Now let's be optimistic, let's hope it takes only 3 years down, and 3 years back up. Over that 6 years, you will be subsidizing your tenant each and every month, will be responsible for repairs, taxes, finding new occupiers, and all hassle that a person would normally expect to get paid for. And you will be doing it for nothing. Nada. Zilch. If you are subsidizing your tenant to tune of 20% or so (a common figure at present according to industry figures) this means you will effectively have lost about 9% of your investment anyway as 6 years unfold in all their predictability. Add on lost opportunity cost of using your money more effective over 6 years, and you can realistically double that figure BEORE you look at all hassle and heartache of being a landlord. In other words, pretty much same cost to you as selling now at what looks like a bad loss.

The alternative? You are free to get on with life, and try to find some other way to make money. Additionally, if you manage to sell now, even at a 20% loss, it will probably fall at least another 10%. This means that you can buy again in 3 years time at lowest point of crash, and recover your losses in 3 years that would follow, making a healthy 10% or so whereas as things stand you will only be clawing back to break-even by 2011. And icing? Buying at low in 3 years time means a smaller mortgage, which means lower interest payments, which means a respectable yield!. The calculations are quite complicated, but put simply, taking your medicine now in form a of a 20% hit could mean that in 6 years time you are up perhaps 40%. The choice of course, is yours. And even if you decide to hang on for grim life, there is always a chance that you might make it out other side with a small profit some time in next 10 years or so. Best of luck, Landlords!

4. Family and friends: Borrowing from family or friends is a good idea when amount you need is relatively small. It can be clubbed with part of your own savings and novel fund raising ideas like a garage sale to help finance your business. This is an easy way to raise funds, as these are people who know you well and need fewer assurances. It is also unlikely that they will drag you to a court if your business takes longer to get profitable and repayment is delayed. But take care that money does not sour your relationships; be professional in your dealings with them and get a formal agreement drawn up in order to put terms of loan in writing.

5. Venture Capitalists: Venture capitalists are professional investors who may be in charge of a large pool of capital gathered from a range of sources. These firms invest in new, even high-risk or speculative businesses without a proven track record, with potential for rapid growth and high returns in a short time. Take a look at www.vfinance.com to get you started on this line of credit.

6. Angel Investors: Angels investors are relative to venture capitalists and usually less demanding in returns they expect. These are private investors who expect their investments to make more money than through traditional markets. An angel investor could be your doctor, accountant or attorney who seek out new businesses to invest in return for equity ownership. Also see: www.angel-investor-news.com

Some other good sources of funding are Industrial banks, home equity loans and loans on credit cards. Some other not so obvious ways of raising capital can be equipment leasing and advertising. Another area, which you can explore, is personal grants from corporates. For more information take a look at http://www.fdncenter.org/funders/grantmaker/index.html

So arm yourself with a solid business plan, determination and right kind of information on what investors are looking for. You will hit ground running with some of these ideas above.