stored in residential communities.

Today’s facilities normally have the following features:

- From 10,000 to over 100,000 rentable sq. ft.
- A wide range of unit sizes
- Well lighted
- Paved vs. graveled
- Units are divided by steel, movable panels
- Some spaces may be climate controlled
- High-tech security systems, including electronic access, cameras, and digital video recording
- Perimeters are walled or fenced with security gates
- May or may not have a resident manager
- Single or multi-story buildings
- Carts and dollies for customers to use
- May contain movable storage modules
- Sell storage and moving-related supplies
- Ancillary retail services and products

From the real estate perspective, self storage:
- Meets the needs of several consumer groups (residential & commercial)
- Uses simplified structures
- Makes efficient use of land
- Has short construction time, thereby providing little traffic disruption
- Uses very little energy!

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Lavish bank lending spurred a recovery but also pumped up markets as speculators scooped up stocks and property and even dabbled in garlic, dried chilli peppers and luxury Pu’er tea.

Now, China is reining in its spendthrift banks, shifting toward an exit strategy that aims to avoid a bust.

After a brief slowdown a year ago, China’s economy has bounced back rapidly, with growth forecast at 8.3 percent for this year. Yet the stimulus spending that led that revival – supported by more than 9 trillion yuan ($1.3 trillion) in last year has spurred speculation, raising alarm over a potential housing bubble. The stimulus has also propelled huge investments in industries already larded with overcapacity. On an average day in 2009 some 1,000 new industrial projects were launched, economist Stephen Green estimates.

The challenge now is to stave off inflation and ensure that the stimulus goes into productive investments rather than to speculators.

To help curb those risks, late Tuesday increased the reserves that banks must hold by 0.5 , to 15 percent of their deposits. U.S. banks must hold 10 percent in reserve, though that requirement is based on only a fraction of their balance sheets.

The surprise move followed reports that Chinese banks lent 600 billion yuan, or about $88 billion, in the first week of January – nearly double the total for all of December. “We need to guide rational investment to avoid speculation,” Qi Ji, Vice Minister of Construction, told reporters in Beijing on Wednesday.
Qi’s bland comment belies concerns voiced by many prominent Chinese economists. In the state-run China Securities Journal on Monday, He Fan and Yao Zhizhong of the government-affiliated warned that without tighter controls the economy could grow an unsustainable 16 percent this year.
If stimulus policies remain unchanged, “the economy is destined for serious overheating,” they said.

The resulting bust could derail growth and leave banks with massive holdings of bad loans. The government earlier reimposed taxes on some property transactions and clamped down on lending for second homes, ordering tighter scrutiny of loans and inflows of foreign funds to prevent illegal investments.
But such requirements might not deter deep-pocketed investors looking for fast gains. Among those notorious for running up property prices in are private businessmen from the capitalist manufacturing bastion of Wenzhou.

Having helped drive up prices for property and stocks the Shanghai benchmark surged 80 percent last year the Wenzhou speculators, among others, moved into agricultural commodities. Last autumn, cash flooded into the market for garlic, and then into the wholesale market for dried chilli peppers, which tripled in price in late 2009 to about 30 yuan ($4.40) per kilogram. Market vendors complained of scarce supplies, and consumers and restaurants griped about the cost. In an earlier speculative frenzy, investors focused on Pu’er tea.

“Farmers were hoarding the chilli peppers, expecting the price to rise, and the market speculators were buying as much as possible to control the supply,” said Gao Wang, an analyst with Orient Agri-business Consultant Ltd, a leading agriculture and food business consulting company. Underscoring their appetite for risk, some of the Wenzhou speculators will be heading to holiday in February even after some were burned by the Middle Eastern city state’s meltdown in late 2009.

“Most of us have realized that traditional manufacturing industries no longer bring us more profits, so many who used to run factories are switching to stock markets or real estate,” said Zhou Dewen, the head of a Wenzhou business association, who is heading the tour. “We think it’s time to go and see how is Dubai’s economy going as opportunity always follows after the crisis,” Zhou said.

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China may be set to announce the framework for the real estate investment pilot program for insurance companies later this month, China Securities Journal quoted a source as saying.

Industry watchers believe that the measures will extend the areas where insurance companies can invest in real estate to include infrastructure projects, commercial properties and low rent housing projects. Insurance companies may be prohibited from investing in residential housing projects.

The source noted that insurance companies could deploy their capital in their own properties and in purchase of controlling equity in other companies. Such equity investment may be restricted to investment in insurance companies, non-insurance financial institutions and companies related to insurance industry.

Insurance companies will have to meet specific requirements to invest in real estate projects. For instance, the insurers should have their own asset management departments, and a sound and effective internal risk control system; their solvency ratio should be no less than 120 per cent in the past two financial years; insurers should appoint at least five professional staff with real estate investment experiences; they should report premium growth for two consecutive years and continuous profitability; and they should have steady and long term insurance capital for their operations.

This means that large insurance companies, including China Life Insurance, Ping An Insurance Group of China, the People??s Insurance Company of China, and the China Pacific Insurance, can tap into the real estate investment, as they all meet such standards.

In the meantime, insurance companies are prohibited from using indebted funds in real estate investment, such as loans and funds raised from issuing bonds. They are still not allowed to tap into real estate development and provide debt financing without pledges and guarantees.???

In the world of real estate investing, the amounts of things that can go wrong are innumerable. Whilst unfortunately no investor can predict the future and save himself from losing money, asking questions and doing research can offer a great deal of protection. Asking the right questions is particularly important during the pre-purchase phase of any real estate investment. It is during this phase that investors need to ask the right correct questions in order to avoid purchasing a property that will not only lose money but bring them nothing but sorrow.

One consideration you should be concerned with regarding any investment in property project is how much profit or equity can be made from it. While profit is not guaranteed in real estate investing, you can increase your residual income by purchasing a property that has the highest potential for profit. Questions to ask your agent include how much below resale value is the home priced; how much could the property be worth after renovations; and are other homes in the area appreciating or depreciating in value. You may also want to enquire and ask your real estate agent about all the financing options open to you as an investor as these may differ from options available to those wishing to purchase a property as a primary residence.

Other questions that you may want to consider are those that would be asked by any ordinary consumer looking to purchase a property. These questions are property specific and involve the condition of the property. You should ask for the information rather than assume that everything is fine. Any investor or property expert will advise you that most failed investments can be avoided if only the investor had enquired and asked the right questions within the first instance.

Tax laws are another great topic of discussion all dependant on the country for those wishing to make an investment in real estate and property.

1. Brazil
The Brazilian property market has got a lot going for it. The country is attracting a lot of inward investment, has one of the world’s fastest growing economies, a rapidly emerging mortgage market, a general shortage of quality homes, and has been selected to host the 2014 football World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games. This will lead to the construction of new and improved infrastructures and homes across Brazil.
Property investors from around the world are flocking to Brazilian shores with a view to snapping up real estate, in anticipation of future capital growth.

One local expect projects Brazilian property prices could appreciate by up to 200% over the next decade, driven by the country’s burgeoning economy, and the pending introduction of mortgages to overseas nationals. Investment banking firm Goldman Sachs believes that Brazil’s economic growth could outstrip that of the other BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) member nations over the next few years.

Brazil’s economy is widely expected to become the fifth largest in the world by the time the Olympic Games kicks off in 2016, and yet Brazil property and land prices still remain a fraction of those found in more developed nations. The Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has already pledged to spend up to ??11.5bn on building a million new homes in Brazil between now and 2011. However, potential high property investment rewards are not with out their risks, as crime and corruption still remains widespread in Brazil.

2. France
In stark contrast to the relatively high risk, high return nature of investing in Brazil, the risks associated with investing in French property are far lower. France has traditionally always been a rather safe haven for property investors. The nation was the first European country to come out of recession in 2009, reflecting the fact that the global credit crunch had much less of an impact, compared to other European counterparts.

France’s strong economy is having a positive impact on its property market, which now appears to be on the road to recovery. Increasing property and mortgage transactions are boosting residential values, with the latest FNAIM data revealing that the average price of a French property appreciated by 2.8% between April and September 2009.

Although average prices remain down 7.8% year-on-year, the market is generally expected to improve further, due to France’s prudent attitude to mortgage lending. Anyone taking out a mortgage in France is generally only permitted to borrow one third of their total gross monthly income. This has ensured that mortgages remain readily available, with 100% loan-to-value home loans available at competitive borrowing rates.

Consequently, mortgage lending in France is soaring. French mortgage broker Athena Mortgages reports that there was a 21% rise in mortgage enquiries in Q3 2009 compared with the previous quarter.

The buy-to-let and leaseback sectors are reportedly attracting particular interest from investors, due to improved yields across the country. The capital city of Paris has long been identified as one of the most attractive European cities for investment, and is typically the most popular place to buy a home in France, along with Cannes, Marseille and Nice, which are all located along the southern Mediterranean coast.

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Forex trading robots were developed to help Forex traders. At first, many were doubtful about the reliability and efficiency of these robots, however with the lapse of time the robots proved that they could be very helpful. They can learn movements and trajectories, trade automatically. Provided with such features automated currency trading robots became the greatest currency trading advisers opponents. Still, most traders consider Forex robots useful and effective.

The popularity of Forex is easy to explain, it is available worldwide, it operates 24 hours five days a week, enough information is provided for both beginners and experienced traders to take the most of Forex trading.

There are also various tools available for Forex traders, such as Forex robots. The choice of the robot is significant because it greatly influences the results of your trade. Moreover, there is a demo trading account provided which is especially useful ???cause it helps to test the robot and minimize the risk level. It is highly recommended before trading with a real money to run a demo account to test the robot so as to benefit and make profit with the help of this innovative technology.

This will also help you to understand the capabilities of the system. Trade in small amounts first, it will take some time to know about the features of the system and master the system. When you get enough practice you can have a bigger bet, such approach will help you to make profit and obtain bigger returns of investments.

One of the greatest advantages of such automated systems is the that they work for you/ you do not need to devote much time to trading since the robot will trade automatically even when you are absent. Working at their own the robots lets you spend more time with your family and giving you more time to relax or running other business.

Such automated systems comprise schemes and algorithms for important information evaluation, the robots can adapt to Forex market movements. The accuracy of such robots is 90-96 % in their computations. As there are many robots to choose you need to find the one that will suit your needs, will be the most appropriate for you trading schemes.

There is a lot of information related to the robots and you can choose different ways to choose the system, by reading reviews, testimonials. It is vital to explore the information carefully, test the system first. You have a possibility to learn the system peculiarities, manipulate it, that is obtain experience using Forex robots. There are different Forex trading systems but you need to find yours, which is profitable and advanced. Don???t be in a hurry and choose the system that will bring you profit.

Real estate may not be the most affordable investment to make, but if you want guaranteed returns from your hard-earned money then now’s the time and California real estate properties are the best assets to have in your name.

Tax Credits
The clock is ticking for the residents of California. Time is running short and if you don’t make use of those tax credits soon, you’ll never be able to use them at all! Do you want to lose such a golden opportunity? Tax credits don’t happen every day so if you plan on using them, use them where you’ll enjoy maximum benefit such as with the purchase of real estate!

Low Mortgage Rates
A combination of various economic factors has resulted into record-low mortgage rates. But like everything else, this situation won’t last forever. Sooner or later, mortgage companies will reverse their decision and it will be back to the old days. Interest rates will be high and the application process will become stringent once more. You’ll have to take a good hard look at your credit rating and determine how to improve it in the quickest time possible.

If you want the chance to earn extra cash, now’s the time. And if you don’t want to risk spending that extra cash on something worthless then invest it in real estate and you’ll enjoy profit margins like you’ve never seen before.

High Supply, Low Demand
You can check any real estate website and all the news and statistics say one thing: supply is greater than demand. There are more sellers than buyers and every economic model agrees that when such a thing occurs, price will inevitably go down…but not for long.

Don’t you think it’s high time you take advantage of all those great prices for those great real estate properties? Remember: land never depreciates in value. It can only go up. Sure, it may reach rock-bottom prices during economic crises but if you ride it out, things will soon go back to normal and you can again look forward to enjoying a healthy profit from your investment.

The Future
Another thing that all the experts and analysts agree on is the fact that the near future is bright and rosy for the real estate industry. The slump this year, which will continue till 2010, is only temporary. After that, the real estate business is expected to boom again. If you delay your investment, you might end up paying more than you should and face tougher competition. Don’t wait for that to happen. Invest now and while you can!