A retirement home overseas can be much more affordable if you rent it out when you’re not using it. If you don’t plan to be in residence for the entire year, being able to rent your house or apartment to holiday-goers can help cover the costs of owning and maintaining the property. It could even provide cash flow to supplement your retirement nest egg.
But finding renters can be a challenge in seasonal retirement spots. In a locale where some times of the year are much more appealing than others, you’ll want to take advantage of the nicest seasons, but those are also the times when you would have the easiest time finding renters. In places where local services, amenities and shops shut down for part of each year, this can be an even greater conflict. You’ll be tempted to take off traveling, perhaps for a return trip home to visit with your family during the off-season weeks or months, but these are the months when you’ll have the toughest time renting out your property.
Punta del Este, Uruguay, is a good example. The summers are glorious. In summer, the beautiful beaches, magnificent weather and world-class restaurants and nightlife draw people from all over the world. However, in winter, Punta del Este’s often dreary weather and shuttered shops attract almost no one. Good luck renting your place then.
If retiring overseas part time and renting out your property the rest of the year appeals to you, focus your search on markets where the rental demand is year-round, perhaps because the location is appealing all year or attracts different kinds of potential renters at various times of year, including the off-season. Here are four retirement spots with year-round rental markets:
Salinas, Ecuador. Salinas is Ecuador’s largest resort, located less than 90 minutes from the international airport at Guayaquil. Referred to as “Little Miami Beach,” the town features an impressive row of white mid- and high-rise condominiums situated on a crescent bay. There are plenty of restaurants, cafés, shops and diversions. There’s more than enough to keep you busy and active while you’re in town.
The resort is centered on the Salinas Yacht Club, which is a popular destination for international sailors and fishing tours. The club’s picturesque yacht basin is filled year-round with a glittering array of vessels. Long before it became a tourist draw, Salinas was known for its sport fishing. For years, local fishermen have hauled in record-breaking sailfish, tuna and marlin.
The weather in Salinas is super between November and March, when you can expect sunny days and sometimes a brief shower in the afternoons. If you’d like a place to escape the North American winter, Salinas is hard to beat. This is a very low-cost beach escape.
During the rest of the year, Salinas is gloomy and overcast. However, this is a case where it’s possible to enjoy high occupancy rates for a rental property during the off season. This is because schools in Ecuador are closed June through September. During these months, Ecuadorean families take vacations, providing a local rental demand during Salinas’s off season.
Pucón, Chile. Chile’s Lake District is a beautiful area with deep blue lakes, snow-capped volcanoes and natural forests, all with dramatic Andean peaks serving as a backdrop. The small lakeside town of Pucón is bustling all summer, with hundreds of shops and restaurants of every description. The world loves it here, and summertime holiday makers come from across the globe. Pucón’s clean streets and shady, green lawns provide a pleasant backdrop for its tasteful homes. The town is on the shores of the sizeable Lake Villarrica, which provides excellent swimming, boating and sailing.
However, Pucón is a two-season destination. In winter, this region attracts skiers, again from across the globe. Less than 20 minutes from the town of Pucón, the resort of Ski Pucón offers an excellent skiing infrastructure and even hosts prominent international competitions. In Pucón, you could ride out the North American winter in the Chilean summertime, while renting to the ski crowd during your off-season or vice versa.
Medellín, Colombia. Medellín is situated amidst lush hills, with tree-lined streets, green parks and meandering roads. Throughout the area, small streams tumble down from the mountains, their borders lined with dense areas of lush, tropical vegetation. The weather is perfect, with a daytime high of 80 degrees Fahrenheit that is subject to only one degree of seasonal variation. You could say that Medellín is “room temperature,” every day, all year.
From the hole-in-the-wall shop selling home-made empanadas to elegant restaurants with fine French cuisine, Medellín’s dining experience is big and varied. You could spend your evenings at the orchestra or one of 28 theaters, explore the city’s 40 museums, visit its many art galleries or relax in one of 21 parks. In addition to all of that, the sizzling nightlife in Medellín and its status as the fashion capital of South America also help to draw visitors from around the world.
Best of all, the real estate market is seriously undervalued, and rental returns are high. And because Medellín offers the same weather and lifestyle all year long, the rental market is, likewise, year-round. No matter which months of the year you decide you’d like to be in residence in Medellín, you can count on the city being at its best. On the flip side, you can count on a nice rental demand whenever you’re gone.
Mazatlán, Mexico. With its warm, emerald-green seas, wealth of restaurants and nightlife and beautifully restored historic center, Mazatlán has drawn big numbers of visitors since the 1940s. Today Mazatlán is popular among Mexicans and North Americans alike, as well as cruise ship travelers from around the world.
The historic center’s newly restored Plaza Machado is now the hub for cafes, restaurants, bakeries and the recently refurbished Angela Peralta Theater. Just a few blocks away, the Olas Altas beach sits at the south end of more than 10 miles of beautiful coastline.
The weather in Mazatlán is ideal during the North American winter, when you’ll find a sizeable crowd of Canadian and American visitors around town, along with a full-time expat community. Windows are thrown open to allow the sea breezes in day and night, and it’s possible to live here comfortably this time of year without air conditioning.
Summer is another story. In July you can expect temperatures around 90 degrees Fahrenheit, 15 days of rain and high humidity. Anyone who tells you that you can let the sea breeze eliminate the need for air conditioning this time of year is trying to sell you something.
However, there is a thriving rental market in Mazatlán during this off season, for the same reason as in Salinas, Ecuador. This is when many Mexican schools are closed for summer vacation. Many Mexican families take advantage of the opportunity for some time away from home, and Mazatlán is a top beach holiday choice.
Kathleen Peddicord is the founder of the Live and Invest Overseas publishing group .
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4 Places to Own a Retirement Home and Rent it Out originally appeared on usnews.com
