Holiday Lettings news - Leaseback growing in popularity for Alpine property investment

Leaseback growing in popularity for Alpine property investment

Leaseback is increasing in popularity as a way for property investors to buy in the Alps.

The Alps, which stretch from France, through Italy, southern Germany, Switzerland, Austria and into Slovenia, provide the backdrop for some of the most in-demand property hotspots in Europe.

The scheme involves passing the property over to a management company, which then provides the investor with a fixed income and conducts all the maintenance.

Typically, deals are long-term (lasting for up to ten years) and the owner is permitted to use their home for holidays at certain times of year.

Ewan McGarrie, chief executive of Propertyinvestment.co.uk, said: "That has been a very popular choice for a lot of people, because a lot of people only use their property for one or two weeks anyway per year. So that has been certainly a popular way to buy property in France."

Nevertheless, investors need to be careful, with the rates of return offered varying widely, and with not all management companies being as financially stable as the next.

He added: "The other discrepancy one has to watch for is that leaseback companies don't necessarily gain the same capital appreciation as non-leaseback properties. Sometimes non-leaseback properties can have a greater capital appreciation than leaseback ones can."

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