Britons living in Bulgaria. Guide to Bulgaria, Sofia and Varna

Property Overseas: Cash in on Your Rental Potential - Sofia News Agency

Property Overseas: Cash in on Your Rental Potential Sofia News Agency, Bulgaria - Jan 25, 2008 Nearly a quarter of all foreign breaks taken by Britons last year were spent in private homes, 60 per cent of them booked online through the owners, ...

Property Overseas: Cash in on Your Rental Potential - Sofia News Agency
Indeed, according to MRI Property International, 24 million of us are considering buying overseas. So if rental income is an important factor in choosing your ski home, where should you invest? Take some tips from Holiday Rentals, which features 900 European ski chalets and apartments, mainly in France, Switzerland and Austria, and will be taking on 2,000 in North American this year. It has compiled its top five best and worst places to own a ski property if rental income is a priority. Properties in the top-performing places can expect 20-25 weeks annual occupancy and rents for an average two-bed apartment range from £120 per person per week in Bulgaria to £250 in France, it says. And you should be ready for business when the first surge of bookings starts in mid-October. Properties in Austria (www.propertiesinaustria.com; 0131 208 3795) is selling large, modern, two-bed apartments in the centre of town for £393,000 or three-bed Tyrolean houses outside for £293,000. Prices are high, with five-bed chalets with exceptional views across Mont Blanc on sale through Prestige Property Group (www.prestigeproperty.co.uk) from £1.1m. The similarly upmarket Verbier in Switzerland's Valais canton comes third. But while the moratorium on foreign ownership has just been lifted, property quotas for non-resident buyers in the canton remain restricted to just 300 a year, mostly allocated to leaseback projects to encourage year-round use. Borovets, where apartments cost from £40,000 through Imoinvest (www.imoinvest.com, 0207 845 0700), sees the lowest demand for rental properties. And Bansko, where you can buy one-bed apartments in Paradise Verde from £24,000 through Experience BG (www.experiencebg.co.uk, 0800 612 0901), is number five. It'll take a while before emerging resorts like Bansko take off for rental demand," says Wylie. For the greatest appeal to renters, pick a ski-in, ski-out property, says Sanderson. Proximity to the ski lift and a good ski area, within 90 minutes of an airport and in a lively resort are other pluses. Two- or three-bed apartments are better than one-bedders because they can accommodate friends, families or couples. A long-haul ski property may rule out your own spontaneous weekends on the slopes, but the rental potential can prove more reliable than buying in Europe. At the Three Sisters Mountain Village in Canmore in the Canadian Rockies, the local passion for active outdoor pursuits - from skiing and climbing to mountain biking and golf - is unwavering, ensuring good 12-month rental potential. Mont Tremblant, 90 minutes from Montreal, is famed for its golf, lake-bound activities and cuisine as much as its snow scene. People want to hear that they can sit in a hot tub on the terrace and overlook the Alps," she says. Reply promptly to 1nquiries and treat it like a business.