Info on Real Estate Investing in South Europe Spain, Portugal etc

[Tatsiana Shanina]

Hello, I just joined BP and have been reading & watching tons of great stuff! fantastic source of information and tools, needless to say! i'm in my research phase right now, learning as much as i can before i move to Europe. my husband was relocated thru work from Canada to Europe and my idea is to potentially invest in a few properties or a small hotel/camping site somewhere along the Mediterranean coast. If anybody knows any similar resources, websites and internet communities like BP in European Real Estate market or can give any beginners suggestions that would be much appreciated!!! Thank you in advance to everybody who can help!!

[David Fernandez]

Hi Tatsiana!

What are your real estate investing goals? Fix&Flip? Buy&Hold? Do you want to be near your investments to self-manage or to check them out or is this not important for you? etc.

There is still ample opportunity in the Mediterranean Coast, although the yields are tightening up in some areas. Unfortunately, there is no such think like BP in Spain. I invested in RE in Spain before coming to the US and I wish I had access to something like this before.

You will find that the main difference between US and Spain is that the purchase costs are higher (10%-12% in some areas), which means more cash upfront, there are less creative financing options available, and the rent to purchase ratio is lower in most cities. Also, the real estate sector is not as organized as in the US. Basically, anybody can be a "realtor" there, so beware who do you do business with (I can recommend you a couple of trustworthy people in Barcelona, if you are interested in this market). On the other hand, operating expenses such as taxes and insurance are way lower.

If you focus your strategy on rentals, you can find deals that will break even or leave you with a slight positive CF, but your CoC will be terrible. However, given the amount of tourism that most Spanish cities get, especially around the Mediterranean coast, I will focus on short term rentals via Airbnb or specialized realty business (beware of local regulations). This will yield you a much higher return.

Finally, if you want to check some webistes like zillow o realtor.com, you can check out idealista.com or habitaclia.com

Hope this helps!

David