For those thinking of becoming a landlord, a local buy-to-let property might not always be the best investment. More people are elect to purchase property abroad. Not only are they cheaper to buy, but they can be rented to holidaymakers and travelling business professionals for a weekly rate that’s far greater than you would be getting from a local buy-to-let property. On top of all this, you can take a break to this property whenever you feel like. As with any investment, it’s worth doing some heavy research to get the best profit. Here are some tips to consider to make your property investment abroad a success.

Location is everything

You may be tempted to buy a cheap property in the middle of nowhere. Whilst this may be your idea of a perfect retreat, it may not be great for attracting other guests. Try to buy a property in a tourist area that will attract holidaymakers or in a city that attracts travelling business professionals. Ideally you want the area to have visitors all year round so that someone is always staying at the property.

There are some areas of the world in which a rural retreat may attract business. This may include popular hiking routes or wildlife hotspots. Either way, you want to make sure that there’s some attraction nearby, as well as places to get food and drink.These will all be factors that people look for when booking a holiday home.

Know your client

Knowing the type of client that visits the area will help you to further find the ideal property. It could also help you to provide the right facilities for that client. People on business trips may not necessarily need a pool, not may they want a property in a touristy area – an apartment as found at a listing site such as https://rumahdijual.com/bandung/apartemen may be better suited to their needs. If you’re catering for families on holiday, you may want a property with a certain amount of room and beds. If senior holidaymakers travel to that location a lot, a ground floor property catered for those with less mobility may be better suited.

Knowing your client may also help you to choose furnishings and even allow you to treat your guests. If couples regularly visit the area for a romantic break, you could consider leaving a bottle of wine in the fridge and even buying a hot tub from a company such as https://www.hottubbarn.co.uk/. If you’re buying a property in a ski resort meanwhile you may want to consider a space with a rack for putting skis and boots.

You may need help buying the property

Buying a property can be a complicated process and it can vary a lot in each country. You may want to hire a translator who can help you through the process and possibly even get contracts written in English for you.

Make sure that you’re aware of various local land laws in case you want to make renovations. It could also be worth getting a surveyor in to check the property for damage to ensure that there aren’t any big maintenance costs later down the line.

You’ll need to hire a property manager

As you won’t be living locally, you’ll need to hire the help of someone else to manage the property for you to save you having to constantly fly over. As well giving and collecting keys from guests, this person may be needed to clean the property after guests have left, as well as handling any maintenance. You could advertise the position to locals and then interview applicants to see who is best suited.

Sites such as https://www.airbnb.com may allow you to take bookings and screen guests so that you can encourage the right kind of guests. It’s worth asking for a deposit as an incentive to get guests to clean the property afterwards and refrain from damaging the premises.

Choose your payment option

Many listing sites will allow you to pay through them – these will be secure. For certain costs such as hiring a property manager or using a foreign mortgage company or paying land tax you may have to deal in another currency. Make sure that you’re aware of fluctuating currency rates. Where you can, try to stick to your own currency – you don’t want to set a rate only for the foreign currency to increase in value, resulting in you paying significantly more.

Market your property abroad

Unlike a standard buy-to-let property, you need to be advertising your property abroad 24/7 to encourage a steady stream of guests. It’s worth getting advertised on lots of listing sites such as AirBnB. You may even be able to get listed in physical travel brochures and travel guides. Many holiday home owners are also using social media to advertise their properties by creating a Facebook page and promoting it as an ad.

Many people rely on online reviews nowadays to determine where to stay. Encourage your guests to leave positive reviews – you can email them after their stay to ask them to place a review. If someone has had a negative experience and has complained to you, you may want to refrain from asking for a review to limit negative reviews.

You can also come up with cross-promotion strategies. Newspapers and radios may pay you to offer a free stay at your property as a prize for a competition. You may also be able to work with local car hire companies and attractions promoting them in exchange for them promoting you.

Be wary of too much personal use

A major perk of owning a property abroad is that you can stay at it whenever you like. You may also offer it to friends and family to stay at for free. However, be wary whilst no guests are paying to stay there, nobody will be paying off the mortgage and various bills. It is your property and you should be able to enjoy it – but treat it like an investment or else it could put you in a lot of debt.