Nowadays a holiday home should not be a cash consuming asset. Buying the right property in St. Moritz, engaging a professional property management company to look after the asset and teaming up with a professional and world-wide connected rental agency will lead to a positive cash flow. At PPM you find your one-point of contact to deliver all components needed to have your peace of mind and access to all services and know-how.
In our August blog we would like to share the know-how of a successfully operated vacation home in the Engadine with our customers and clients. There are a few “musts” and “no go’s” if you think about turning your second home into a cash positive asset or if you are about to buy a secondary mountain home. No matter what size of property you own or attempt to buy, the key is not to save money in the wrong place if you want your investment to be a sustainable asset for your family and the next generations.
Oli Stastny, founder of PPM St.Moritz, has a passion for real estate and is a freak on details if it comes to quality in construction and fittings. With his company Maunalej he extended the services of PPM over ten years ago, to be able to provide any component of realizing the dream to own a lucrative home in the Swiss alps, to his clients.
Maunalej assists buyers with navigating the strict laws of purchasing Swiss property and help with a possible relocation to Switzerland. For the value it is key to buy a unique property therefore Maunalej locates magical properties for holidays that live long in the memory and make sure that a property in the alps is not only a great place to get together with your family.
If you want to own a cash producing holiday home, follow Oli Stastny’s 10 key points for buyers and owners. If you don’t mind spending money on your home every year, don’t read the guiding tips. For more details get in contact with us and we are happy to consult you on any aspect of real estate management, construction and rental.
1. Location, location and location!
Don’t buy a property that is compromising on the location. Neither concerning the view, nor the area within the resort. There are several different factors for location that are subjective but the obvious ones have to be AAA.
2. Buy a unique property with at least a few outstanding features.
When a rental guest is taking his decision to rent or a potential buyer is looking at a property, it is key that his eyes are caught by a couple of features that he has not seen before or are done in an exceptional way. Like this he will more likely decide for the property and keep it in his mind in the jungle of competing properties.
3. Never compromise on construction quality.
If you don’t want to have high maintenance costs or even replacement needs every year, build it right in the beginning to avoid unexpected surprises. And remember, good quality doesn’t only mean expensive. There are enough expensive solutions that are realized in low quality.
4. Choose materials carefully.
If you attempt to rent your property with a profit, think about materials that will not only last long but are easy to keep clean and fresh.
5. Leave interior design to a pro
Outstanding properties have to be professionally designed. Attention to detail is the key and a property needs a lot of attention that can only be seen by someone who has learned it, it’s a profession. Design is not only about buying beautiful pieces but also choosing the right size, color and style to match the property and to have a consistency from bath-towels to furniture.
6. Compromise on personal touch
We all have our very personal needs an things we like. If you want to rent out your property and make it cozy and charming for a larger segment of guests you will have to compromise in terms of too much of a personal touch. Family pictures will have to be placed in a way they can be easily replaced with a neutral or design wise matching art. A wall full of your hunting trophies might have to be limited to only a few elements…
7. Keep your property up-to-date
Make sure you don’t miss to re-invest out of your cash flow to keep your property up to date. From time to time you will have to replace linen or the old TV that doesn’t support new technologies. Your returning guests will remark it and will appreciate those investments.
8. Have your property managed and operated professionally
Make sure your property is well looked after. Nothing worse than damage that could have been avoided by a proper and frequent check on your holiday home by someone who has knowledge about properties. Professional companies like PPM St. Moritz will have access to a trusted network of experts and craftsman if it is needed. You will save money by paying professionals to carefully look all year around after your asset.
9. Provide the best possible service to your guests
Have professionals who are experienced in hospitality to spoil your guests and make their stay an unforgettable one. Each component of the service chain is of the same importance to make the day a perfect day in the mountains and on holidays. Spoil yourself as well and enjoy the valley while a team of PPM is looking after you and pamper you with culinary highlights and organized activities.
10. Use the right rental agency
Today a rental agency cannot reach maximum occupancy by running after booking clients on its own. You need a local agency who is on site and ensures a booking guest that they are in the destination and real. This is key in the digital world of increasing events of fraud. The same time your agency has to be highly connected with other international partners such as world-wide agencies, family-offices, luxury service providers and brands. The agency has to market your property in a fair way to make the case a win-win situation. We are happy to talk about rental opportunities.