How to make your second home profitable

By: HHomes

Having a vacation home or a second home represents a second source of income for a person or a family. This is because second homes are often profitable because they are a good long-term investment.

There are many people who, despite having a second residence, do not consider looking for a way to get the profitability they offer, which is why those homes are left empty for most of the year.

In fact, according to the National Statistical Institute (INE) more than 3 million families in Spain have a second residence either on the beach, in the mountains or in a town. Of all these people, only 35% of them decide to take advantage of the profitability of the property by renting it long or short term. While the rest use it for their own enjoyment on weekend getaways, bridges, vacations, among others.

Having a second home can also turn into a nightmare if it is not put to profitable use so that it does not turn into losses rather than gains. There are maintenance expenses throughout the year such as: light, electricity, water, gas, the IBI, among many others.

Luckily there are many alternatives that can be done to get the most out of this second home. They are between them:

• Rent: It is the most common measure for those owners who seek to cover the expenses of the house, but to do so they have to be aware of which days they will want to use that house to determine if they want to rent long or short term. In addition, in the event that the owner is busy and cannot manage the rents of his second home due to lack of time, there are real estate agencies that could be in charge of doing it from finding the tenants and making the rental contract to cleaning and house maintenance. They could also take care of the publicity and determine what benefits the owner the most whether it is a vacation rental or a long-term rental.
• Income tax deduction: Despite the tax reform enacted by the government in 2014 where the owners of a second home are obliged to pay 2% of its value, there are measures to avoid facing it by renting since the Leasing brings with it many advantages. This is because the rental properties are exempt from this payment because they are taxed through the income obtained through said lease. Even with the decision to rent the property you can get a reduction of 60%.
• The sale: It is a measure that can be taken by all those people for whom the purchase of a second home did not turn out as profitable as they expected. Second homes tend to appreciate. This may depend, for example, on their location in the event that they are in an area that is very busy in summer such as the Costa del Sol OR in exclusive areas of Marbella such as; Puerto Banús, The Golden Mile, Benahavis. If the property in question is in good condition and well maintained, chances are good that you will be able to sell it in good condition. For this type of movement it is advisable to go to a real estate agency since they will facilitate the process and look for buyers to obtain the best results with the operation.
• More specific or advertising rentals: There are people who have a luxurious home or Villa that is pleasing to the eye, these are the ones that appear in television programs, magazines, music videos, among others. Indeed, these houses are owned by anonymous people who give them up in exchange for a price that entails profitability. There are houses that, for a single day’s rent, can charge between 1,200 and 1,500 euros. To achieve this type of benefit, you only need to have a house that has certain qualities that can fit in with the commercial world and be in contact with location companies to visit the property and register it in a database for later use.