For many long term property investors, knowing how to make money and how much money you can make is something that is probably now fairly instinctive. You will have seen residential property prices go up and down and probably seen that trend repeated several times. However, if you are relatively new to property investment, what you can earn out of property having seen a major boom and an equally disastrous bust may leave you wondering if the only option is to keep your fingers crossed.

It isn't! And for any investor of any asset, making sure you understand what your investment will deliver over the coming years is essential. If you don't know - how can you make sure you are wisely investing your money? How do you know you shouldn't be selling up and re-investing that money in a different property in a different area?

How to start working out what property can deliver
The first thing to do is to make sure you are being realistic about what property can deliver - if you do it properly and legally.
This means forgetting a lot of the 'rubbish' peddled by property investment companies wanting you to spend thousands on their 'below market value deals' with the promise that 'property prices double' every 10 years…all from the comfort of your armchair.

The reality is you need to be aware that all previous property investment deliverables prior to the credit crunch seem to have changed. Property prices (and rents) are now reacting very differently depending on which property type you own and the postcode it's based in.