Property Prices in PP

[ahmurray]

Greetings,

I do fancy the idea of buying an apartment in PP and having looked at the potential rental income it's not inconceivable that holiday rentals could cover a deceny chunk of the mortgage on an annual basis.

Could anyone let me know from experience whether this is the case, and what the property market in PP is like at the moment - are prices depressed like elsewhere in Spain and what would a good, central, 2 bed appt go for realistically (as opposed to asking price)?

Ali

 

[HolaGL]

Greetings Ali

Before you take the plunge take a look at the discussion forum on visits by the director of tourism officers in Living and Working in Pollensa.

link: p221.ezboard.com/Inspection-From-Department-of-Tourism/fpollensaforumfrm24.showMessage?topicID=228.topic

It suggests that it is illegal to rent out apartments in Mallorca without a licence. Licences are not available to residential property!

See also the link to the Times article on the subject

www.spanishpropertyinsight.com/spanish_property_doctor_160907.htm
Regards

Gordon

 

[JH02JLH]

I read the article in the Times with interest and this bit made my blood boil...

"The department of tourism in Palma...adds that licences to rent detached properties are no longer being granted on Mallorca. It is a similar story in the Canary Islands, because the authorities in both are keen to promote hotels over private rentals. Confusingly, licences are still being granted in Minorca."

What about the choice of the customer? James Villas are doing a very good job of pushing their villas at the moment, highlighting how laid back and relaxed a villa holiday can be. I have to admit to loving that "home from home" feeling you get with a villa or an apartment and if the authorities in Mallorca start dictating to tourists how they're going to spend their hard-earned money, then I fear for the holiday market there!

Jane:rolleyes

 

[ahmurray]

Absolutely.

Hotels are all very well for couples but with 2 very young kids we need space and separate bedrooms. I haven't yet found a hotel with 3 bed accomodation! Having everyone in a separate room means we get more sleep which means a much more enjoyable holiday.

Anyway, presumably the building and sale of apartments also benefits the local economy significantly and should therefore be encouraged? I suspect it is more about keeping property prices reasonable for locals than helping the hotel trade, but if so why not say that.

Anyway, thanks for the tip-off, I certainly won't be buying if I can't legally rent out, but will still be renting apartments in preference to hotels.

 

[JH02JLH]

Having young children is the reason we've always rented villas or apartments and when my daughter was a baby it was so much easier making up feeds in a proper kitchen rather than in a hotel room! And of course, the sleeping factor comes into it, too.

I must admit I was very shocked when I read the article - I had no idea about the law and I can't see the reasoning behind it. Surely if there's more choice for holidaymakers people will be happier with a range of accommodation?

Jane

 

[smiddy]

Property Prices in Pollensa

Ah! It is nice to live the dream, but if you want MY honest opinion i would say to anyone who was looking to finance their purchase partly based on rental income, would have to be very carefull. Even if it were allowed it is unlikely you would fill the place other than the peak months of July/August.

Why don't you pop into the estate agents the next time your over and have a chat with them. I never imagined we would eventualy own property over in PP, but we went for it and never regretted it for one second, then again that was 15 yrs ago in a very different market.

 

[abbotsworld]

I think its a great idea that you need a license to rent as a lot of people live in mallorca all year round and some renters can be very inconsiderate

 

[favie]

property prices

Abbotsworld, can I ask what sort of experience do you have of this inconsideration that you speak about?

 

[abbotsworld]

Re: property prices

certainly Favie

We have an apartment in PP which is part of a community that consists of 21 apartments on 3 levels with shared pool,gardens,roof terrace and parking etc.We pay annual fees of approx £600.00 a year for the upkeep of these shared facilities.We use our apartment as a holiday home and don't rent it out as we like to visit PP about 6 times during the year just to chill out.3 couples live all year round within our community.Although our community rules state that it is illegal to rent without a license a few people choose to ignore this.Most families that visit pp are nice people however no matter how nice they are the fact is they are on holiday which means they get over excited.They let their kids run up and down the steps at all hours of the night or very early morning screaming their heads off.People clank around in apartments and the roof terrace in stiletto heels at all hours of the day and night.They scrape all the walls of the communal stairwells when carrying cases etc.upto their rooms.They sit out on their balconies to all hours getting drunk and making a racket. They also use or in some cases misuse the facilities that we as a communitycontribute towards the upkeep of .I'm all for having a good time but people need to realise that they cannot behave living in a community the same as they would living in their detached properties back home.Most spanish properties are tiled rather than carpeted and sound carries.

 

[debz1]

Re: property prices

If you choose to live in PP it's going to be noisier than if you lived in a leafy suburd in the UK! It is first and foremost a holiday resort and the locals rely on the tourists for their livelihood.

That said we also have an apartment in PP and have never known parents 'let their kids run up and down the stairs at all hours' or 'sit on their balconies to all hours getting drunk or making a racket'.

The most noise comes from the dustman doing their daily collection at midnight ..you can set your clock by them

Debs

 

[favie]

property prices

Abbotsworld - Ah, you mean the Rentees can be inconsiderate I thought you meant one who rents out their property - the renter. ( I wondered in which way they were inconsiderate!!)
Well licence or no licence surely it would still be a problem for you? Living in a block of flats one will always have that problem - unfortunately the world is full of both considerate and not so considerate folk!!! Some very considerate holiday maker will always worry about the noise levels - be it from other rentees or residents Having said that, in all the times I have been to PP I haven't came across that kind of Holidaymaker you descibe.

 

[smiddy]

Property prices

Got to agree with Abbotsworld on this one, inconsiderate people are not welcome. Remember residents live there all year round and you would have to walk a mile in their shoes before you could accurately comment. July and August are the problem. People who let out commercialy have no control over the type of holidaymaker they let into their flat. That in itself is unfair to the residents, who tend to be elderly.

 

[favie]

Property Prices

Walked in they shoes - although not in PP - so understand the problem but in my case it was a rather noisy Resident - one doesn't have control over who buys!!

 

[Pinereto]

Re: Property Prices

Interesting debate. Just a few additional comments. The initiative to focus attention on the licencing of holiday lets appeared to be driven by the hotel industry, but the tax authorities of both Mallorca and the UK are equally interested. UK Self Assessment forms, for example, ask if you earn income from overseas property. That said, some properties in Mallorca (aparthotels, for example) are built for the holiday trade and others for "residential" accommodation. There are strong health-and-safety and quality-control arguments to be made for licensing as anybody who has witnessed an apartment fire in Mallorca will testify. As the owner of a residential apartment in Pollensa who lives there three or four months of the year, I am happy with the licensing stance. If there are problems within an apartment block they can be sorted out at the community's AGM but owners are normally aware of and abide by community rules. Some people on holiday, not unanturally, do not view an apartment in the same way as if they owned it. At the moment there is a wide block on the building of new property on the island, in the main because of environmental concerns. This is no bad thing, presumably few want to see Mallorca become another "concrete costa"? This may help to stabilise prices while they are falling in other parts of Spain but there are other fiscal factors at work such as the reduction last year in non-resident capital gains tax.

 

[El Gordo]

Crackdown on illegal Tourism

Further to the ongoing thread, I was in the Port a couple of weeks ago and read in the Tues 19th Feb Mallorca Daily Bulletin that the authorities want Renters to declare their private rental incomes, Fair Enough but also argue the case of hoteliers complaing of the licencing problem.

Following a recent Holiday Trade fair in Madrid, the Ministry of Tourism is to clamp down on the private renters. They are to scan both advertisers on the internet and in papers, mags etc in Spain as well as UK etc. for ads to follow up and prosecute as necessary!!

Be Warned.

(PS I used to be HOLAGL before the changeover)

Sorry Pollensa, I see Mariquita made this point in the correct thread! Still suffering fron sunstroke!!

 

[pollensa]

Welcome back to the new Forum.

But do note there is already an ongoing thread on Rental Licenses here http://www.forum.puertopollensa.com/showthread.php?t=2836 - please can we try & keep this thread related to Property Prices in general.

Thanks.