The three most important factors when buying a home may be location, location, location – however, if you’re buying an investment property abroad with the sole aim of renting it out and making a living from it, there is another criterion that I would argue is actually more important.
So, ‘what’s more important than location when buying investment property abroad?’ I hear you all cry – it’s accessibility! I.e., your property has to be quickly and easily accessible, in relative terms, for the nation and location you select.
It’s a defined fact in the Spanish tourism letting industry that a property has to be within one hour’s drive of an airport for example – and this requirement for a holiday let to be accessible should be a driving factor when you consider any home’s appeal and suitability as an investment buy. If you’re thinking of cashing in on limited demand in some of the most popular places with tourists that’s pushing down prices at the moment, read our guide to what constitutes an accessible property and why it really is such a critical factor.
If you’re buying a property abroad you need to know why you’re buying it before you even begin looking at sales brochures. If you’re buying real estate with the sole intention of letting it out for profit this has to remain uppermost in your mind because I can guarantee you, everything you see will tempt you into falling foul of the idealised lifestyle instead.
Estate agents will ply you with quaint homes off the beaten track that will eat up your budget in minutes, others will push you to view properties that are well outside of your fixed budget and tempt you to overspend. The weather will seduce you into thinking you’re shopping for your own piece of paradise, and even the people will conspire to make you feel at home so that you buy something that your personal taste loves!
All of these factors could seriously undermine the viability of your investment and here’s why. If you’re buying a property to let you have to buy a home that is suitable for that purpose. It has to be the right size, in the right location, it has to have the right number of bathrooms to bedrooms, it needs views and space, a swimming pool perhaps and outside eating areas – in other words, it has to tick the maximum number of visitors’ boxes and perhaps none of your own!
And the number one box it has to tick is the accessible one. Even those who are considering buying a property in France, which is hugely accessible from the UK, need to know that visitors do not want to have more than an hour’s drive at the other end to get them to their holiday apartment or villa. People will travel to an airport in the UK from across the country, they will endure the waiting around and the flight – however long it takes – they factor all of this in. But once they land in the land of their holiday, they want to be there already! They don’t want to have to take a bus, get on a train, take a ferry and drive a thousand miles!
So, if you’re buying an investment property abroad – no matter where, make sure yours is surrounded by as many routes of swift access from international airports and ferry ports, main roads and trains stations as possible. Ok, so this may not make it possible for you to explore a given country as much as you would like – but I refer you back to my earlier point. This is an investment property designed to appeal to as many people as possible – other than you perhaps!
Fifty miles from an international airport is a good radius to work with – so get a map of the nation you’re interested in, pick the airport with the most routes from the UK, get a pair of compasses, draw your radius and begin your research into which properties in that radius are for sale and suitable to your proposed aim for the home you’re going to buy. Alternatively, going back to France and adding the likes of Spain and Ireland into the mix which are other European nations accessible by ferry from the UK, you may be thinking that your investment property needs to be accessible via car.
It makes sense to look at alternatives for holidaymakers to get to your home – after all, as we have just seen, air travel can be massively disrupted. In which case, the 1 hour rule does not apply – however, the six hour rule does. Many people prefer to drive to their holiday destination because it means they have a car when they arrive and they can pack as much paraphernalia as they need and require – but no one wants to take more than half a day out of their holiday to get to where they are going, and on top of up to a 6 hour drive you need to think about their sailing (or Eurotunnel) time and their drive in the UK. Again, there are an awful lot of destinations within a 6 hour driving radius from major ports in Europe…so look at where you can buy without forgetting who you are buying for.
Those who drive are more likely to be families with children who have so much ‘stuff’ to take with them on holiday and who therefore seek a family friendly and safe haven abroad – with a pool, things to do to entertain the kids and within reach of a decent supermarket and perhaps some good restaurants too. Your ideal might be rural – theirs might be less rural and more convenient!
In conclusion – as I hope I have shown, if you are thinking of investing in a home abroad to let out for an income and an ultimate profit, be driven in your decision making by the needs and desires of those you hope will come and rent your home. Factor in their need for accessibility and suitable space before you factor in your dream of an ideal home overseas!
