This is the first in a series of articles to be published over the next few months, detailing the basics of property investment and focusing on central investment themes.

When you start to build a property portfolio, you are moving into serious business territory. And two unavoidable features of that territory are numbers and accountancy...

These concepts terrify some, and bore others rigid. But let's put things in context.

From a negative angle, unless you keep a close eye on your business, you won't have a business for long. It really is that simple.

However, on a more positive note, the numbers show you how your portfolio is developing over time; they allow you to make wise and informed decisions as to when to buy the next property; they reveal to you the gaps that need filling as well as the rising stars in your portfolio.