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Behind every headline lies a story and recent news about rents rising to an average of £725 across England and Wales is sure to have perked the interest of would-be investors looking at buying cheap property to provide good returns. However, for every landlord reaping the rewards of escalating demand for rental property as would be first time buyers are blocked from getting on the ladder, there is another whose tenants are out of work and struggling to make monthly payments. Templeton LPA recently revealed the number of tenants who owed two month’s rent or more has risen by 24 per cent annually in Q2 2012 taking the number to around 100,000. It’s fair to say property is not the super safe investment it once was, and the get out of jail free card of selling up for a profit if you wanted to get out after a few years no longer applies, as aside from a few very exclusive areas of central London, property prices are generally flat and a saturation of property for sale in the market means selling periods are elongated. There’s also the issue of repairs and maintenance. Experienced property investors will no doubt be able to recognise a problem straight away with the know-how and contacts to resolve it swiftly. Anyone new to property might be tempted by the higher returns offered by a house in need of renovation, but could be stuck with a property that can’t be rented with liability for the mortgage in the mean time. Plus the value could drop... So if you’ve got the deposit for a buy-to-let mortgage and you’re after returns of over eight per cent over a fixed period, we think you should spread your risk and null. Separating your cash into small investments in a number of profitable businesses will give you excellent returns without the risk of taking on an investment with the potential to lose you money.