Renting out a north coast condo: what to check before you buy

Read the building's rules first

Every condominium has a declaration and a set of internal rules, and they decide what you may do long before any booking platform does. Some buildings allow nightly rentals, some require a minimum of thirty days, a few ban rentals altogether. Some require guests to register with security, limit the number of occupants, or charge an owner a fee per booking.

Ask for the rules in writing and read them with your attorney. A building that has recently changed its rules, or has an owners' meeting coming up where rentals are on the agenda, deserves a second look. Owners who bought for income and then lost the right to earn it are the unhappiest clients we meet.

Count the real costs

The monthly condo fee covers security, the pool, the gardens and common electricity, and it ranges from around a hundred dollars in a small building to several hundred in a resort tower. It is the first number to get, in writing, with the date of the last increase.

Then add what the fee does not cover: your own electricity (air conditioning is the big one, and a rented unit runs it harder), internet, water where it is metered, a management company's commission if you will not handle bookings yourself, cleaning between guests, and a reserve for repairs. Finally, rental income earned here is taxable here, and a local accountant files it. A unit that looks like a clear earner on gross income often becomes a modest one on net, which is fine as long as you buy it knowing that.

Know the calendar

The high season runs from mid-December to April, with Christmas, New Year and the North American school breaks fully booked months ahead. July and August bring a second, smaller wave, mostly from Europe. September and October are the quiet months, and some owners simply close for them.

A realistic plan assumes strong occupancy for about four months, moderate for four, and little for the rest, and prices each period accordingly. Ask the seller, or the building's management, for last year's actual booking record for the unit or a similar one. Buildings that rent well have those numbers and are glad to show them.

What actually rents

• A view, especially of the sea, and a pool guests can see from the unit.
• Walking distance to a beach and to restaurants: guests without a car are the largest group.
• Reliable air conditioning, hot water and fast internet; visitors forgive a small kitchen and not a slow connection.
• A building with on-site management, so a problem at ten at night is handled by someone who is there.
• Photographs that match the reality: the quickest way to a bad review is a unit that looks better online.

Our view

Buy the unit you would be happy to use yourself in the weeks you are here, in a building whose rules you have read, with a budget that works on net income at realistic occupancy. If the numbers only work at full occupancy and the advertised nightly rate, they do not work. We are glad to go through a specific building's figures with you before you make an offer.