Released on = April 4, 2006, 1:11 pm

Press Release Author = Horizon Direct Services Ltd

Industry = Real Estate

Press Release Summary = So many people could dramatically improve the financial
security and control of their old age, and have a great legacy to leave their
children, just by taking what currently seems to them to be an impossible plunge
into property.

Press Release Body = Have you noticed in the \'popular\' press over the last few
weeks, how it is full of stories that underline a major and basic flaw in modern
society.

What is that? It\'s called pension-bashing.

Ever since this government started to take away bastions of the pensions schemes,
like removing tax relief on pension contributions, building up hopes for what you
can do with Self Investing Pension Plans (SIPP\'S), and as more and more private
pensions fell into disrepair, this government stood idly by and did nothing to
arrest or reverse the damage.

In the press last week was the story about how millions of pounds were going to be
reclaimed by the government, as they had made mistakes on their pension support
schemes, such that pensioners in receipt of these benefits were becoming too scared
to use them, lest the government suddenly wanted the money back.

And this on top of the fact that the scheme is not very well publicized, and the
outcome of the highly complex form filling, is means tested anyway!

Then, a few weeks earlier, there was the story about how a couple, who had been
together for nearly 70 years, were to be separated as the local care home could not
cater for \'mixed\' couples. (Divorce on Grounds of Local Authority?)

And then, to top it all, if a pensioner draws anything like a livable pension (you
call £90 per week livable) the government will demand taxes on this!

So, everybody is supposed to throw money into a scheme for their whole working
lifetime, just so they can \'enjoy\' a comfortable existence after they are pensioned
off?

Was it not Hans Christian Anderson who wrote really good fairy tales?

But why do we let this situation continue, basically without a fight?

In a survey carried out amongst a large number of couples in their fifties who owned
their own homes, over 87% of them said that their ambition had been to scrimp and
scrape, and make sure they had paid off their mortgage well before they came up to
retirement. When asked why, they said it was because they would feel financially
secure, and in charge of their lives if they did not have a mortgage to pay for, and
that they wanted a legacy to leave their children.

How mistaken can they get? Where is the money coming from, out of a meagre pension,
to pay all the ongoing bills, water rates, gas and electricity, council tax, food,
and - dare I say it - holidays and running a little car?

And as for a legacy - just keep your fingers crossed that you never have a
debilitating disease, or just don\'t get old so you have to go into care - just watch
your legacy evaporate in front of your eyes, while Social Services claim their
pound of flesh for looking after you !

Don\'t you think its time you all stood up for your rights, and took the whole
pension debacle fairly and squarely into your own control?

To far too many people, this is a situation which would seem to be beyond their
ability to do anything about, so they do nothing, and end up miserable and
depressed, with not two pennies to rub together, when the solution is sitting there
- staring them in the face - but like a rabbit facing a snake - they are too
petrified to do anything!

In an inflation-led society - and nearly all Western societies fall into this
category - prices are forever going to rise, and this includes land and property
values. So, rather than just sit on the assets in your house, take the plunge, and
put them to work for you. Speak to a financial advisor, and tell him or her you
fears for old age, coupled with your fear of the unknown regarding property
investment.

Look at this simplified example.

You raise £10,000 from the equity in your house, a simple enough procedure, which
can be done very inexpensively, and you use it as a deposit on a £100,000 property.
You use a managing agent to find you tenants, and the rent that you get should cover
your mortgage payments. Of course, there are schemes where you can get a guaranteed
rental income for up to 10 years, if you are super-cautious.

But look what happens to your investment if the property goes up by just 5%, or an
increase of £5,000.

You put £10,000 down as a deposit, and after one year alone, that equity is now
worth £15,000. That\'s not a bad little return on your investment (Up by 50% - try
getting THAT from your local Bank or Hight Interest Saver). So, after 5 years, your
initial investment could be worth around £40,000. This is known as \'the power of
leverage\' - you borrow other people\'s money to buy this property, but you get all
the increased equity growth in the property.

Repeat this every couple of years and you will have amassed a veritable fortune.

If more people did this, then the pension crisis would be no more.

For your own peace of mind, contact your local financial services person, or call a
local solicitor, or look at one of the various property clubs springing up on the
internet, but please - please - If You Do Nothing, then that is what you will ever
get, and you will be forever at the whim of a very impersonal government!


Web Site = http://www.horizondirectservices.com

Contact Details = Geoff Morris
45 Collingwood Road
St Neots , PE19 8JQ
$$country

00441480210411
geofftrader@gmail.com
http://www.horizondirectservices.com