When we talk about investment property, we’re talking about property specifically for investment purposes, although it may also include a property that you’ve bought to make money on, but live in at the same time.

There are many ways to make property work for you as an investment.

• Buy-rent-sell
• Buy-rent-remortgage
• Buy-renovate-sell
• Build your own
• Invest in your own home
• Invest in a second home or holiday cottage
• Invest in buy-to-let
• Invest in Overseas property
• Buy off-plan
• Buy commercial property
• Buying a hotel or bed & breakfast business
• Buying at auction

Some of these can be combined. For example, you could buy a wreck at auction, renovate it and sell it on for a profit.

Investment property is real estate that you look at coldly for the purposes of making a profit. In nearly all circumstances you will not be living there (at least for very long), so you must separate your own feelings as an occupier from your feelings as a property entrepreneur.

If you buy-rent-sell, you are hoping to buy an investment property under market value, rent it out as a buy-to-let for a period of time, hopefully covering your expenses with rental income, then sell on as the market has risen.

With buy-rent-remortgage the idea is to buy a property, make some improvements to increase its value, rent it out, and remortgage so that you can draw some cash from the new, higher mortgage value. The idea is not to sell your investment property.

Buy-renovate-sell means buying a rundown property, doing it up and selling on for profit.

Build you own investment property is exactly what it says: you build your own, with cheaper costs than buying, then sell on for profit.

Investing in your own home is making an investment property out of your home. Most properties gain in value over time – and this includes the one you live in. This will especially be the case is you make improvements. So you could make a career out of buying, moving, doing up and selling, but get used to the nomadic life style!

Investing in buy-to-let means buying an investment property and renting it out for the long term, hopefully making a profit on rental income over expenses.

If you invest in a second home or holiday cottage you are really buying to let, but you would not expect to get rental all year round, though when you do have holidaymakers staying, their rental payments will be higher than average buy-to-let.

If you invest in overseas property you could be doing a combination of some of the other ways of investing in property talked about here, but you’re doing it abroad. The benefits may be cheaper properties and exciting locations, but the drawbacks are distant location and foreign laws.

Buying off-plan is deciding to purchase an investment property before it is even built – you’re buying it from the plan. The benefits may include developer discounts, staged payments and, of course, a brand new property. When built you can rent it out or sell it on the open market.

If you buy commercial property you’re investing in things like shops, factories, warehouses, offices. Again you’re hoping to rent out – commercial tenants tend to be more reliable than house tenants – and watch the value of the investment property increase over time.

Buying a hotel or bed & breakfast business is really buying a business, but with the added bonus of having an investment property too. Be warned – this is very hard work!

If you buy at auction you are definitely hoping to acquire your investment property at a cut-down price. Once you own it – you can do almost any of the above to make your money!