All Forum Posts by: Dougan Milne

Is this a 'casa do pueblo', adosado... like a townhouse, or is this a single apartment in a building / comunidad? Sorry for the Portañol -- just trying to understand the property. Is the garage a single parking space within a building, or is it a local? Would you own the suelo?

I'll explain what I'm getting at -- within a comunidad, it can be difficult to build additional value without permissions from the comunidad, and further, the prefeitura. With a strategy like yours, it would be very advantageous to own a casa do pueblo, which would allow you to build-out additional bedrooms, bathrooms, create horizontal divisions, maybe even convert a local into... another apartment, etc. Many of these things can be done without a license or problems with your comunidad. If that isn't this property profile... don't worry about it, but keep it in mind for future deals.

Otherwise, the deal looks good. You'll do well in these smaller (mid-sized), underserved villages. We're shifting a lot of our focus out of the cities, and into the tier 3 - 4 magnet towns and villages..... people need a place to live.

Is Guarda the biggest town in its 50km radius? 

Is this Coimbra, Porto, Braga, LIS?

Hi Sandra -- Do you hold dual/poly citizenship and/or Non-US tax residency? If the answer is No... then the answer is No. There are far more complicated answers with caveats.... but unless you and your friend are quite sophisticated and experienced international investors... the answer is very simple.

Oi Tiago.

Rural hospitality properties are tricky. Of course, they seem incredibly attractive, charming, lovely, nice ROI, but the simple reality is that they are usually sold as lifestyle businesses to independent buyers, or as portfolio properties to existing rural / boutique hotel groups. Thus, the mainstream agents are hesitant to take them on because the buyer pool is much smaller / niche.

However, that also means that your target market is more clearly defined.... so, become your own agent. Start along the lines that Thomas mentioned -- build your marketing package. Then put together a list of all the Rural and Boutique Hotel Groups active in Iberia. Go directly to the owners and decision makers within these groups.... you don't want to be calling the Hotel director... you want one of the partners.

We did a rural / beach project in Brazil last year. I would be happy to send you our marketing package so you can use it as a template. Our situation was a bit different because there wasn't an existing business -- selling to developers -- but same general concept. PraiaDoCosta.com 

cuide-se

Dougan

Welcome to Barcelona, @Fredrik Kaarem

Take a look at the BRRRR strategy, and assume that 'BR' is all cash. The banks will step-up to refi once they see solid cashflow on the rents and good debt coverage. You will need to be speaking with the national banks, as most of the non-Spanish banks won't take on Spanish Real Estate Investments without a strong track record. Further, consider local residency and starting your SL / Holding process sooner-than-later... or the taxes and bureaucracy can become painful.

The market in Barcelona is a little tricky right now... still deals to be had, but you'll need to really dig around and define your objectives.

If you are looking to buy individual flats, talk to @Adrià Creixell and @Erwin Groenendijk -- both of these guys have been running pretty hard the past couple years and doing well. If you decide to look at acquiring buildings, I would be happy to share some experiences.

As Jay mentioned, take some caution and keep your cards close to your chest. Double that for Spain.

Right, so, maybe we start a Spanish version.... SmallerPockets?

@Adrià Creixell is also a good contact for understanding the market in Valencia. He is from Barcelona, but has started doing some projects in Valencia recently. Between Adria and Erwin, looks like you have some pretty good resources.

Cheers Adria,

I'm flying to LAX this morning for family time, but let's connect after the holidays for coffee. 

We are focused on buy + hold buildings, multi-unit, mixed use -- BRRR strategy, as it's called here on BP. Valencia and Palma are also attractive to us, and we are starting some early analysis in Portugal.

Take Care -- And happy holidays.

Hi Sean - I'm new here on BP, but have been living / investing in BCN for a few years. I'm American.

Here, we call your friend's place a Loft / Local. They are not 'easily' convertible to residential, and generally require a good chunk of Euros to get through the change of license process. This will likely eat into her appreciation /cap gains.. but she may come out ahead and should be fine if she is reinvesting.

She can also rent as a commercial unit, but market rates and taxation are different in this category... And the contract and intention for this need to be clear.

Adria is right that the seller's market has slowed in the past couple months, so try to encourage her to think positive and more long term. You can put her in contact with me if needs be. Take Care.