Written by Claus Sørensen
Spain-holiday.com

You have just invested in a beautiful holiday home in Spain and are faced by the fact that it will be emptly most of the year unless you do rent it out. You may need to consider if it is worth the effort and where are the pitfalls if you decide to rent it out.

What is the potential?
During the first year you should be happy with an occupancy of more than 20 weeks. If you run your rental business well, you will see that people return and recommend it to their friends. On Spain-holiday.com we have seen well run properties with an occupancy of 90%.

Choose the right agent
If you do not live close to the rental property or have the time to deal with changeovers, keys, cleaning etc, you need to hire a local agent. The agents may take around 30% of the rental fees which include cleaning, keys, bookings and communicating with the renters.
Shop around to find the right agent to assist you as they can add hidden value to your business by having contacts to returning customers. If the agent is new, they might only be able to help you with the practical side of it. And if you are just starting you need your calendar filled up fast, so a good agent is important. To figure out how the agent is producing, you might want to contact other owners using the same agent, to get their opinion.

How to get a head start?
Make sure your property is ready to receive renters. Extra sheets, Sky TV, fully furnished kitchen, bathroom, lounge and terrase is expected.
Produce some high quality photos of your property. For about 300€ you can hire a photographer with experience in lights and exposures and he can make your rental business stand out from the others.

If you have not yet bought the property, you should also consider the distance to an international airport, pool, beach and shopping as people might not like to drive and rent a car for their holiday to Spain.