Be happy

Hi all,

Looking from advice from anyone who rents their own property out in Spain. I appreciate I cannot advertise it on here. We keep getting conflicting advice about how to do it and to be honest starting to feel a little stressed.

I'm also puzzled at the differences in rental prices. A similar apartment to ours is showing at almost double with all the well known holiday booking website for 4 adults a week in July compared to the price we were quoted by the rental branch of estate agent that we purchased from. How can it possibly be so different ?

Also aware that there are rental sites we could advertise on ourselves but unsure re. Arranging cleaning services, key handover and maintenance .

Also wondering where the best place is to purchase electrical goods near peurto banus?

We have bought one to rent in aloha near to peurto banus and one for us to use at Duquesa Marina.

Looking forward to enjoying some Spanish sunshine and lovely new experiences.


We are total newbies and needing good advice.

Thanks in advance

😎

Rosemary

Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. Myself and Fred James are the moderators for the Spanish forums whilst BEVS moderates Europe. Moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. This is so that members gain the information that they are looking for and find their experiences on the forums to be friendly and worthwhile.

Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderator who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are usually friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge about the issues of living in Spain. I hope that you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

MikeJ

If you are not going to be available to do the preparation, cleaning, laundry, guest greeting and post rental property inspections yourself then your best bet is to find a decent letting/management agent. Expect to pay between 10-12% of each rental and possibly a retainer to the agent plus the charges for laundry and cleaning (which you can probably pass on). Incidentally, this may be the reason for the difference in rental prices : one price may be fully loaded and the other may require all the add-ons. The other reason may be location, location, location.


The trick is to get a good, honest agent. You will need to go by reputation and recommendations as there are loads of sharks out there. Good luck with that.


You should also expect that renters will have no respect for your property so make sure you get a deposit and a proper inspection before returning it. It is a good idea to delay refunds until a decent interval since a hurried look round before handing back the deposit on the changeover day often misses the real damage - guests can be really crafty and inventive in covering their tracks.


Also make sure you have a good landlord rental and since April this year you must register your rental property (and pay tax on the income). This is a wheeze thought up by the hotels to discourage private renters who were eating into their market, and they lobbied the junta very hard to get this law enforced.


Work with the agent on marketing and promotion. Make sure you have good enticing photos of the property - it is often a good idea to get some professional shots done - but good shots with a wide-angle lens and suitable lighting to make your rooms look cosy and inviting and show off your property to best advantage. TripAdvisor is where people look to judge your property so it is vital to get some good reviews early on. Incidentally TripAdvisor also have a holiday lettings subsidiary which I believe is quite good [note I have no commercial relationship with them]

Be happy

Thanks Mike that's all really helpful. We are lucky as our research paid off and we feel we have picked a great real estate who hooked us up with great lawyer. (Lots of great reviews award etc online) We are good with the legal stuff due to research and OH Is a solicitor.
Yeah we need to work (unfortunately) in sunny Scotland so need to trust someone else to do all the rental stuff.
We don't get keys for a few weeks and needing some work done first. My oh family road testing it for us mid July so that gives us time to decide on who to use and promotion etc. Will probably in addition to professional help I will get my own website and as you say get good photos (looking forward to that bit) and will get glossy plastic flyer and hand into golf courses in my area as apartment right in golf valley. Been advised to get it onto NHS net and police , other intranets .

We've sorted out Spanish bank accounts and have both had businesses here in the past and I rent a house here so used to self assessments etc bit will ensure we get good accountant to advise on Spanish side of stuff. Also been advised the get Spanish Will to incorporate both houses.
Heading out for a week June to sort it all out and research companies and packages offered . Thanks again � ����

snikpoh

My advice would be to use one of the main holiday rental sites (like HomeAway) for a number of reasons. HomeAway is the number 1 holiday rental site and gets way more business than any other. They also take credit card payments which gives the holiday maker bags more confidence.

Having your own site is great but it won't appear on the first page of a Google search (unless it's really good!) and you, as an individual, probably won't be able to take credit card payments online.

I would find an agent (or an individual) who can do the whole raft of tasks - meet&greet, changeovers (cleaning etc.), pool maintenance (if appropriate), minor property maintenance, alarm company interface etc. and basic key holding.

cricketman

I know people who rent out properties in that area

If you arent personally going to be in the country then you need to hire a holiday lettings company to manage every aspect for you. They will charge between 30-50% of the rental price and will tell you how much to rent out the holiday lets for. Alternatively some holiday lettings companies will pay you a fee for the entire year and then charge the holiday makers whatever they like, but your property has to be very desirable for them to do that

Holidays makers need a lot of hand holding. What happens if the Wi-Fi goes down, or there is an electricity cut, or they lose their luggage, or someone needs to go to the hospital? They expect to being to call the landlord to sort this out for them

And secondly, holiday lets need to be immaculate and very organised for when new holiday makers arrive so turn around days are a lot of hard work and very stressful. Who can you trust to do that?

Be happy

Thanks for replies.
Yeah sorry I meant I would do a website in addition as I had been told if I get rentals on my own efforts then commission fee from rental company is reduced for those dates ?? Having said that it's a big learning process for us and I guess it's going to be a work in progress.

Yeah I worry re. Hen and stags but also know that's beyond my control.

Cheers guys. Really appreciate.

amideislas

Homeaway may be the #1 in Britain , but airbnb is the world's largest with by far the most traffic. It's worth pointing out that limiting your marketing to British guests is well, limiting. Besides, Germans and Scandinavians have a well-deserved reputation for being tidy and respectful.

You need not hire a "professional" firm to manage your property. Some of them are disasters and can actually scare clients away. There are plenty of trustable individuals who can do the job for a lot less money. Ask around or it an ad up in the local rag.

Be happy

Cheers. Totally take that all on board. Yeah it's a Scandinavian company that we bought from and they rent too (mainly to Scandinavians). I'm happy to rent to any nationality tbh

Fred James

It came into effect yesterday and they are expecting over 20000 registrations.

The Junta expects an avalanche of some 20,000 of tourism apartments - Spain news in English

Be happy

Cheers for that. Sent to OH to digest .

MikeJ

Well I hope you are the exception that proves the rule but conventional wisdom says never, ever use a lawyer introduced by your estate agent. The fact that your OH is a solicitor will help but, of course, the law is quite different in Spain.


I note that your property is on/near golf courses so you can expect a very different seasonal market. Many Scandinavian, and of course Brit, golfers choose to visit in the cooler months. They are often single sex parties so it is a good idea to furnish with single beds - which can be pushed/zipped together for couples. So make sure your marketing efforts reaches these European and even Russian markets. Great way to extend your season.


BTW - I know things vary from place to place but I think Cricketman (above) estimates are at the top end. We never paid more than 12% plus an annual management fee of €400 - and the management company did everything, although their changeover inspections were a bit cursory which is why I warned about this previously.


It's also worth noting that registration, which has just come into force as Fred says (above), is not just a formality. The property must comply with a number of specific things, eg smoke/fire alarms, emergency exits clearly marked, fire extinguishers, fire blankets in the kitchen plus the property must have a minimum of features, comforts and facilities which the tourist might expect. You should go online and see what the requirements are. The hotels want to make private renting expensive and force casual rooms out of the market and they seem to have done a good job in the regulations. We have stopped renting (and you cannot even take money from family and friends any more unless you are registered).

Be happy

Lol I had researched lawyer before I did anything else. Researched in full coincidently my estate agent recommended same one . My OH is suspicious beyond suspicious so that helps

Be happy

My own lawyer in Scotland has also worked with our Spanish lawyers firm several times in past and found them very professional. This also put us at ease.

Be happy

Hey I need to add I was duped years ago when attempting / planning to emigrate to NZ. This past experience helps keep you alert but I'm aware this is all tricky to negotiate without problems.