19 Feb 2017 11:33 PM:
Hi Tom.
Whilst I can agree with some of what Roy Howitt of Inspectahomespain has said I would not say that his unsuccesful experience of running a rental business on Corvera golf is typical of all resorts in the area.
There are several reasons why the situation he refers to is different from the circumstances you are now considering.
Corvera Golf never quite managed to get established properly and the lack of any facilities (including not having a functioning golf course or clubhouse) did not really help. It also suffered from a resort owner who blocked any advancement and sat on a large number of properties keeping the occupancy of the resort at low levels. He has now gone and the resort has a chance to grow but only time will tell, I am sure you have seen this is not the same for other resorts in the area and there are several successful rental businesses to prove that.
Community fees are set by the community and are for the benefit of the community and so reflect what is available within each community, as a comparison I recently spoke with a couple who have a caravan on a campsite near Benidorm and pay over €4,000 per year just to park on a plot of land with electric hook up, I'm not aware of any community fees that high around here. However Roy is correct that they do need to be factored in to your maths.
There is no different pattern of rental availability between here and the areas Roy is now selling properties in, as the Golfing season is the same throughout the area and indeed there are more courses locally to chose from around Hacienda (More than a dozen) than there are around Villamartin along with 2 major cities Murcia capital and Cartagena rather than just a shopping center and the beaches at Mazarron and Mar Menor. I am also aware of owners at Villamartin who travel to Hacienda to play their golf as they prefer the course here.
It really is a matter of maths (which it sounds like you have done), owners who bought before the crash at more than twice the price you are considering and locked in to higher interest rates need to make more money to pay their mortgages and running costs and so will clearly struggle unless thay set their rental charges higher which is not sustainable hence the problems experienced by these owners. Therefore the initial price you pay for the appartment is a major consideration as it will drive all of your future costings this however should not be a problem for you if you are buying at todays prices and todays historically low interest rates.
I do however agree that if the only way you can afford to buy a property is by using the rental payments to fund it then you should re consider whether or not you can actually afford the property, wherever it is. If on the other hand you are able to afford the payments but prefer the rental to pay them instead then that is a different matter,
I hope this has answered some of your concerns and given you a balanced view of the situation and I will contact you personally to discuss your individual circumstances in a more private manner.
Kind regards
Tom
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Apartment
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