08 Apr 2011 11:16 AM:

Hi Trevor,

Thanks for your input.

So it's the Brits not holidaying in Spain that are the cause of our woes allowing our European cousins the chance to have a cheap holiday eh!  I do understand from people I've spoken to here that the exchange rate is putting them off going to Spain, and taking their holidays in Britain with our pot luck weather or long haul flights are their preference to guaranteed sunshine a 2.5 hour flight away, I personally don't get it.  Only yesterday I was explaining to a friend that for 3 euros I could get an ice encrusted pint of beer and free tapas or have a BBQ with some very tasty pork or fish and salad for a fraction of the cost in the UK which in comparison to a pub lunch in Devon sheltering from the rain wins hands down every time and he agreed (he also said that no matter how tough things are he will always make sure his family have a holiday in the sun, which I think is a very British attitude, there has to be a market still for Spain?).

I understand that a flooded market place allows for bargain deals, my question is at what point does it become futile renting at low prices considering wear and tear to the furniture and bedding, re-decoration etc. and the incurred expenses for meet and greet, inventory checks, laundry and cleaning (these services costing on average 90-100 euros).  I know from personal use of our apartment that from frugal use of the air conditioning costs 50 euros/week, if abused this has got to at least double to 100 euros/week (my very first post details this).

Your prepare now for the future point may cause me to review my decisions, but I can't get my head around the expense of it all unless convinced otherwise, is their a way? 

Regards Steve

 

Community thread: Renting too cheaply! Is it worth it?

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05 Apr 2011 4:36 PM:

Hola Al,

Thanks for your input.  The composition of this thread is guided solely towards holiday rentals rather than renting in general, I understand that a glut of of apartments and villas etc. gives renters greater choice and an upper hand when bargaining for a long term rental and this obviously trickles down into the holiday market also but when people go on holiday they will pay a premium to secure an apartment in a particular area or one they have enjoyed before or on top of the beach etc., a myriad of reasons and this is my point really, why would any owner sell themselves short and practically pay for someones holiday?

It is ultimately the rates asked for by the owners that govern an overal bench mark figure that is way below par  and I can only assume that the figures of such low rent have been arrived at by checking out what everyone else is charging, self perpetuating, or poor advice by the doom and gloom mongering local estate agents.

The ability to rent an apartment in 'Porto Fino' for the figures witnessed does not reflect the cost to the owner which is 40-50% of income at the rates being asked for , 25% costs should be more like it, I wonder whether anyone has rented at all and yet to find this out, gawd help 'em .

I met some people, now friends who were based 45 mins. walk away from our apartment, not saying where, who came and and looked at our place to compare, they were bowled over and said they would happily pay 50% more than they paid (which was £300 for the last week of September) for where they were staying purely for the convenience of our location.  Note to owners,say no more.

Gracias Steve

 

Community thread: Renting too cheaply! Is it worth it?

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04 Apr 2011 12:00 AM:

 

Buenos dias,

I am hoping this thread will provoke discussion as to why rental properties in 'Porto Fino' I have viewed on various sites appear to have been sold short of their potential rental value.

I am well aware of the need to recoup some of the costs involved in the purchase and running of our apartments- all of the costs with a bit of profit would be nice but highly unlikely eh!- and I know every ones circumstances are different but in my opinion the cheap rents available seriously undermine the true value of an apartment block that is situated in the heart of Almerimar, THE prime position for golf, the beach and the marina.

When we put the deposit down on our apartment we were told the same spiel that everyone else was given and we wanted to believe it, it hasn't happened yet and will be a very long time before we do see the prosperity promised, but above all of this we realised that an apartment 2 minutes from the beach and marina, both the heart and soul of Almerimar, would be more desirable to renters, and obviously ourselves, than somewhere that's 25 minutes walk to the beach, and that renters would be prepared to pay for that convenience.

After some consideration, mainly due to the low prices available to renters, we have decided not to rent our apartment.  This doesn't mean we can afford 'not to rent' rather that we 'can't afford to rent' as the money recovered from rentals wouldn't warrant all that's involved in this process. 

Having spent a considerable amount of time in our apartment I am aware that in the month of January last year it cost 50 euro/WEEK to frugally heat the apartment had I thrown caution to the wind, or a renter abused the usage, it would have been double this, of course it would also cost the same for air conditioning in the summer!  This tied with an average of 70 Euros for cleaning and laundry, 30 Euros for a key delivery and welcome show around then an inventory check to ensure everything is at it should be on leaving you're looking at 150/200 euro costs, this doesn't leave much if the rent is on average only 400 euros!

By my reckoning 400-200x (10 weeks rentals)= 2000 Euros, and that’s if you're lucky enough to get 10 weeks bookings which from what I've seen on websites is unlikely!  Hardly seems worth the aggravation of re-decoration, furniture replacement, property management costs and incidental repairs and general running costs.

The point of this thread for me is to highlight the reality of involved costs that appear to have been overlooked by many judging by the prices available, I do wonder how these rental prices have been arrived at, I know the market place is tough in all aspects but it would cost more to rent a caravan on a farm for the weekend than a practically new fully equipped apartment in Almerimar, unbelievable!? On top of this I cannot understand how or why a rental in 'Porto Fino' is the same as that in 'Laguna Beach'(45 mins. to marina) for example, considering where it is situated.  I believe their price band reflects their true value given these hard times, I just hope that owners in 'Porto Fino' realise the true value of our properties considering their prime "location, location, location". If you judge the value of rental of your apartment against those already on websites you're selling yourself short!

We would like to be able to rent our property, but as we've realised with property rentals available at such low costs there is little point and we think it futile to compete with them, 2000 Euros/annum less the incidentals, no thanks!

What do you think, is there anyone else on the same wavelength, answers on a postcard please, preferably from Almerimar and not a campsite in Cornwall, it would be too soggy.

Adios Steve

This message was last edited by spw on 05/04/2011.
Community thread: Renting too cheaply! Is it worth it?

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15 Apr 2010 12:00 AM:

Hi all,

Many moons ago I asked for advice on this forum as to the purchasing of a BBQ locally and was informed the availability was limited, which I found out for myself when I did the rounds, I did however manage to purchase a Weber BBQ ( the only one in stock as well)in Leroy Merlin last spring. If you are a Weber fan you'll be hard pushed to find one out here as Leroy no longer stock Weber BBQ's, when I moved my furniture out here from the UK I purchased another Weber (slightly larger model) and brought that out with me, consequently I have two now. If anyone is interested in buying my Weber Silver One Touch, hardly used and well cared for please get in touch.

Cheers Steve

Community thread: BBQ's

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08 Apr 2010 4:46 PM:

Hi,

With regards to the sunloungers the reason for the lack of them is simple, money and the possibility of friction around the pool between owners, renters and the towell on the bed brigade, I haven't heard anything about vandalism at all, what's there to vandalise?

This was the answer given by the administrators last year and as much as it would be convenient to use a sunlounger and not have to take down your own chairs, as an owner and having paid for the things if I couldn't get the use of them I would be quite miffed to say the least.

Any ideas for a solution should be submitted to the administrators/management.

Hope this helps

Steve

Community thread: Management Company for Block 5

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