Holiday Flat in Bavaria

[Annied]

Hello everyone, my name's Annied and I'm addicted to the property market - have been since childhood. I just wish I had sufficient capital to indulge the addiction a bit more!

I've been a "buy to let" landlord in the UK for the past 12 years, although I freely admit I'm small time and my experience is limited.

My German isn't bad (I lived there for a while many years ago),and just recently, I've been browsing through the property ads in Bavaria. I got a surprise at how affordable small flats are there. It struck me that it might be a nice indulgence to buy a small (2 rooms) holiday flat, which could be rented out to holiday makers when I'm not using it and thus pay for itself. I can see that it wouldn't make as much as a long term let, as it would almost certainly be empty for longer periods, plus there'd be the cost of an agent who would have to market and service it as I wouldn't be on the spot. (As it's a popular holiday area, I'm presuming such agents exist.)

I've found various websites that take me through the buying procedures and spell out the tax implications, but I wondered if there were any members here who had actual experience of what I'm suggesting and could tell me if my idea is at all feasible or just a nice daydream.

 

[mart123]

Hello everyone, my name's Annied and I'm addicted to the property market - have been since childhood. I just wish I had sufficient capital to indulge the addiction a bit more!

I've been a "buy to let" landlord in the UK for the past 12 years, although I freely admit I'm small time and my experience is limited.

My German isn't bad (I lived there for a while many years ago),and just recently, I've been browsing through the property ads in Bavaria. I got a surprise at how affordable small flats are there. It struck me that it might be a nice indulgence to buy a small (2 rooms) holiday flat, which could be rented out to holiday makers when I'm not using it and thus pay for itself. I can see that it wouldn't make as much as a long term let, as it would almost certainly be empty for longer periods, plus there'd be the cost of an agent who would have to market and service it as I wouldn't be on the spot. (As it's a popular holiday area, I'm presuming such agents exist.)

I've found various websites that take me through the buying procedures and spell out the tax implications, but I wondered if there were any members here who had actual experience of what I'm suggesting and could tell me if my idea is at all feasible or just a nice daydream.

Definitely feasible, i doubt you will cover costs. Where in Bavaria? In Munich?
Tourist are plentiful in Summer, but will the flat be in a region where there is winter sports available? Whats the nearest airport ? Is there Rail? Road.
Which market are you looking to attract? In Germany there is a trend to holidaying in Germany which you could ride.

If it's close to Munich you can rent it out during the Oktoberfest at high rates. Then there's Bauma, a building fair(every three years) which actually attracts more visitors to Munich per night than the Oktoberfest so you get an extra premium there.

So in Summary
Munich is all year, Winter sports areas are good in Winter and Summer (Hiking) and then theres regions where only Summer is applicable.

Good luck.

Martin

 

[Annied]

Thanks for the input Martin, that was helpful.

I perhaps should have made it clearer that I was only wanting the rental income to cover the ongoing costs, not the capital outlay. I don't need a loan to purchase the kind of property I have in mind, but I don't fancy having to send money out at regular intervals to keep the flat going. I doubt I'd use it enough to justify that.

I wouldn't consider driving a car in Germany (although I like the idea of a couple of Velosolexes in the cellar!),so I've been looking at the area between Rosenheim, Traunstein, Kiefersfelden and Ruhpolding as the transport links from both Munich and Salzberg look good and I wouldn't be dependant on budget airlines. (I live in North East England, so my nearest airport is Newcastle.)

I live a 10 minute walk from a long sandy beach here in the UK, so in my ideal world, a holiday home in a small town near the mountains would give me the best of both worlds. Also, since I have absolutely no interest in winter sports, the best rental period would coincide with the time when I wouldn't want to be there. At the moment however, the most tempting properties I've seen have been closer to Chiemsee, which I think would appeal to summer visitors only.

Ann

 

[mart123]

Sounds Fantastic!
I don't see many people around Chemisee in Winter so I think it would be difficult to rent. On the other hand you probably won't be there for the entire summer and if you're just covering rental costs that might be enough.

I guess you've already checked out the Train availablity, but there are bus companies both from Munich and Salzburg to some of these villages e.g. Bad Reichenhall /Berchtsgarten which could offer more flexibility.

Good luck!
Martin

 

[Annied]

I don't see many people around Chiemsee in Winter

That's pretty much what I thought.

I found a map of bus routes online as well as a train map. I also typed in a few journeys on the BEG website to see what journey times were like. It seems to be incredibly well planned as I don't think the wait was more than 15 minutes between any kind of change. It did open up more possiblities, but Bad Reichenhall and Bertchesgarten are a little bit too far from Munich for comfort. I can get to Munich with either Lufthansa or KLM by going via Paris, Amsterdam or Dusseldorf. The Newcastle/Salzburg flights on the other hand, although direct, are run by charter companies and not available the whole year round. (When they are running, it's possible to get some very good deals though.)

I need to find out more about Letting Agents, what services they provide, and, most importantly, what they charge. The sites I'm finding are all advertising properties for rent and don't seem to have information for landlords. Is there a specific name for them that I should be typing into Google? (Miete Immobilienmakler doesn't seem to get me the right sites.)

Thanks for your help. I appreciate it.