It took us about 9 months. We actually wanted the property as a stopping off point for trips for our other business to Eastern Europe. We looked at a map and decided on the best area and then wasted a lot of time looking in Austria, which we could not afford and where the tourist activities (apart from the lakes and mountains) were much more limited than in Germany. (That has changed a bit but it is still ruinously expensive compared to here).
After seeing the outside of one house just down the road in January we came back here in September, having found the first house we finally bought on an agent's website. The picture was dreadful and nearly put us off. We bought here because it was dirt cheap, the house already had 2 separate flats and the area had a winter and a summer season. The letting was meant to be a sideline to pay some of the costs. In fact, we have never used it as a stopping off point because we were always too busy with lettings.
My only regret is that we didn't go for a larger property to start with. 4 properties means a lot of costs multiplied by 4. But we were lucky in that we never needed to compromise!
Just wondering - how long did it take you . . . .
I must say that's in my mind too. I feel I'm taking a leap of faith that there will always be a demand for home market holidays in the UK so that's one key reason I'm not considering elsewhere. A risk, but it will also be my home too, so provided I can cover my running costs I should be able to see through a few lean years.Jimbo wrote:what does the fact that so many gite owners are selling-up for silly money tell me about the wisdom of investing your stash in the private rental industry in 2011?
Jim
It's fascinating reading how people start out and add on with their properties Margaret. Even if with hindsight you'd have done things differently, you're obviously doing a great job - they look fantastic.
Well Jim, a couple of months on and my personal experience is that UK owners are "selling up for silly money" too - the only problem being silly as in massively overpriced.
Earlier in the year I recall an estate agent telling me that rental properties were taking between 18 and 24 months to sell. I now realise that's because it takes that long before the owners get lucky or reduce the price to realistic levels.
I can sort of understand and sympathise. Of the 10 or so properties I've looked at, 8 were couples who were retiring and the others couples who were divorcing! In both cases they were trying to get every possible penny they could. The estate agents had probably overpriced to get the instruction so the owners were going with that.
Either that or rental propertiess in the South West have bucked the housing trend and outperformed every other type of home and area. There are several web services where you can see what property sold for (when the current owners bought) and see what their estimated value is now based on real sales data for properties close by. I looked at a property a few weeks ago that had no real investment in it in during their ownership but it was valued at nearly 30% more than the estimate. And this was a property where the owners were getting barely 15 weeks a year rental averaged across the cottages, so not a star business.
Ho hum, the search goes on but I am getting a little disheartened.
Earlier in the year I recall an estate agent telling me that rental properties were taking between 18 and 24 months to sell. I now realise that's because it takes that long before the owners get lucky or reduce the price to realistic levels.
I can sort of understand and sympathise. Of the 10 or so properties I've looked at, 8 were couples who were retiring and the others couples who were divorcing! In both cases they were trying to get every possible penny they could. The estate agents had probably overpriced to get the instruction so the owners were going with that.
Either that or rental propertiess in the South West have bucked the housing trend and outperformed every other type of home and area. There are several web services where you can see what property sold for (when the current owners bought) and see what their estimated value is now based on real sales data for properties close by. I looked at a property a few weeks ago that had no real investment in it in during their ownership but it was valued at nearly 30% more than the estimate. And this was a property where the owners were getting barely 15 weeks a year rental averaged across the cottages, so not a star business.
Ho hum, the search goes on but I am getting a little disheartened.
I looked in the UK too, for B&Bs at first, but the prices were very high and it was impossible to get a business loan as the books showed very low revenues (most was cash). So France it was. But I know if I sold up now, there is no way I'd be able to get back all the money I've invested in the place.gam wrote: Ho hum, the search goes on but I am getting a little disheartened.
That's tough, but don't worry it will happen eventually! I guess persistance will pay off; the summer can't be a good time to look; all the owners are busy letting and only those who "have" to sell are on the market ie divorcing and retiring.
Now we are heading towards the winter there should be more property coming on. If you are looking at existing businesses then remember just because they may not be very successful, doesn't mean that you won't be. You have a head start by finding us here so will have a huge head start in the learning curve.
I wouldn't be surprised though if prices are holding up where you are looking. London has been bucking the trend and there's a lot of money coming out from the city still.
My property was found whilst on holiday to a village that my family have holidayed in for nearly 70 years! Despite some ups and downs (of course) its proving to be a fantastic year round business, much to my surprise. So good that I am risking it again to invest in a second property. The theory is that two can't be double the work - let's hope I'm proved right.
Now we are heading towards the winter there should be more property coming on. If you are looking at existing businesses then remember just because they may not be very successful, doesn't mean that you won't be. You have a head start by finding us here so will have a huge head start in the learning curve.
I wouldn't be surprised though if prices are holding up where you are looking. London has been bucking the trend and there's a lot of money coming out from the city still.
My property was found whilst on holiday to a village that my family have holidayed in for nearly 70 years! Despite some ups and downs (of course) its proving to be a fantastic year round business, much to my surprise. So good that I am risking it again to invest in a second property. The theory is that two can't be double the work - let's hope I'm proved right.
Yes, don't get disheartened Gam. We were the same, took us ages and had to kiss lots of frogs before we found the prince! BUT, Cornwall prices are holding up very well, particularly in holiday let properties as the 'season' is so long here - well all year round really if you buy something that appeals to walkers/couples that aren't tied to school holidays. There is apparently a real shortage of 1-bed holiday lets so a few of those rather than one/two bigger ones may be the way to go! Keep smiling!
I've read that too. That everyone is going in the direction of minimum 3 bedroom properties and people who want one or max two bedroom properties which are well-located, well-equipped and pleasantly, thoughtfully decorated are having difficulty in finding well-priced accommodation. Around here, smaller properties tend to be French-owned and therefore sofas and comfortable seating is often not included!starcana wrote:There is apparently a real shortage of 1-bed holiday lets so a few of those rather than one/two bigger ones may be the way to go! Keep smiling!
Friends of ours are just embarking on a one-bedroom cottage renovation (the cottage is part of the outbuildings which came with their house) and they plan to do what I described and, properly priced, I think they'll find a real market to mine.
Just think of the changeover on a 1 bed cottage or apt...bliss!
Our villa takes 5 hours with 2 of us!
Our villa takes 5 hours with 2 of us!
See the job, do the job!
http://www.premiumturkishvillas.co.uk
http://www.premiumturkishvillas.co.uk
this is certainly true in our case (rural Andalucía) - our one bed is booked pretty solidly for much of the year. In fact it´s one of the reasons we don´t have an availability calendar - we regularly offer the two bed off peak at a reduced rate to guests who want the one bed when it´s full.Normandie wrote:I've read that too.starcana wrote:There is apparently a real shortage of 1-bed holiday lets so a few of those rather than one/two bigger ones may be the way to go! Keep smiling!
Definitely worth thinking about
BTW - like many others we ended up in this business by default. Bought our big house as a holiday home for ourselves and rented it out occasionally. Then when e decided we´d like to give up our jobs and move out here, we sold our house in London and bought the cottages with the equity, as we needed a means of earning a living. We were extremely lucky in both cases, in that we found places we fell in love with very quickly (am beginning to realise just ho lucky...)
Hang on in there gam - I´m sure you´ll find the perfect place eventually
If not now, when?
Certainly, the places I've been looking at, there's no way they'd cover the investment if sold in a few years but then I would be taking a (small) income each year. I'm OK with breaking even in 3-5 years i.e. income balancing out refurbishment and running costs, but some I've seen would would have an infinite payback time and that's without any financing costs taken into account!la vache! wrote: But I know if I sold up now, there is no way I'd be able to get back all the money I've invested in the place.
Oh yes, agree entirely. With the knowledge I've gained here and existing skills, it's easy to see where some of these owners are making some very fundamental mistakes. I'm confident I could do better in a reasonably short time frame of a year or two. My comment about "not a star business" was more to say there was no obvious premium being added into the asking price.Nemo wrote:If you are looking at existing businesses then remember just because they may not be very successful, doesn't mean that you won't be.
Thanks starcana - not going to give up just yet. Interesting point about the one bedroom places. I've noticed myself that they seem to do well provided they're fairly top end. Very impressed with your place by the way.starcana wrote:Yes, don't get disheartened Gam.
Thanks everyone for the words of encouragement. It's greatly appreciated. I'll carry on looking at least to mid next year and if things still haven't fallen into place by then, I'll weigh up my options and decide how to go forward.
In the meantime I'll hang around here soaking up what I can
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barbersdrove
- Posts: 985
- Joined: Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:48 pm
- Location: crowland south lincolnshire
We were'nt looking it found us. We had a grandparents annexe built some 7 years previously which was now empty.We originally let in on a short tenancy but found we didn't like not having control over who was in there and what they did without being little Hitlers. i.e. the 23 yr old girl we rented to had her boyfriend stay over who then didn't leave, grew tomatoes in the conservatory in growbags and adopted a tiny puppy. We tackled her on each of these but in the end gave her notice.
What to do with the accommodation now? Lets try the holiday market. I researched at length and we have never looked back. We've been just about fully booked since March this year and already have bookings for next year. We're not in a holiday spot but it seems to be becomming one due in no small part I'm told to our website and reviews.
We are now converting our large brick built detached garage to a second unit. Onward and upward!
Had we been looking and drawn up a list of needs and wants this place would not have featured at all.
What to do with the accommodation now? Lets try the holiday market. I researched at length and we have never looked back. We've been just about fully booked since March this year and already have bookings for next year. We're not in a holiday spot but it seems to be becomming one due in no small part I'm told to our website and reviews.
We are now converting our large brick built detached garage to a second unit. Onward and upward!
Had we been looking and drawn up a list of needs and wants this place would not have featured at all.
A cream cake a day keeps the wrinkles at bay:)
With some prompting from Nemo in another thread I thought I'd update this one - started 6 months ago.
Unfortunately the search continues.
With help and advice from the great members here, I've expanded my initial view (2-3 middle market family orientated properties + home) to include smaller top end through to a large single unit - both these sectors apparently outperforming others in the UK. I'm also looking much further down into Cornwall and also into Dorset so "West Country" plus.
So far so good. I've looked at a lot of properties. Near enough everything in my price range, excluding the obvious mismatches.
What's not so good is that I've only seen one property that I could see myself owning and living in! So many were blighted by adjacent industrial units, working dairy farms with sludge pits the size of an Olympic swimming pool or other nastiness. And these are million pound homes
I'm not sure what is most unsettling: the dearth of decent properties coming onto the market or the extraordinary prices demanded. I live in the South East, beautiful countryside and commutable to London so I'm used to high property prices but I hadn't realised the premium applied to the sorts of property I'm looking at in the South West.
I can compromise on income (I could do better putting my money into low risk financial investments) but not quality of life - it has to be a home I can live in too.
So, a bit disheartened but I'm not giving up yet.
Unfortunately the search continues.
With help and advice from the great members here, I've expanded my initial view (2-3 middle market family orientated properties + home) to include smaller top end through to a large single unit - both these sectors apparently outperforming others in the UK. I'm also looking much further down into Cornwall and also into Dorset so "West Country" plus.
So far so good. I've looked at a lot of properties. Near enough everything in my price range, excluding the obvious mismatches.
What's not so good is that I've only seen one property that I could see myself owning and living in! So many were blighted by adjacent industrial units, working dairy farms with sludge pits the size of an Olympic swimming pool or other nastiness. And these are million pound homes
I'm not sure what is most unsettling: the dearth of decent properties coming onto the market or the extraordinary prices demanded. I live in the South East, beautiful countryside and commutable to London so I'm used to high property prices but I hadn't realised the premium applied to the sorts of property I'm looking at in the South West.
I can compromise on income (I could do better putting my money into low risk financial investments) but not quality of life - it has to be a home I can live in too.
So, a bit disheartened but I'm not giving up yet.