You might be wondering whether it's really necessary to use software when you invest in property. It's true that most property investors don't use software, but most property investors are not wildly successful either. Buying one or two houses as an investment and doing the calculations yourself is easy. However, people with small portfolios often stagnate, thinking that they've reached their limit in terms of affordability and available time. But then they discover software, and suddenly there is no stopping them; the sky becomes the limit.

In any business, computers and software serve to make life a lot easier. Business people use custom-built software to help them to carry out thorough analyses and make projections, so that they can be guided towards the right business decisions. Property investment is a business and should be approached like one in order to get the maximum returns.

Some of the important factors that influence the decisions of a property investor are bond payments, capital growth, rental income and expenses. It would be easy to monitor these variables if we lived in a world where nothing ever changed. But what happens if the interest rate goes up, or you lose your tenant, or the capital value of the property decreases? What if a few of these things were to happen at the same time? Have you planned for this or will you just deal with it when the situation arises? (That might be too late). Are you aware of the capital growth of your investment and the possibility of using that to expand your portfolio? In other words, do you know how to implement safe and profitable refinancing in order to enjoy the fruits of your labour in your own lifetime?