All Forum Posts by: Pauline Hanuise

Hi guys :)

@Thomas L. @Simon Somlai @Guillaume Elleboudt

It's so nice to connect with Belgian investors ;)

That's a very interesting thread. I am also an investor from Belgium. Just moved back in the BW area 6 months ago after several years abroad and actively looking to invest in Belgium.

After heaps of researches over the past 6 months, here are my personal conclusions: If I want to buy in Belgium, some areas seems more interesting than others - to me Liege, Charleroi and Gent seems more interesting. But you've got to be willing to potentially deal with difficult tenants (Charleroi for eg.).

Another option to me is investing via public Auction, it takes more time and efforts - also the acquisition costs are higher - but you might end up with a very good deal in a very nice area that you can rent at a higher price.

However, I invested abroad (Malta) 4 years ago and it seems very difficult to find such great opportunities in Belgium (especially with the acquisition costs being so high). I still think that investing abroad (even though more difficult for different reasons such as languages, culture, laws, banks, researches and visits, etc) might be a better option. Because I love managing vacation rentals (and that's of course a personal choice), I am currently looking at countries with high potential for tourism in the coming years still having very low real estate prices. I am thinking about different Eastern Europe countries, Portugal, some places in Spain and Italy, etc...

Once again, it's a very personal choice but I just wanted to share what have been my conclusions over the past months researching in Belgium.

Have a great day all :)

Pauline

Thanks so much @Alexander Svanevik :)

I am in the process to relocating to BCN with my boyfriend and baby boy. So far, house hunting was quite tricky but as soon as we are settled, it could be great to meet for coffee and discuss RE, if you'd like!

Thanks for all the details @Alexander Svanevik :) That's interesting - especially the Beckham law, I didn't know about!

I am not looking for a cheap buy and hold investment but rather at a good rental property with a good cash flow. Do you know of any good neighbourhood to invest at the moment?

I heard that San Antoni got a lot of attention at the moment... On my side I had a look at Poblenou, just because I felt in love with that area, for the good reasons you mentioned above ;-)

Hi both @Alexander Svanevik & @Francisco Galera,

I am currently looking at relocating and buying in Barcelona.... So far, from what I've seen and read, it doesn't seem like the right place to invest. Prices are super high due to tourism and the lack of accommodation + you can't Airbnb (or short let) you place + you have to pay up to 25% taxes on the rents you perceive from your tenants if you're not Spanish resident.

I would love to know what you both think - if there is any neighbourhoods that remains interesting, etc...

Thanks for your feedback!

Pauline

Hi @Jim Robertson ! That's so great!

Sure, I have a few contacts that I would definitely recommend. You can PM me if you'd like.

However, at the end of our trip, we met with a RE lawyer and learned heaps about RE in Valencia... 

You have to know that short term rentals such as holiday lets, Airbnb, etc... are currently being reviewed for more control by the government. Not only you will need the touristic license, which is harder and harder to get BUT the city is also currently defining some residential and touristic areas in the city.

That means that even if you buy a property with the touristic license, if in a few months, the government decides that you are located in a residential area, you won't be able to rent your place short term anymore!!!

Something you need to be aware of! Not many people know that and we still don't know which areas will be defined as residential or touristic yet... So lots of changes to come in Valencia and in general in big Spanish and European cities!

Hi @Idoia I.

Great to read your post. I am actually in Valencia right now to visit some properties.

What are you thinking about it?

@Elena Verbytska I am actually visiting Valencia and Alicante - I think both can be good options so far due to low prices but the rents for local people are still very low too - even though they are currently increasing.

I am actually looking at short-term / holiday rental strategies but that depends on what you'd like to do, of course. Some say this is too unstable, which I agree with, but this also gets you a much higher ROI if you do it well.

I think Valencia offers tourism all year round while Alicante strongly depends on the seasons. But I am still researching both markets at the moment...

I am currently busy relocating to Barcelona (not for investing but living) and I'd be interested to know what you both think or even having a coffee at one stage when you're in Spain ;)

Hi @Elena Verbytska & welcome :)

I visited the Basque Country last year but I finally decided to invest in Valencia - not because the Basque Country wasn't a good option but because we will relocate to Barcelona. Valencia was an interesting option not very from there.

I am planning to be there in 2 weeks for some visits and hopefully a great deal too.

I think Costa Del Sol & Costa Blanca are both very interesting places to invest at the moment too.

Let me know how it goes!

Hi guys,

I am totally following this post. 

We are looking to invest in Spain too this year. 

We thought about Barcelona at first because we like it and are planning to move there this year. But we realised we'd better rent the place we live in (in Barcelona) and invest our capital in a few units further away from Barcelona where the acquisition costs are way lower. This way, the rents (from our tenants) will create higher cash flows that will allow us to either rent a nice big place to live in or re-invest in real estate.

Would love to know where do you guys invest in Barcelona? @David Fernandez

Thanks

Pauline

Hi Idoia,

Thanks :)

Sure. What's great about Malta is that you have different kind of tourists all year round. The peak season is June-Sept/Oct, which is hectic for short term rentals. But you can definitely manage to rent your properties the rest of the year as well. Obviously it also depends on the area you're in. Swieqi is great because you've got many English schools there. People from all over the world come here to study English for short periods of time (from a couple of weeks to a few months).

Msida and Gzira are also 2 great locations because Malta's university and hospital are just there. I know people who rent easily short terms to students and nurses who come to do their internship in English. 

We bought our flat in Swieqi cash 2 years ago and to give you an idea, we had a 8% ROI last year, living in the flat 6 months out of 12!

With that said, the prices have increased dramatically over the past years in Malta, so it becomes more and more difficult to find interesting deals. More and more foreigners are investing and it's practically impossible to find a interesting deals that are not "on plans" - delivery planned for mid 2018 (the earliest).

Would love to catch up in Barcelona in May and discuss about that in more details ;-)

Hi Erwin and hi guys ;)

I am totally interested in this discussion too.

I am Belgian, living in Malta. We started to invest in Malta 2 years ago and are actively looking at the Barcelona market. We are actually going to spend 5 weeks there from end of April till end of May this year, so if any of you would like to catch up, I'd be more than happy to!

ATM, I am especially active in the Airbnb market but definitely looking to have both long and short lets investments.

So, if you guys are in Barcelona around May, let me know ;)

Thanks

Pauline