Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa Dec/January 2020 | Page 34

FINDING
Your holiday home can
delight your wallet
Tips for quality returns on your rental property
AMY STEADMAN
S
outh Africa is spoilt for choice, with leisure destinations
around the country. A leisure property can generate
healthy returns over the long-term, provided buyers
have done their homework beforehand.
As the holiday season approaches, some people may be
planning a trip to their holiday home for a festive time away.
Others may wish this was the case. A holiday home investment
provides an escape from the demands of day-to-day life. To an
investor’s delight, we are spoilt for choice when it comes to
leisure destinations around the country.
You can acquire some good returns on your holiday
home if you open it up for letting, especially during school
holidays and if it’s occupied for a good chunk of the year. As
long as you know how to market, maintain and price it, you
can turn into a profitable income.
As a holiday home-owner, you should proceed with
an element of caution when it comes pricing it for rental.
Overpricing could leave you with reluctant last-minute
rentals, but it may not serve you well if you’re hoping
to secure a good annual income from letting. However,
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DECEMBER/JANUARY 2020 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine
investing in holiday rental is considered to be less “risky”
than other forms of real estate investment. Holiday homes
are most likely to be situated in the top tourist destinations.
This in turn, will attract more guests, maintain higher
occupancy rates and favour a higher rental rate per night.
If you’re new to real estate investing, then a holiday rental
home is a good place to start. It’s considered less stressful in
relation to alternative investment strategies, such as being a
full-time landlord or fixing up and flipping properties. Holiday
home investments are considered easier to manage but a lot
of owners don’t have the time. An option is to hire a property
manager or holiday rental management services to handle
duties. You don’t have to take on holiday rental management
as a full-time job and you won’t have to in order to make money
in real estate.
The number of people buying vacation homes as their
first real estate investment is increasing and the demand for
vacation rental continues grow.
According to Adrian Goslett, CEO of RE/MAX South Africa,
a leisure property can generate healthy returns over the