AIFOS INSOLVENCY PROCEEDINGS

Hi All,

Are you looking for a rental agency to market and service your unit at Balcones de Iznalloz ??

A new company has set up aiming to market & service ONLY the Balcones de Iznalloz development.

They are offereing  number of services, for exmple :::

***  Key holding €10 a month

*** Change arounds - cleaning, laundry, arrival pack & meet & great €100

*** Only 10% of the rental income taken as commission

A full website will be set so the units can be mrketed throughout the UK and Spain.

Hi Jetboy,

The company is flexible an I did also think €100 was a bit expensive !!! but when it was compared with other companies it was a good deal.

Sally (who is the lady is will be running the company) decided to charge a flat fee for change arounds rather than breaking the costs down like other companies do.

Generally a cleaner in Spain will charge €10 per hour. Laundry on a two bedroomed apartment will cost around €30, welcome food pack costs between €15 - €25 and some companies even charge to meet the clients to hand over keys. Some clients leave apartments clean so this would only take a couple of hours to turn it around but I know that some clients can leave apartments in a poor condition where it has taken a long time to service them. By charging a fixed amount the cost for the owner will never change which means you will always know what your rental is going to be.

The 10% charge will only apply if the client is found for you. There is a full website which is just advertsing properties to rent at Balcones and it is excellent. The test pages have already generated a lot of interest for holiday lets. The 10% is basically only charged to ensure the properties are advertised on the website and uk & spanish papers. They can also take reservations and payment by credit card.

I agree that maybe there will be a resident of Balcones who will be able to do the job at a cheaper price. But I honestly dont think they will be able to sourse clients without a dedicated website and advertisment which isnt already set up. Sally has over 10 years of rental experience in Spain and her expertise is in whole developments !!

Hi Ruth,

If we could have the 'food package' dropped I think we'd be closer to a realistic price. Personally I've never stayed in any rental apartment that provided one and would rather have the choice in any case.

Hi Jetboy

I don't think ths rental package is for you ! They are going to be providing an excellent service to their clients and I know myself that I have landed in Spain on a Sunday and not been able to get the basics such as milk, bread & water. In a town like Iznalloz I think things will be made harder as nothing will open on a Sunday and if you don't have trnsport you will be stuck.

It is also worth thinking that the whole development will be advertised on a dedicted website. If there are 40 apartments to rent it seems silly to have one or two that don't want to offer basic things.

Ruth

Hi Rute, 

You mentioned that he test pages have already generated a lot of interest for holiday lets. 

Do you have the adress of this webpage, so we can have a look. 

Regards, 

William

www.granadarental.co.uk

Hi Wiliam,

The test pages where only set up for one month from the 21st March to 21st April. They are currently not live until the company cn secure some units to rent out.

They basically launched the website to make sure there was enough request for the development before setting up the rental agency.

As soon as it is live again I will post the link.

Kindest Regards

Ruth

Hi Ruth,

Personally I reckon that anyone who really considers renting an apartment in Balcones without a car is somewhat misguided. I would suggest the majority of air travellers will use AGP and not GRX as their point of entry. That being the case, AGP is surrounded by suitable retailers such as Carrefour and I know that will be my first call when visiting. There is also supposed to be a Spar type shop being opened in the commercail unit on site.

Based on the location of Iznalloz I would assume that anyone wishing to rent there would be more an  'independent traveller'. Someone who is happy to drive up to the slopes in winter or explore the region in summer as opposed to the stereotypical annual holidaymaker who brings the whole family to a resort. This is why I just can't see the rational behind the insistence on a food package.  I'm not trying to split hairs here and I am not particularly bothered whether my apartment is rented or not. What I can say for sure is that I have rented many independent apartments in many countries for years off a variety of sites/ organisations and never once have I been offered a food package by any of them. I agree that it is a nice 'option' but to insist on it I think is an error of judgement particularly in light of the market these apartments are pitching at.

When it comes to website exposure, although it would be of benefit to have all the apartments fronted on their own website, there are a multitude of heavily utilised sites already in existence eg holidayrentals.co.uk who have a significant internet presence on search engines. Your pricing structure for this however looks fair and it is a pity that we are unlikely to do business based on your current package.

Hi Jetboy

The units will be advertised for rental on a number of different websites giving the potential clients the option to click through to the full website for more information.

'The Food Package' !!! The rental management company wanted to provide a professional service that people will use again to rebook apartments. As you said yourself you have experience in renting independent apartments and you have never seen a food package before. Surely then it is a good thing to have something different ???

In my opinion I do think you will get some clients who do not have transport as a number of the potential clients have asked for airport transfers. I agree they are not the typical 'british family in spain' but clients these days are more Green if you will and they have talked about getting an airport transfer to the development and spending the rest of their time on foot.

I am for the food package so maybe I am not a good person to debate this with !!!! Before I lived in Spain I had an experience where I arrived late at night to a privately rented apartment desperate for a drink of coffee and there was no milk. I do think it is also important to have bread & preserves incase the clients are travelling with young children.

There are thousands of rental management companies in Spain, I am just suggesting one of them !

Thanks Again

Ruth

Ruth

Before we can make final decisions on rentals and the costs of cleaning/key holding etc it would be useful to have an idea on typical rental values.

What do you envisage as a rate for say a 2 bed town house at various times of the year. Do you think it is a viable base for ski holiday lettings?

100 euros would be dear if the rental was only say 300 euros?

Woodycurtain

Hi Ruth,

it's pretty obvious to all that we disagree on the 'food package' issue but they say debate is healthy! I am looking at this from a couple of viewpoints. I agree that having bread and milk is a nice touch but not at 25 euro because that is basically all that would be needed for a late arrival. You could buy an awful lot of bread, milk, coffee, tea and preserves for 25 euro. I would also suggest that families arriving with young children will bring their own initial supplies. My sister leaves the house with enough equipment to start a junior restaurant! and thats only to go to the shops.

I think it really boils down to the market these apartments are pitching at and I genuinely believe you've got this wrong. These are not at the top end of the market. Effectively you are talking of a food package that constitutes about 10% of the average rental income. If they were commanding 500 euro a week it may be a different story but they won't. If 250 a week in low season is achieved these figures look grim:

250euro -10% letting =225 - 100 (turnaround)= 125 then factor the costs of liability insurance for letting it out to the public, electricity, heat (maybe) an a write down on wear and tear etc. Then of course if you front up to the tax man (ho ho) you are left with a sum that basically isn't worth the bother. I think the moral of the story is: don't be a landlord, be a letting agent in this case. These figures may look acceptable to some people if they have planned the apartment as a pure investment and have based their plan on a substantial occupancy but to those (like myself) who would be happy to rent out on a much less frequent basis they are cost prohibitive. They do not establish sufficient return to lay against the costs and risk.

I can see this developing into one of those never ending debates at the poolside bar (when it's built)

Hi Jet Boy !!!!

This debate woul be better at a pool side bar !! After a couple of nice cold drinks on a day like today it surely would be resolved by now !!!

I passed your comments onto the lady who will be running the Property Management and she has revised her turnaround options giving the clients the choice of the €100 complete turnaround pakage or an itemised option where your pay for the services individually ! The information has just been emailed to all clients.

I hope this puts just a little smile on your face !!!

I am sure the debate will continue ..............................

Hi Jetboy

We have been trying to establish a fair rental price for the units at Balcones de Iznalloz. When we did the test pages on the website potential clients seem happy to pay ::

Apartment - in season £350 per week , out of season £250 per week
Townhouse - in season £400 per week, out of season £300 per week

I think with the train service from Iznalloz going to 38 different stations gives Balcones more appeal than most villages outside of Granada. https://w1.renfe.es/vol/

Thanks

Hi Ruth,

I'm looking for a keyholder after completion.

You can put me on the list if possible.

A fair option in my opion and only a suggestion,

250 euro - 10 % for letting = 225

Agency receives from the renter an amount for endcleaning.

Commission includes key holding. The commission ( ? )

Extra Service to be paid by renter:

Airport Service, from Malaga or Granada

Welcome Service ( Breakfast )

I rent out my apartment in Orihuela Costa under those conditions.

Regards,

William ( Mirador 33 )

www.rental-costablanca.com

Hi Ruth,

Thanks for your efforts, I'll check the details you sent over the weekend.

This rental package sounds a rip-off; but then it is Spain!

Who in their right minds would want to rent these apartments at the prices quoted? Miles from the skiing, city or coast. You will be lucky to achieve 4 weeks / year. And as for the food-package! What a waste of money. E25.00 should fill a basket, not a loaf of bread, milk and jam!

To suggest that the development has been piloted on a website and generated a lot of interest already - where's the evidence? Some might suggest theat this is lies.

My advice - advertise these apartments yourself in your local papers. Find someone in the village to hold the key and clean. Avoid this offer at all cost.

CJM

Agree with you totally!!

regards

Beaumaris

I am glad to see that people in the UK are living up to their reputation as discussed this morning on GMTV  !!!

I honestly can't believe someone has made a post containing the words  : quote Who in their right minds would want to rent these apartments at the prices quoted? Miles from the skiing, city or coast.
Would it be fair to also say who in their right minds would purchase an apartment for minimum €98,000.00 miles from skiing, city & coast.

The prices I posted on the website are the prices which clients HAVE made enquiries for.

I agree it could all be a load of rubbish as you are right in Spain you really have to be careful but surely if we have the so called cheek to charge people management costs of €500 a year as well as 10% of the weekly rent then surely for our own sanity we would have done full research to ensure we could generate & secure the rentals.

If you check back on my previous posts you will see that I wrote ''welcome food pack costs between €15 - €25'' I was talking in general about other companies. An email was sent out to all the clients giving two different options for turnaround costs and on the itemised option the food package costs €15 and it is optional.

I am going to book a seat at the AGMs for Balcones de Iznalloz. The chairperson is going to have to have an amazing level of patience !

And finally I am also a little upset that people on this site seem to complain, moan and pick fault in everything people do to try and help them. God help the commuinity spirit. I am glad that all the people that I have meet or spoken to over the past three years of this development are nice and friendly people, hopefully one of them will be voted to run the commuinity.

Ruth

We certainly appreciate your efforts.

You have offered this info at no obligation. The obtainable price will sort itself out soon enough!

Please keep the info coming.

Any posts are better than none. You have managed to provoke more chat than most

Woodycurtain