All Forum Posts by: Erwin Groenendijk

@Mike Lambert they made everyone believe it is because of the huge number of short-term rentals, while it represents just a little bit over 1% of the total housing market. 

The graph below is from Valencia and is in line with Barcelona:

In line with what you are saying, the ban that they are still appealing against in Barcelona will not change the amount of tourists visiting the city, nor have an impact on the housing market or bring property prices down. At most, it favours the hotels in the city and its surroundings, charging higher prices. The same happened in New York in the last years by the way, with hotel prices increasing 100-200%.

@Oliver Searle-Barnes, good to hear. It will help you to get a direction with all the other people attending the meetup. 

Mike is talking often about short term rentals in the South of Spain and we are developing and managing many of them in Valencia. Both markets work really well and give above market average results. 

Hi @Oliver Searle-Barnes, I would make it more practical. Are you planning to stay in Barcelona for the upcoming time? If yes, I would advise doing it somewhere where you are relatively close to be able to visit it. Just for the sake of being able to go there and check it out when you want.

If you have family in the UK and would like to invest close to where they live, that is also a possibility. Or connect with a project manager who could take care of it.

Forget about analyzing both countries in detail for the moment, both have their pro's and con's and success can be achieved in both countries. When you are starting out, starting is the most important, and you will need to overcome downsides anyways.

It is true though that with that amount of money and salary, you could think of diversifying into two different properties

@Borja Antolin Pargada they make a lot of sense as many of them were still at 8%+ net after deducting all costs. Vacancy, management, and community costs are usually low in these traditional rentals. The taxes are what they are; however, there are tax deductions and investing via a company would provide other potential benefits. 

In the end, it depends on one's convictions and preferences.  

Please feel free to share case studies of what you are coming up with, including the numbers on how the deals make sense. It might be a motivation for all of us in this group, including me, to consider doing the same. 

@Borja Antolin Pargada yes, we are still finding a lot of properties for long-term rentals that fit your criteria as a traditional rental. We were doing a webinar lately in which we showed how, in Sabadell, a city right next to Barcelona, we found multiple properties that are potentially cash flowing 10%+ gross from day one. Also Lleida is a market that scores well typically in Catalunya. It is true that they would need a renovation upon buying them, as they are cheaper because of the state of the property. However, we were specifically looking for simpler renovations such as redoing the kitchen, bathrooms, flooring, doors, etc for around €15.000-€20.000. They worked either as a flip or a rental.

Regarding the squatting problem, although it is something real, it is not that it is happening every day. In fact, with my or our network's portfolio, almost none of the people have experienced it. It happened to us once with one of our coliving properties right before we wanted to start renting out the apartment. It can be mainly avoided by having people living in it as soon as the property is done, and, by the way, there are insurances that protect for these things happening, so that you would receive the equivalent of the rent. 

True, the BRRRR method is more difficult to apply in Spain.

Besides that, having your criteria in mind, it is also true that usually more creative rental methods are applied, however, at the same time, you can find a lot of distressed properties where you can hit these numbers. It depends on how well you're buying, but that will be the same in the US.

By the way, I'm reading more and more US people are also choosing the coliving rental method as it boosts their rental yield. 

Are you looking for traditional buy-to-let properties? Could you share a case study and the area where you are looking?

Hi @Borja Antolin Pargada, you make it sound like it is not possible to do any good deals in Spain. There are things to have in mind and challenges to overcome, but watch out for thinking that the grass is greener and all perfect on the other side. 

What kind of returns are you searching for?

@Maria Murphy mind you that they are talking about net percentages here. If 10-15% net is not enough for you, finding real estate deals worldwide will be difficult 

@Mike Lambert check, got you

Yes for such hands-off deals that are managed professionally we are known in the Valencia area in Spain. @Mike Lambert I think you are well oriented towards Andalucia, right?

@NA N. I will send a DM to discuss further. By the way, what are you referring to exactly with being able to do better on the management side?