All Forum Posts by: Erwin Groenendijk

@Andrew Syrios we have been rising in Europe as well however in Spain today they published an article that the average mortgage rate is at 3,25% so that is still doable in these refinance operations. Especially when the yield is healthy as many times we are able to boost this with a tourist license on the properties. 

Hi @Stilyan Seferinkin, 

I like the creative thinking here. The only hurdle I see here is that the current owner would need to live in a ****hole for multiple months before selling it to you. This is especially the case if you want to increase the value from 100.000 to 178.000 euros, or in any kind of serious renovation.

By the way, we have been talking with some mortgage brokers and it seems that the BRRRR method is becoming more possible to do in Spain. Banks are more willing to give a mortgage on a property that you already own and force you at the same moment to finance another property from the received money. Now, the good thing now is that this financing can be used for the purchase of a property and also the renovation etc.

A cash-out refinancing mortgage is still not possible however this is already good enough of what we as investors are normally searching for.

Hi @Louis Albers, 

There is no right or wrong answer to your question. You can create wealth in both ways.

It would more depend on your strategy, where exactly you would like to buy, the amount of yield you would like to earn, your plan over the upcoming years.

Are you also based in Spain by any chance?

Have in mind that licenses are being given based on the density or in other words the amount of licenses already given. Too many licenses will disturb the local system, that is mainly how they think.

I agree with @Mike Lambert that Spain in general is a year round option for tourists because outside of summer (which honestly sometimes becomes a bit too hot) the sun shines even in winter times with very comfortable temperatures. The Costa del Sol, Costa Blanca/Valenciana, and Costa Brava all could be a good option when you do an analysis where the numbers work best/licenses are still being given.

Yes the battle for tourist licenses here in Barcelona is already over. It is still possible to build a portfolio of tourist rentals by purchasing properties that have a license on them, but expect to pay a serious price for it (market price + €50-100.000).

That is the reason why we are active in Valencia where it is still possible to get the licenses on certain properties. They are expecting that this will change in the upcoming 1-2 years, so we are now busy with all our capabilities to do as many projects as possible.  

Hi @Susan Welland,

Biggerpockets is a forum to help out everyone who has a question rather than sharing contact details and obviously trying to get leads in.

Hi @Josh McCarthy and hi to all others who are responding to this post about Spain.

Are you starting out in real estate or do you already have experience in another country?

Spanish real estate offers different interesting points:

- it is relatively cheaper than most other (European) countries

- there are quite a lot of distressed properties that can be flipped or kept to rent for a good yield

- managing to get a tourist license in combination with a tourist location will boost the yield even more

We are hosting a meetup btw in Barcelona if at one point you would like to get in contact with many other people who want to or are already active in real estate here.

@Lewis Anderson, that is not that difficult. Banks are open to giving financing to international people if the risk analysis is positive.

Hi @Mollie Rigby, not specifically however you could try the international-oriented agencies in Spain like Engel & Volkers and Lucas Fox (I used to work for them for some time in Barcelona). It depends also on the type of real estate you are after because these agencies focus on the more luxurious/expensive properties 

Hi @Michelle Hedborg,

Congrats on the move and go for it. If you need to survive in situations, beautiful things are happening 👍

At the same time, try to make decisions that make sense number-wise and not only follow your heart. 

With that amount you could do a lot of things. The real questions is 'where are you guys getting energy from?'