Remember - I blog from England so that may explain any strange turn of phrase! In this article I refer to places on the Monopoly Board in line with the British edition of the game, I've put the equivalent American names in brackets so that the article makes sense. Enjoy!
Last night I returned to London from a rather lovely Christmas in Surrey and Brighton, I was half a stone heavier and had vowed never to watch soaps again. Over the break, I did all the usual yuletide things; exchanged gifts, drank Baileys and (of course) played a marathon match of Monopoly on Boxing Day.
Which got me thinking…how much has this ancient board game shaped our view on the world of real estate? Ask any 7 year old if Mayfair (Boardwalk) is a nice part of town and they’ll assure you it’s for the rich set, only the really brave buy up here and Park Lane (Park Place). It’s an area where smug older brothers bankrupt their own siblings as they demand £2000 for a 30 second stop off at their hotel.
Similarly, when I recently moved back to London I was horrified that I was going to be living off Whitechapel Road (Baltic Avenue) - half of the cheap and nasty ‘pale blue’ collection and only slightly more prestigious than Old Kent Road (Mediterranean Avenue). Nobody I know even bothers buying up these areas, after all if someone lands on one of your properties on this part of the board you’ll only be compensated with £20 in rent.
The clever property investor knows that it’s the ‘orange’ set that you want to get your hands on first of all - with the laws of probability ensuring you get a healthy stream of rent payments as your fellow competitors keep landing there. And never overlook the stations, Kings Cross (Reading Railroad) and Fenchurch Street (B&O Railroad) are two of the most frequently landed upon areas. A monopoly on the railways is always a bonus to your property portfolio, it worked for the British government for decades.
The strategies one uses to try and beat their Gran at this classic board game, have real life applications. Location is paramount for success, seems obvious but there’s no point having a string of properties somewhere that isn’t going to see you a decent return. Don’t buy everything all at once, start with a couple of the cheaper colour sets and then move on to the elusive end of the board when you’re financially able. The same is true for real investors, start with low risk properties to begin with and expand your portfolio to the nicer parts of town once they’re bringing in a decent revenue stream. Look out for fantastic investment opportunities, if your sister is sitting in jail with no bail money - help her out in exchange for some of her properties at half their real value. This type of investment opportunity won’t come along every day in the real world - but there will always be people desperate to sell a property quickly.
If you’ve still got family to visit in the New Year and are desperate to plunge your nearest and dearest into financial ruin, then take a look at this site for a strategy that will have you laughing all the way to the bank.
Hope you all had a lovely Christmas!
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