Property in the Canaries (Tourist Licence)

Hi all,
I am thinking of buying an apartment abroad. From some research I have been doing the Canary's look like a good investment. The year-round sunshine seems to equate to year-round lettings. Has anyone invested here before? If you have or you know anything about investing in the Canary's I'd love to get some advice on the pros and cons of this.
Thanks a million.
C

Re: Property In the Canarys

The canaries are a great holiday destination with year round sunshine.
Do you plan to holiday there yourself a few times a year and let it out the rest of the time.If that is the case it would have to be in or close to a beach /resort area popular with tourists.How do you plan to organise this renting..maybe there are agencies near your apartment who could do this work for you. Or maybe you have so many friends/neighbours who would like to holiday there...make sure they`ll pay you.
You could always buy an old farm/rural house a bit away from the coast...for example in the north of tenerife for reasonable money....but renting this might be tricky.

Re: Property In the Canarys

I'm interested in Canaries also, it seems to me that there is still rental possibilities all year round due to their climate, and 8.5% increase in property values last year, sounds good to me. However I'm interested to know what negative things you have researched ?

Re: Property In the Canarys

Im a regular visitor to Gran canaria but dont have any property there. Just looking at the local rentals there over xmass in local paper and the returns are very fairly good compared to here. 600/800 euro PM on properties I know you can buy in the region 200/300K in ballpark terms. The caveat however, is that the Canaries while very popular still has declined in the number of holiday visitors annually, and there is a surplus of good rental accomodation available through the various holiday agencies at all times.
I rent over the internet myself and fly aer lingus.
The only rental potential is the non-local working population. The impression I get from people who live there permanently is that it is not very practical to handle these short term rentals at a distance. Get a local agent to do it and it costs money, and because you are so far away, it is known that local agents are prone to renting out your property short term for themselves while telling you its empty!
Personally I think they are good value if you intend it as a holiday home to live in for the winter say, and use it also for friends or family now that there are scheduled aer lingus flights there...
Hope this helps...

Re: Property In the Canarys

runner said:

it is known that local agents are prone to renting out your property short term for themselves while telling you its empty!

Click to expand...

Well said. That happened to some friends of mine who once had an apt. out there....they got extremely little money off the spanish letting agent.

Re: Property In the Canaries

Hi there

I purchase there last year, 1 bed los Cristianos , 172,000. Great buy. I let it out using holidaylettings.co.uk and ownersdirect.co.uk and its been full since I got it in July and is so until nearly next June.at an average of about €300 a week.
The management company are on site and charge me 50 a rental to clean, mind the keys, change towels twice a week.New sheets It a real good deal
I have a good estate agent there and lawyer.

I got a good deal as most apts are now for sale on this complex for €200,000.
Property prices are going up at a rate still of about 8 to 10 % and tourist numbers are officially up 20 % year on year.
Airline landing spots are also up by 15%
Ryanair now fly to the northa nd of course aerlingus fly to the south.

I intend to buy a second there later this year, maybe a 2 bed in same complex which rents on average 350 sterling a week.(roughly 500)

Most people i have been in contact with have said 35 to 40 weeks in the right area is realistic.

www.tenerifeforum.com is a great place for advice, very helpfull bunch there.
[broken link removed]

This is mine if your interested, as an example of the ad. Check out the availability calender and it has been full since July as said before.
PM me if you need any answers and I'll try

Tom

Re: Property In the Canaries

Tom, thanks for your reply, it's very informative and encouraging, I'll check out those letting websites in more detail at first glance they seem perfect and your property looks fab. Cheers

Re: Property In the Canaries

Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Tenerife are well established tourist areas in the Canaries. But, another of the islands which is occassionally overlooked is Fuerteventura. There is fantastic value here and Ryanair is now flying here 3 days per week as well as Aer Lingus once a week. Property prices are quite low compared to Gran Canaria/Lanzarote/Tenerife but the scope for appreciation is massive. Have a look at www.milleniumproperty.com or [broken link removed] for a few examples. Also, have a look at www.sunnyfuerteventura.com for further links and you will be pleasantly surprised. One area of great potential is a place called Costa Antigua. This is an extension of one of the main tourist resorts in Fuerteventura, Caleta de Fuste. It is undergoing a tremendous uplift and will eventually merge with Caleta de Fuste. The Spanish Golf Open was held in Fuerteventura in 2004 and the course here is out of this world. This particular course is slightly south of Caleta de Fuste but there are plans to build another course between Caleta de Fuste and Costa Antigua. Lets have a look at a simple equation, low property prices in Costa Antigua, golf course being built, high appreciation,low cost carrier flying 3 times per week to the island, 5 minutes from airport, enough said!!

Re: Property In the Canaries

I am also thinking of investing in the Canaries, specifically in Peurto del Carmen, Lanzarote. I've been looking at the PortoNovo development where one bed apartments are starting at €110,000. Is anyway familiar with this particular development or does anyone have any views on the potential for appreciation in property in Lanzarote. I would be primarily be buying the apartment for my own use, with the hope of up-grading to a bigger size apartment in 3-5 years.

Re: Property In the Canaries

I was looking at Portonovo development also. It's got good feedback from people who have stayed there, even though it approx 20 years old, they will refurbish them as they are being sold. 120k is the starting price available and you can look up it's location in Google earth where its actually marked, looks like a 10 minute walk down to the beach and the Old town which is charming. It's also located in a quiet part of the town but close enough to walk to the amenities.

Re: Property In the Canaries

I went to view the Portonovo complex, I was disappointed, there are steps after steps after steps, which does ensure a good view once inside the apartment. The pool is extremely deep, 2.8m and no shallow end, no kids pool, so not suitable for young families. Denis from Property warehouse was very helpful, and Des at the pool bar would have been an asset if I did choose to purchase, as he can organise cleaning, laundry, key handovers etc. I saw another complex which is interesting Loma Verde in Puerto del Carmen on www.atlanticohomes.com

Re: Property In the Canaries

Thanks for the info re. Porto Novo, we're heading over to Lanzarote in May so we'll take a look around at that stage.

Re: Property In the Canaries

No problem, have a look at this complex,[broken link removed] I think it's very nice and well constructed, it was also designed by Mr. Lanzarote Architect Caesar Manrique, they start at 135,000 and have a great sense of space, sea views, large pool, kids pool and about 10 minutes walk down to the beach, 5 minutes to the old town.

Re: Property in the Canaries

Does anybody have any more recent feedback on Lanzarote, I am interested in buying a holiday home there which I would hope to short term rent for the first few years until I get comfortable with the whole thing.

Can anybody give me an idea of the approximate annual running costs?
Water charges, electricity, insurance, local taxes, bins etc?

Re: Property in the Canaries

I have completed a purchase in Puerto del Carmen, but I can't help you with the costings as yet, the developers have agreed to pay all charges until next year when they have sold enough of the complex to form a community. I can recommend a lawyer, and the whole process was problem free, and we are very happy with our purchase.

Re: Property in the Canaries

hi guys,
i've been looking at gran canaria for a long time but everything i like i cant afford,so i decided to buy in cape verda,paradise beach,although we dont have a low cost airline,i think the properties are great value.there due to be finished in spring of 09,when i shall be semi retired and spend the winters out there.i've been a few times and i think theres great potential.

Re: Property in the Canaries

dglav, how did you find the property market in Lanzarote, were you offer the asking prices quoted on the EA sites or were they open to downward / upward negotiations? I am going over in a couple of months time for 2 weeks and I intend having a good look around. I was there last year and loved Matagorda.

yob, I guess Cape Verde is fine if you are in a position to go over for a few months at a time but for somebody like myself who needs more flexibility then the flight options to the Canaries are important.

Re: Property in the Canaries

MrKeane,

I am familiar with a two bed property on one of the other Canary Islands and it is costing just over €2,000 per annum to maintain, excluding mortgage and other banking charges.

This figure includes community fees, electricity, water, bin collection, rates, property tax, accountants fees and insurance.

Some charges will be higher if your property is rented.

If you buy in a 'Residential', as opposed to 'Tourist' complex be aware that the community of owners have the power to forbid you to rent your property. This is because the classification of 'Residential' is supposed to be just that.

Re: Property in the Canaries

Mr Keane, The property price wasn't negotiable in my case, the seller had fixed prices on the different areas of the complex (which has a tourist licence) and they stuck to the prices. They have sold over 50% of the complex so far and when we were there, there was a steady stream of viewers everyday. The flight options are there and it's all year round destination. So far found everybody very helpful, even found a good Englsih builder to do some alterations, which were completed on budget and on time. [broken link removed] Purchasers so far are a mix of English, Irish, Spanish and Canarian. Its out of the noise zone, but close enough to walk to when you want it.

Re: Property in the Canaries

dglav I've just sent you a PM.