In this insightful conversation between Sean Woolley, founder of Cloud Nine Spain, and Alfredo Bloy-Dawson, they delve into the intricacies of making smart property investments, specifically focusing on properties intended for rentals in Spain. Sean, drawing from his extensive experience, shares valuable insights into what makes a property a lucrative investment, emphasizing the importance of location, amenities, and adapting to evolving market trends. Alfredo’s probing questions bring to light key considerations for potential investors, making this discussion an essential guide for those looking to navigate the Spanish real estate market for profitable rental opportunities. Join us as we unravel the secrets to successful property investments on the sunny shores of the Costa del Sol.
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*Sean Woolley:* Hello, I’m Sean Woolley from Cloud Nine Spain. With me today, I have my esteemed guest…
*Alfredo Bloy-Dawson:* Alfredo Bloy-Dawson.
*Sean Woolley:* Hey, there you go. Doing his typical product placement, even though we’re not here to place any product, but there you go. We’ve had a few false starts to this one because Alfredo, who is normally on the other side of the fence, has decided to jump in, because he wanted to discuss something important with me today.
*Alfredo Bloy-Dawson:* Yeah, I have questions.
*Sean Woolley:* Oh.
*Alfredo Bloy-Dawson:* And it’s related to property investments.
*Sean Woolley:* Okay.
*Alfredo Bloy-Dawson:* What would make a good property investment is the question that I’m trying to answer.
*Sean Woolley:* Mm-hm.
*Alfredo Bloy-Dawson:* For somebody that’s maybe looking not so much for capital investment, but more for a rental.
*Sean Woolley:* Okay.
*Alfredo Bloy-Dawson:* Is it as obvious as you would imagine, which is that it’s places where people go for holidays is where you’d want to have that property? Or is it something else?
*Sean Woolley:* My view on this is that there’s always an element, of course, you want to get maximum yield as a percentage of the property price, but it also does come down to what I would call worst-case scenario, doomsday scenario, where if you need to sell that property, you can. So, although I appreciate that you’re not specifically asking me about the capital growth, that always comes into it anyway. Because what you don’t want to end up with is something that’s worth less than you paid. And all of this comes down to one very basic thing, which is location. Because you want to buy something for the best possible price in an area that’s going to be popular long term…
*Alfredo Bloy-Dawson:* …Sean, would it be fair to say that you’re looking for wherever it is in Spain, in areas where people would normally go on holiday?
*Sean Woolley:* Yeah. Because that’s the idea of the holiday let, and that is easily accessible via an airport that has a lot of destinations, that’s a busy, thriving area already…
*Alfredo Bloy-Dawson:* …And how important or relevant are the amenities within the resorts itself?
*Sean Woolley:* Becoming more important. So, as I say, if you’ve got a pool, heated pool, maybe a tennis court, gym on site, all those things, again, they add to the tick list…
*Alfredo Bloy-Dawson:* …How important are things like terraces or views, for example?
*Sean Woolley:* Not as important as you may think. So terraces, yes, people want outside space, particularly if they’re coming in the warmer times of the year…
*Alfredo Bloy-Dawson:* …And what about remote working and that element to property?
*Sean Woolley:* Yeah, absolutely. And there’s different ways you can do that. So even if you can’t offer a dedicated office space in the apartment, very often people are quite happy to work from the dining room table, the kitchen table, the terrace table, or maybe throw in a flexible membership to a co-working space as part of the rental…
*Alfredo Bloy-Dawson:* …On a more practical basis, then, is that something that you could ask your agent to do? Or would that be a case of a lawyer that would look into that before you do the purchase?
*Sean Woolley:* Either, either. Very often the agent will ask and maybe not get very far, because administrators normally, they’re inundated with requests. If a lawyer does it, it tends to have a little bit more weight…
*Alfredo Bloy-Dawson:* …Most likely, if you’re not living in the country, if you’re a foreign buyer, and you’re buying for these purposes, you’d be paying, probably be paying a property management company. Is that right?
*Sean Woolley:* Yeah…
*Alfredo Bloy-Dawson:* …So, I mean there are areas in Spain, as far as I know, that are saturated…
*Sean Woolley:* Absolutely, and I think it’s true of the long-term rental market as well, because there’s people here who are wanting to be here, but not maybe quite ready to buy…
*Alfredo Bloy-Dawson:* …As a final point, a lot of the agencies here in the Costa del Sol are being commenting over the last couple of years how the Costa del Sol is becoming less seasonal, more of a year-round sort of destination…
*Sean Woolley:* Absolutely…