Advice please re letting Spanish holiday villa

Hi, I have a new 2-bedroom townhouse with communal pool on a golfing resort
that will shortly be completed (in Mar/Apr).

What in your experience is the best way to let such properties out? E.g.:
a) Find a local lettings agent (but then how would holidaymakers find
them?)
b) Find a big lettings agent (help - I can't find any that cover
Murcia/Calida)
c) Just advertise it online on one site (which?)
d) Advertise it online on 2+ sites (which?)
e) All of the above (sounds complicated re bookings clashes)

Also, how does one normally arrange getting keys to holiday tenants if you
live in the UK like I do, and rent the property out via the web?

Any and all constructive advice greatly appreciated.

Many thanks :)

Re: Advice please re letting Spanish holiday villa

With WeBook you can easily manage your reservations by yourself.
please see

//Henrik

Re: Advice please re letting Spanish holiday villa

Thanks, not quite what I'm after.

But I love it that its selling point is, "Persons or companies that arrange
appartments,villas or cabins have today often no system that takes care of
reservation in a smart and effective way. Often just static information is
avalable such as telephone number and email adress." Then when I try to
click on your own pricing details, your site says, "Please contact us"!

By the way, just as constructive advice, but if you worked on your site's
spelling ("avalable"? "adress"?), punctuation (e.g. space after commas), and
grammar you might get more interest.

All the best.

<> wrote in message
news:
> With WeBook you can easily manage your reservations by yourself.
> please see
>
> //Henrik
>

Re: Advice please re letting Spanish holiday villa

Hi thanks! I will correct it asap. English is my second language and my
grammar could be better i know. Thanks.

Re: Advice please re letting Spanish holiday villa

Chris,

What you are taking on is not easy!

I have been involved in this business in the Western Algarve, Lagos for
the past ten years as a web designer, marketeer and marketing
consultant for rentals agencies and private individuals.

1) The first point is that you need to decide what are your
expectations financially. Despite what real estate agencies operating
on the Iberian peninsular say, returns on income from property rentals
are often less than anticipated.

2) Few punters really look for specific detinations around the Iberian
peninsula. More important is price of property, close access to
airports, price of flights, access to beaches, shops, restaurants and
other facilities.

3) Advertising online on one site is not really an option! For example
a search On Owners Direct for properties in the Lagos area, where I
live, brings up +600 properties and who is going to trawl through that?
Same with Google! Unless you are going to invest in getting a prime
position on the the first pages of whichever sites you choose to
advertise (which is very expensive) this option will not bring much
return. You need a multiplicity of options.

5) You might want to then consider setting up your own small web-site
and then advertise your web-site name under holiday rentals in lineage
ads in your local press and on announcement boards in your local
libraries etc.

4) Have you decided who is going to welcome guests, service the
property and clean the property? IT is not just the keys! You need
someone local and this will cost! This is critical for absentee owners
and critical for incoming guests. If you have no one,the for the first
couple of seasons, you probably should deal with an experienced local
agent who has their own marketing strategy and can handle all these
things!

If guests have problems and you have no-one to sort them out, you will
very soon get a bad name and al that entails!

5) Finally, I will send you in another email an article from the Times
from July 2005 which basically states that the UK market for foreign
property rentals is saturated with offers, with all that implies for
rental prices and occupation rates. Consequently, as we are in Europe
you should also consider marketing your property into other markets.
These should include, The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Norway where
most people do speak English. Again you can place smal lineage ads in
local papers (even in English) .

This business is not easy and many people are lulled into it by
real-estate agents who offer the prospect of a quick return on
investment. It is increasingly competitive and cut-throat!

However, one can succeed and succeed well with the correct strategy and
hard work!

Hope this helps


Chris Hawkins
Lagos

Re: Advice please re letting Spanish holiday villa

Great help, thanks!

I have a management company in mind who offer the whole kit and caboodle,
but sadly at 20%. Trying to find one at 15% which is reasonable.

I plan to advertise it on one main site with a global online calendar that
the management company can check before taking other bookings. I will also
advertise on other sites, and point them all to that main site.

Re The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, can you recommend the top
holiday-home rental web sites to me? Not sure what keywords to put in
Google as I don't speak either language. Then I can advertise it there
also. Oh, and their version of Loot's web site would also be great.

Thanks so much again.

Chris

<> wrote in message
news:
> Chris,
>
> What you are taking on is not easy!
>
> I have been involved in this business in the Western Algarve, Lagos for
> the past ten years as a web designer, marketeer and marketing
> consultant for rentals agencies and private individuals.
>
> 1) The first point is that you need to decide what are your
> expectations financially. Despite what real estate agencies operating
> on the Iberian peninsular say, returns on income from property rentals
> are often less than anticipated.
>
> 2) Few punters really look for specific detinations around the Iberian
> peninsula. More important is price of property, close access to
> airports, price of flights, access to beaches, shops, restaurants and
> other facilities.
>
> 3) Advertising online on one site is not really an option! For example
> a search On Owners Direct for properties in the Lagos area, where I
> live, brings up +600 properties and who is going to trawl through that?
> Same with Google! Unless you are going to invest in getting a prime
> position on the the first pages of whichever sites you choose to
> advertise (which is very expensive) this option will not bring much
> return. You need a multiplicity of options.
>
> 5) You might want to then consider setting up your own small web-site
> and then advertise your web-site name under holiday rentals in lineage
> ads in your local press and on announcement boards in your local
> libraries etc.
>
> 4) Have you decided who is going to welcome guests, service the
> property and clean the property? IT is not just the keys! You need
> someone local and this will cost! This is critical for absentee owners
> and critical for incoming guests. If you have no one,the for the first
> couple of seasons, you probably should deal with an experienced local
> agent who has their own marketing strategy and can handle all these
> things!
>
> If guests have problems and you have no-one to sort them out, you will
> very soon get a bad name and al that entails!
>
> 5) Finally, I will send you in another email an article from the Times
> from July 2005 which basically states that the UK market for foreign
> property rentals is saturated with offers, with all that implies for
> rental prices and occupation rates. Consequently, as we are in Europe
> you should also consider marketing your property into other markets.
> These should include, The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Norway where
> most people do speak English. Again you can place smal lineage ads in
> local papers (even in English) .
>
> This business is not easy and many people are lulled into it by
> real-estate agents who offer the prospect of a quick return on
> investment. It is increasingly competitive and cut-throat!
>
> However, one can succeed and succeed well with the correct strategy and
> hard work!
>
> Hope this helps
>
>
> Chris Hawkins
> Lagos
>

Re: Advice please re letting Spanish holiday villa

Well if you concider a Global online calendar that is pretty much what
WeBook is :) But to help you out with the top ad sites in sweden they
are;
www.blocket.se
www.hyrhus.se
www.koll.se

/Henrik

Re: Advice please re letting Spanish holiday villa

All the points below are good advice, and a lot of it applies in the US. My
wife and I own a property in a resort area in the US and manage it
ourselves. We use a multiple advertising approach: We run our own small web
site; we list with the Chamber of Commerce in the resort area; and we offer
rentals to real estate agencies on a non-exclusive basis at their usual
commissions. Most of our rentals come from the Chamber and from our own web
site and only a few from the real estate agencies. One other point. We get a
lot of repeat business. That may be the result of our decision to be fair in
our pricing, to keep the place immaculately clean all through the rental
season, to answer all inquiries and complaints fully and immediately, and
last but not least to allow dogs (and be sure our personally
carefully-screened cleaners go over the place thoroughly after the dogs have
gone!)

<> wrote in message
news:
> Chris,
>
> What you are taking on is not easy!
>
> I have been involved in this business in the Western Algarve, Lagos for
> the past ten years as a web designer, marketeer and marketing
> consultant for rentals agencies and private individuals.
>
> 1) The first point is that you need to decide what are your
> expectations financially. Despite what real estate agencies operating
> on the Iberian peninsular say, returns on income from property rentals
> are often less than anticipated.
>
> 2) Few punters really look for specific detinations around the Iberian
> peninsula. More important is price of property, close access to
> airports, price of flights, access to beaches, shops, restaurants and
> other facilities.
>
> 3) Advertising online on one site is not really an option! For example
> a search On Owners Direct for properties in the Lagos area, where I
> live, brings up +600 properties and who is going to trawl through that?
> Same with Google! Unless you are going to invest in getting a prime
> position on the the first pages of whichever sites you choose to
> advertise (which is very expensive) this option will not bring much
> return. You need a multiplicity of options.
>
> 5) You might want to then consider setting up your own small web-site
> and then advertise your web-site name under holiday rentals in lineage
> ads in your local press and on announcement boards in your local
> libraries etc.
>
> 4) Have you decided who is going to welcome guests, service the
> property and clean the property? IT is not just the keys! You need
> someone local and this will cost! This is critical for absentee owners
> and critical for incoming guests. If you have no one,the for the first
> couple of seasons, you probably should deal with an experienced local
> agent who has their own marketing strategy and can handle all these
> things!
>
> If guests have problems and you have no-one to sort them out, you will
> very soon get a bad name and al that entails!
>
> 5) Finally, I will send you in another email an article from the Times
> from July 2005 which basically states that the UK market for foreign
> property rentals is saturated with offers, with all that implies for
> rental prices and occupation rates. Consequently, as we are in Europe
> you should also consider marketing your property into other markets.
> These should include, The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Norway where
> most people do speak English. Again you can place smal lineage ads in
> local papers (even in English) .
>
> This business is not easy and many people are lulled into it by
> real-estate agents who offer the prospect of a quick return on
> investment. It is increasingly competitive and cut-throat!
>
> However, one can succeed and succeed well with the correct strategy and
> hard work!
>
> Hope this helps
>
>
> Chris Hawkins
> Lagos
>

Re: Advice please re letting Spanish holiday villa

"Don" <> wrote in message
news:IUHKf.12102$
> <> wrote in message
> news:
>>I would like to know what "usual commisions" general are.
>
> For about 15% of the gross rent, the agency will handle everything:
> finding the tenants, collecting the money, arranging for the cleaners to
> come in when the tenants leave, etc. The actual percentages vary from one
> agency to another and are negotiable. And some are better than others at
> finding tenants and taking care of things. Obviously if you can make
> arrangements yourself you can save.

I have found they vary from 0%-25% plus a €0-600 annual charge! When I
tried negotiating with one, they became defensive and stuck to their 20% -
so lost my custom.

What is harder is finding out which ones perform best. I have used Google's
PageRank to see how 'important' their web sites are, but that is only half
the story.

Still, if anyone can directly recommend such a company in the Murcia/Costa
Calida/Mar Menor region that would be great. :)

Re: Advice please re letting Spanish holiday villa

"Chris Ianson" <> wrote in message
news:TP2Lf.24862$

> I have found they vary from 0%-25% plus a €0-600 annual charge! When I
> tried negotiating with one, they became defensive and stuck to their 20% -
> so lost my custom.
>
> What is harder is finding out which ones perform best. I have used
> Google's PageRank to see how 'important' their web sites are, but that is
> only half the story.
>
> Still, if anyone can directly recommend such a company in the Murcia/Costa
> Calida/Mar Menor region that would be great. :)

Yes, we have encountered some that want 20%. That's too much for what you
get, in my opinion. For us the best plan has turned out to be using multiple
advertising sources and not signing an exclusive agreement with any one
agency.