What Makes A Good Buy-To-Let?

Travelling Time

Travel industry figures state that about 25% of all potential visitors to Spain will be deterred if it involves travelling for more than one hour from an airport at either end of their journey, and that if this time rises to one and a half hours it will deter around 50%.

Travel convenience is therefore defined as less than one hour from an airport and while nothing can be done about the home location, the Spanish location is a letting and purchasing choice. This may well mean that some people do not leave home and Spanish rural cottages are difficult to let but the key criteria for renting is that the closer to a Spanish airport, the easier it is to find tenants.

Facilities

A holiday rental property should be located as close as possible to main attractions such as a beach and shopping facilities. For some tenants the proximity to a historic town, or the countryside would be a major asset, while for others it might be nightlife that is the main attraction. For families the two big theme parks, Terra Mitica at Benidorm or Universal Mediterrania at Tarragona, or one of the water parks are a focal point (see Appendix 5).

Having a property located close to activities such as golf, sailing, tennis, cycling and hiking can achieve rental income outside the high season. A property near to a golf course will not only have excellent views and lush greenery, but golfers who keep on coming all year round.

A bonus of many golf courses is that they are near to a beautiful coast thus providing a double tenant market to aim for. Golf is booming, driven by tourism and the climate. The Costa del Sol is often referred to as Costa Del Golf, such is the profusion of new courses. They are carved out of barren landscapes, pampered and watered to produce lush green fairways. Holiday companies are always seeking properties for their golfing clients.

Convenience

Holiday tenants do not want to cook all the time. They want to eat out. A property will be much easier to let if it is within easy walking distance of shops, with a choice of bars and restaurants.

A swimming pool is necessary in some areas, as properties with pools are much easier to let than those without. Some private letting agencies will not handle properties without a pool. Always hire a pool service to maintain the pool. Do not rely on tenants to do this. It is also possible in an apartment block to add value with a shared pool and a snazzy gym in the basement giving a tenant perceived convenience without leaving the premises.

Owner’s Possessions

A difficult judgement is deciding on the contents and standard of furnishing for a buy-to-let property. It can be argued that any standard of furnishing is permissible provided somebody is willing to pay the rent. But if letting through an agency, a holiday company or a Tourist Board, or positioning the letting ‘up market’, certain minimum standards must be met.

For a property to be attractive to paying tenants, the furniture and fittings should be comfortable and of good quality. The three most common complaints about holiday lettings are uncomfortable, poor quality beds, lack of kitchen equipment and lack of easy chairs.

A buy-to-let which is occupied by the owner should not have too many personal items lying around as personal possessions tend to clutter up properties so that tenants have nowhere to put their own bits and pieces. The problem of having a buy-to-let home that is liveable for the owner and at the same time lettable to others is one not easily solved. A home has a collection of the owner’s personal favourite objects, which may make the tenant feel like an uncomfortable intruder.

Tenants actually want a let to look similar to a hotel room – clean, bland, no clutter, sterile and no personal traces of the owner which means the owner, when occupying the property, has to live like a tenant, so some of the fun of having a lettable property is lost.