Dominican Republic Properties for Sale & Rentals
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Overseas Property Letting
The current global economic crisis does not mean that you
have to lose your overseas property. In fact, selling in the
current climate is likely to mean selling at a loss. A more
positive option is to rent out your overseas property. Although
it may be available for your own personal use for more limited
periods, it could provide your only option outside of selling
up. Here we offer some advice for those thinking of holiday-letting.
Negative Equity
Renting out your overseas property could help you to alleviate
negative equity. Should you have borrowed heavily against
your property and its value has dropped, you could find yourself
in a negative equity position. This is really only a problem
if you want or need to sell the property, or if interest rates
have risen to a level that means you are having to pay back
more than you can manage each month. However, if you are planning
to hang on to the property for a long period, letting will
bring in an extra income that may help you keep hold of the
property until values begin to rise again.
The decision to rent should be considered in terms of the
amount of capital you have tied up in your property, as well
as its loan-to-value ratio and the rental rates obtainable
in your property’s area.
Renting through agencies
Renting your property through agencies may mean losing some
of your rental income in commission fees, but this investment
has its advantages. Taking the agency route will guarantee
you top rates for your property as well as fewer void periods.
Their advertising will often be of a higher standard than
you could afford when going it alone, and there is no question
that it will save you time and hassle.
However, many agencies will require your property to be of
the highest standard before they will offer to rent it out
for you. This may mean spending extra money on fixtures, fittings
and repairs. You should factor in all of this when calculating
the cost-efficiency of renting through agencies. It may be
a good idea to compare your options by renting alone for one
year, and through an agency the next to see what method you
prefer.
Protecting your property rental
Finally, you should accept that even the most well-meaning
house guests could damage or misuse your property and its
contents. That is why good buildings
and contents insurance is of paramount importance. If
you have any personal possessions in the property that you
are worried about, you may wish to consider removing them
to an outbuilding to keep them safe. Another tip is to decorate
using plain furnishings, bedding, cutlery etc, so that items
are easily and cheaply replaceable when they need to be. These
small investments could save you money in the long run.
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