So much advice is bandied about on the internet and even on the street about what makes a sensible investment, what makes a good investment and what makes a secure investment.

Well ? when you consider that for most of us our own home is actually our number one asset and that it is a strong capital appreciating asset, surely the most sensible investment decisions we can make will be locked into that real estate.

By making the decision to buy your own home you have already made the most sensible investment decision of your life! After all we're all well aware that paying a landlord's mortgage in the form of making rental payments each month is effectively throwing tonnes of your hard earned cash down the drain. By deciding to turn that hard earned cash into capital appreciating bricks and mortar you are investing into your long term financial security.

Here are two more sensible investment steps that you can take towards making the very most of your home and getting the very most from your home.

Step One ? Make Home Improvements

A house is a living, breathing organic structure that requires constant ongoing attention and care; by keeping your home in pristine condition and paying prompt attention to any repair and renovation work that needs doing you will be managing your investment to the very best of your ability.

Just like investment fund managers constantly tweak and hone their investment decisions for the sake and benefit of their investors' cash, so you should consider constantly tweaking and honing your home to keep it looking fresh, new and well maintained.

If you allow your home to fall into disrepair it will not only lose value but it will cost you far more in the long term to put right. Furthermore it will reduce the amount you can sell it for should you decide to relocate ever.

Step Two ? Pay Off Your Mortgage

A mortgage is the only way most of us can afford to get on the housing ladder ? but there's no denying it, it's an expensive debt to carry around and shoulder each month. The longer you take to pay off your mortgage the more interest you will have to pay. The monthly amounts you pay in interest and mortgage insurances soon add up to in excess of the original amount borrowed!

Unfortunately for us most mortgage lenders like to lock us into long term contracts with penalties for early repayment and making lump sum payments but it is possible to renegotiate mortgage terms, find a new lender and get a flexible mortgage that allows you to repay lump sums without incurring a financial penalty. The best times to do this is when it is really a buyer's market and just like the housing market is cyclical so the lending market is too. So wait until all the adverts are on the TV and in the newspaper telling you about the most competitive rates available and how if you move mortgages the new lender will pay all your fees and then make your move!

If you're currently locked in to an inflexible scheme consider putting aside as much as you can each month into a suitable investment vehicle which is low risk and high interest paying and then access this money as soon as you're able to pay it off your new flexible mortgage plan.

The sooner you truly own your own home the sooner you'll be benefiting to the max from the most sensible investment decision you've ever made!

Rhiannon Williamson is a freelance writer whose many articles about international property and investing in overseas real estate have appeared in publications around the world. Visit this link to read her latest articles about Investment Property Abroad