Can holiday lets beat the property crunch? | This is Money
Can holiday lets beat the property crunch?
Liz Rowlinson, Daily Mail
30 May 2008
What’s really going on with buy-to-let? Another day, brings another theory. We are told it’s a bad time to enter this tricky market, then we learn that this is a good moment to join the buy-to-let gravy train.
What’s certain is that with self-catering holidays now accounting for 60% of all trips taken abroad, it shouldn’t be difficult to let out your property in the sun.
The market-research company Mintel predicts that foreign self-catering breaks will exceed 34 million by 2011, so it’s a growth area worth tapping into.
‘Why not earn between £7,000 and £18,000 a year with very little hassle?’ says Ross Elder of holidaylettings.co.uk which has 22,500 properties listed.
‘At the very least you can cover your costs, but for many people it’s an extra income stream. Every year £4.2bn of potential revenue is being lost by owners who don’t let out their second homes.’
While 80% of us still prefer to keep our second home for private use, what are the secrets to successful ‘fly-to-let’?
Two of the UK’s largest websites, holidaylettings.co.uk and holiday-rentals.co.uk have analysed the traffic on their sites to come up with some useful insights for budding landlords, and it will come as no surprise that location is crucial.
Spain is still the most popular place in terms of volume of business, but upandcoming destinations include Eastern Europe, Montenegro, Marrakech, Thailand and Dubai.
The target market is a
