Investing in a vacation property is an excellent idea if you want to increase your wealth. The value of real estate tends to go up, making it the safest choice for investment.
But like any good investment, you need a business plan to make it a good deal. If you invest without mapping out your goals from the beginning, you’ll likely never see the returns you expected.
“Investing in real estate in the Riviera Maya is turning out to be a great business, more than anything for vacation rentals, although it seems like a joke Covid helped this, there is a significant increase in digital nomads looking to spend a few months living on the beach and if we add the traditional vacation rentals, the demand is huge,” says Mark Gonzalez, sales executive at American Realty.
Know how the seasons work
Like any tourist spot, the Riviera Maya has its high and low seasons. It is essential that you know this, since there may be months when you may not get the expected returns, and you may have to absorb some expenses. You can try to counteract this with residential rentals, i.e. renting for periods of 6 months to 1 year, this may lower your income compared to vacation rentals, but you will have a more constant income.
Define your level of commitment
How involved do you want to be with the management of your property? This is an extremely important question to ask yourself, especially if you do not live in the city where you are investing. Ideally, you should use the services of a real estate agent, in the Riviera Maya, it is prevalent for brokers to also manage their clients’ properties.
“Vacation rentals are a great income for me, so every time I sell a property to a client, I offer my services to manage their property. I usually suggest using some type of platforms such as Airbnb or Booking.com, so there is transparency on how much and when their property is being rented,”
Mark Gonzalez, Broker of American Realty
Typically, a real estate professional will charge you 30% of the rental value and if you want your property to be rented consistently we suggest you invest in some marketing. I know what you are thinking, is there any money left for me? Believe me, you will be amazed by the profits you generate.
Why are you investing?
Are you investing to have a place you can come to seasonally, to have additional income, or to have the property pay for itself? You must be clear in your objectives, and of course, it can not only be one of the above-mentioned.
The Riviera Maya is the ideal place for any of the 3 objectives mentioned above because it is a dollarized destination, which allows you to collect your rent in dollars, and with the digital platforms that we mentioned before, you will get your money in foreign currency.
Our main recommendation is to approach a real estate professional, both for the process of buying the property and for the administration of the same. Working with a professional can save you thousands of problems, and even more if you live in a city that is far away from your property.
Looking for a place to invest in Playa del Carmen? Take a look at the best-gated community in the Riviera Maya.