Selling your property in the Alps

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So, your life is moving into a new phase, or the family no longer want to spend Christmas together in the chalet, or the time has come to spend some of the cash tied up in your property. The decision to sell your ski chalet can have any number of triggers, but whatever the reason, let’s assume you have reluctantly decided to put your much-loved ski property on the market. Hopefully with us at Alpine Property.

Maison des Billets, Samoens, for sale for 600,000€ in February 2014.

Selling your chalet in the Alps is one of those things most people do just once in a lifetime. Unfortunately, it’s also one of those things where practise makes perfect. So, what are the dos and don’ts of putting your property on the market in France?

Most important of all…………..

DO price the property realistically. First talk to us! We would say that wouldn’t we? It is tempting to take a look at similar properties for sale with Alpine Property (or other agencies!) to gauge current asking prices, then decide on a price for your property yourself. This comes with risks. For example there are a number of properties on our books that have been there a while and it could be that they are not realistically priced. The second home market is different from other markets, the properties are regarded as “assets” by the owners and often they’d like to sell but they don’t NEED to sell. So if the property is overpriced they are happy to sit and wait. We base our valuations on actual sales figures including data from the notaires, which therefore reflect a more accurate market price.

Talk to us so we can work together on a price that will represent good value relative to the other properties. This way you will almost invariably achieve a higher selling price. Let me explain. Properties which are priced realistically sell very quickly and often a deal is struck within a month. Properties which are priced too highly only sell after sitting for a long time on the market and undergoing a series of painful price reductions. The reason for this is that buyers watch websites like ours at Alpine Property constantly and are surprisingly clever at identifying properties which have been for sale for some time. These properties are perceived to have something wrong with them and are unattractive to a buyer. Buyers, like early birds seeking a juicy worm, are instinctively drawn to properties which are new on the market. Thus there is a brief window of opportunity to get the best price for your property when it first goes on the market. Price the property too highly and that opportunity is lost.

Our agents are experienced in the prices actually being achieved in the market and will be very happy to advise you on a realistic price. Take a look at our Sell Property page for more practical advice

DO NOT Listen to an agent who suggests testing the market with a price at the top end of the price range you had in mind. His strategy is to get your property onto his books first and worry about selling it later. He will no doubt come back to you in three months time and suggest a substantial price reduction. By this time your property will be stale.

DO make every effort to help us present the property well. The property photographs we take are obviously vital. We use the best equipment to produce good quality views, but it’s up to you to ensure the chalet is clean and tidy. Homestaging is well worth the time and effort. We work with several people in the area that can help with this. The same applies when we make visits. Buyers will only buy an untidy or dirty chalet if it is being sold at a substantial discount. I’ll write another post on the best way to present your property for sale.

DO put yourself in the shoes of a buyer. Often a client looking to buy a chalet within a certain price range has seen many properties priced similarly and has an instant idea of what is reasonable and what isn’t. Though we advise caution on advertised prices not always being an accurate reflection of true value, it can be an eye opener to go ‘internet shopping’ and seeing if you can find a better property than yours for the same money. If you do, then you can be sure that these properties will sell first and yours will remain on the market.

DO keep in touch with your Alpine Property agent. We monitor all our virtual visits of your property listing, log all enquiries from our buyers and are happy to provide feedback at anytime, including after visits. If you’re not getting any buyers looking at the property, then we’ll probably have an idea as to why, and can advise you accordingly. This is the case with any other agency you are using too, particularly if they have given you a high valuation. Once again, it is all well and good them saying your chalet is worth X, but it is then reasonable to challenge them as to why it is not getting any interest.

DO make sure that you are clear as to your Capital Gains Tax liability. The tax situation for second homes has recently seen some flux in France so a visit to a local accountant or Notaire is a must if you are not sure where you stand. Meilleurs Agents can be a good place to get the CGT table for France. Don’t believe everything you read on the web though!

New Chalets in St Jean d’Aulps

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If you thought all building work stops in the Alps in the winter (so all the tradesmen can go off to their second jobs as ski instructors), then think again. It is still the case on a small-scale but in general the tradesmen try to keep working all year around. The idea is to make a structure waterproof so work can carry on inside during the winter months. As an example have a look at this development of the Chalets des Cimes project, it has been continuing throughout this winter in sight of the pistes. The developer has just sent me these photos.

This is my favourite as you can see the piste and the ski lift in the background.

These chalets are excellent quality. Note the copper guttering, the granite faced first floor walls (this is an option for an extra cost), the charred and brushed Douglas Pine (this means you won’t need to varnish or treat the wood). I wrote an article where I mentioned the quality of chalets we see in the Alps and how it’s hard to compare with a cheap build in the UK. These chalets are a good example of this.

Don’t forget that these chalets are at the base of the piste at La Grande Terche (Espace Roc d’Enfer), they are in the Portes du Soleil and only 20 minutes drive from the skiing in Morzine or Avoriaz.

Out of the 9 that are being built, a couple of them are sold and another 2 more are “in negotiation” (as of 18/Feb/2014), we’ve listed the different types on our website here:

Les Chalets des Cîmes, No. 9
600 000 €uros, 5 bedrooms, 144m2

Les Chalets des Cîmes, No. 3
580 000 €uros, 4 bedrooms, 133m2

Les Chalets des Cîmes, No. 4
550 000 €uros, 4 bedrooms, 121m2

Les Chalets des Cîmes, No. 2
525 000 €uros, 4 bedrooms, 121m2

Build your own chalet

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This was written in 2014, the numbers are out of date! I have refreshed it in a post late 2019. We frequently get asked how much it will cost to build your own chalet. In general we quote 2500€/m2 as a benchmark. Sometimes we qualify this with “of course it depends on many many, factors”, such as the floor area, quality of materials and fixtures and fittings, easy of building on the site, proximity of services and things like that. But in the end 2500€/m2 is a good place to start. So if you were building a 4 bedroom 140m2 chalet then a starting point would be 350,000 € to build the chalet after you have bought the land.

When I mention these figures to UK-based buyers that know about these things they take a sharp intake of breath. Apparently you can build houses in the UK for much less than that. Closer to 1500€/m2 I’m told and sometimes even less. So why the big difference? Some of my opinions follow:

Everything costs more in the Alps. In particular materials and more importantly labour.
We are not comparing like with like. The “average” chalet in the Alps is higher quality than a cheap house in the UK.
The build methods in the Alps are more expensive. In general the properties have concrete basements and first floors. This makes a very solid property, sometimes due to earthquake and avalanche risks it’s mandatory to build this way. It’s also just “the way it’s done”, much like in the UK houses have traditionally been built from brick.

There are various things you can do to reduce these costs. Taking each point one by one.

I’m not going to suggest importing your materials from afar or even you labour (though both these things are possible and may save money).
Building a cheap quality chalet is not a good idea, it would be a real shame to waste the worlds resources on building a house that won’t last.
Build methods, there could be money saved here. It may also bring in points one and two. I’m referring to kit chalets.

My neighbour is a carpenter and he has just built a chalet using mostly traditional techniques. The basement is concrete as are some of the first floor walls. The main frame was a kit though, the walls arrived on a lorry and ready built. He’s obviously building on a budget but doesn’t want to live in a cardboard box. His build costs will be well under 2000€/m2.

kit chalet in Samoens

We’ve recently been approached by a ECSUS Design, who have recently completed a chalet in Samoens and are constructing a couple more in Morzine this summer. These guys either design your home or adapt an existing design and fabricate using Structurally Insulated Panels (SIPs) that are precision engineered and cut to size to ensure an exceptionally quick method of building a highly thermally efficient chalet. The main weather-tight structure can be erected in as little as 3-4 weeks and can be easily finished by an adventurous self builder or they can do the entire job for you. The average costs of the SIPS structure is about 450€/m2 which represents about 30% of the overall costs of a new chalet and means that a fully managed build can come in at under 2000€/m2. Now I can’t act as a reference for these guys but they can offer references if interested. The company is http://www.ecsusdesign.com/ and the SIPs system is http://www.tek.kingspan.com/ They supplied me with the lovely photo of the finished chalet in Samoens. I have used it to illustrate this post.

St Gervais market report

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Sarah Watts covers Les Contamines for us but knows St Gervais well. She has just written this market report for a customer. Prices have been broadly stable in St Gervais since 2008. Currently the price advertised is rarely the price paid so, if you see something that seems much too high, it’s likely to be due to an unrealistic valuation or vendor who is not willing to accept the current market conditions, and it is unlikely to be selling.

According to meilleursagents the average price of an apartment in St Gervais is between 2317€ to 4742€ per metre squared, with the average sale being around €3 493 per m2. These figures seem out of touch with reality to me. For a property close to the ski lift that is new or in good condition this price could easily be closer to 4,900€/m2 and good quality new build properties can be more than that.

A chalet would be around the 5500-6000E per m2 for something nice. The prices are very dependant on the quality of finish, there is plenty of property on the market that is feeling quite “tired” by today’s standards.

We have 3 sales going though at the moment in St Gervais. The agreed prices were between 2% and 10% below the asking price. We have just had an offer accepted this week on a 4th property at asking price.

Should you be looking for a 3/ 4 bedroom apartment, you are looking at somewhere around 350-450K. For a chalet in good condition – 650-750K, and a chalet that needs refreshing around 500K.

Property prices vary enormously depending on how close it is to the skiing or at the very least the bus route, the amount of sun, views, outside space and condition. People are often concerned about buying outside of the very centre of the town in case it is “unrentable”. As I often point out, unless you are walking distance in ski boots from the lift (probably a 300m max, you’ll end up taking the car and parking at the free lift car park there for the day. Consequently, if you drive 3 minutes or 6 minutes at the end of the day, it won’t much difference.

I have also personally rented for many years in the past and the fact the property was 3km from town and the skiing, was not an issue. What did make a difference was the garden space. If you get a traditional ski apartment, then it will rent well in the winter, but not in summer if there is no outside space. Some people want to be close to the centre of the village (again more useful in the summer), Bettex for example is favoured by the skiers because of it’s proximity to the slopes in winter.

Nearly all people renting will cover their running costs of the apartment and maybe even make a little profit. You can rent comfortably 8-10 wks in winter and, with an outside space, about 4 weeks in summer.

If you would like to get an idea of rental values take a look at this website holidayinalps.com for some ideas of what rents and for how much. As a guide, for a 5 bedroom high-end chalet this could earn upwards of 35K€ per year gross income. A more modest 3 bedroom ski apartment would be around 15K€ per year.

In terms of suggestions for 3+ bedrooms, I would recommend

Apartment Lumen http://www.alpine-property.com/index.php?page=prop_3_aptlumen

Apartment Crespin http://www.alpine-property.com/index.php?page=prop_3_aptcrespin

We have also extensively written about the area on our area guide here, scroll down for St Gervais info on each of the pages: http://www.alpine-property.com/index.php?page=page461

Finally, remember that on all property a notaire (stamp duty + solicitor fee) is due. This is 7% for older property and 2.5% for new build from a developer (the first figure will increase slightly Q2 2014).

The general feeling is that the market has turned a corner and the prices will not fall from here.

We have just launched the La Comtesse apartments on our website. They are located in the very centre of St Gervais village and will benefit from 2.5% fees.

Appt. La Comtesse, #1, 1 bedroom and 189 000€

Appt. La Comtesse, #2, 3 bedrooms and 395 000€

Appt. La Comtesse, #4, 3 bedrooms and 415 000€

Appt. La Comtesse, #6, 5 bedrooms and 650 000€

Does my catered chalet have to be in the ski resort?

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Location, Location Location.

I’ve just answered a question from one of our clients about the location for a catered ski chalet. I thought I would expand on it here.

Qu. Rates aside is there any demand for the quieter out-of-town chalet or do 90% of holiday makers want the bright-lights?
The closer to town the better for your own logistics and also to improve your retention rate. You can always attract the first time customers with good marketing and price but long term a small business has to have a good repeat business rate. Though there is a section of the market that will stick with amazing service and an out-of town location but overall you’ll make life hard for yourselves.

Qu. We always do self-catered these days as we like mooching around town and looking in the shops. But things may be different in a catered chalet. Families may want the quieter place and never go out? There are many different kinds of people so we don’ t have to appeal to everyone but what is the accepted logic of chalet business please ?
This is a funny one but although there are many types of skier you’ll find you will attract a certain sort. The customers will react to where and how you advertise and they will tend to conform to the image you project, as an example if your advertising says “family friendly” and has lots of pictures of kids, you’ll attract the families and not too many single travellers! On the question “will they go out”, given the opportunity a family will. There are always things to do and see in a ski village and most families don’t survive well cooped up. Though saying that if they have no choice and they are prepared with games and DVD’s a spacious chalet is fine too.

Qu. Morzine or Chatel? We have only experienced the Morzine side so are interested in Les Gets/Morzine/St Jean D’aulps. Are we missing a trick? Is there good business opps in Chatel or Abondance? Much quieter though and quite far away in the car I think?
As ski destinations go, Morzine, Les Gets and Chatel are on a par, Morzine and Les Gets have become more well known over the last 10 years, I don’t really know why, the upshot is that it is easier to sell a holiday but that there is now more competition! You can run a catered chalet business in the likes of Abondance and St Jean d’Aulps but I think you’ll find it harder in the long term. Watching the businesses in these places (and I live in St Jean d’Aulps) the majority (not all) tend to gravitate to the bright lights eventually (or give up). It may be that they started in the satellite towns, built up some expertise/clientèle and contacts and that gave them the leg up into the well known areas and that’s fine. Knowing this though, I would be tempted to start in the main town and if I can’t buy, rent.

Some background. Morzine, Les Gets and Chatel are in the Portes du Soleil. I’ll list the main towns (more correctly Ski Stations or Ski Resorts) in bold and then the outlying villages.

Morzine, followed in order of popularity with ski holiday operators > > Cote d’Arboz/Essert Romand, St Jean d’Aulps and then Le Biot.

Les Gets probably has the same satellite towns as Morzine.

Chatel followed by La Chapelle d’Abondance, Abondance

Then of course there is the Grand Massif. Samoens is a popular town and has satellite towns of Morillon and then Verchaix. Les Carroz has Arâches La Frasse.

Over in the Mont Blanc region we have Chamonix, it’s “villages” have grown up somewhat so Les Houches and Argentière are both in bold, Vallorcine is still an outlying village and Servoz even more so. Don’t forget St Gervais and Les Contamines and Megève (it’s unlikely you’ll be starting a business there!) which has outlying villages of Combloux and Cordon.

In the Aravis there is the Grand-Bornand which has Entremont and Le Petit-Bornand and La Clusaz has St Jean de Sixt, Thones and Manigod.

We have chalets for sale in all the above resorts. Many of them would be suitable as properties to be run as a chalet business. As an example here is Chalet Ancolie, situated in La Clusaz, 8 bedrooms, walking distance from the ski lift and for sale at 1 490 000 €uros. Click on the picture for further details.

New Alpine Property kit

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Skiing Evasion all kitted up. By Sarah Watts

Yesterday was one of those days that captured so many of the reasons why I have chosen the Alps and more specifically St Gervais, as my home. It was a crisp, blue-sky, January day, with no one on the pistes, not a single lift queue and perfect snow.

It would have been rude not to, so I headed out to Cote 2000, part of the Megève-St Gervais area for a ski. Cote 2000 is linked into the Evasion domain and shares a ridge with Les Contamines ski domain, though the latter for now, is not linked into the area. It is however on the same ski pass. Views of the Mont Blanc and Chamonix massif were as dramatic as ever, the mountain restaurants as cosy as you could wish for, and I got to try out my new branded alpine-property jacket.

It was a good day!

In fact, this year if you’re heading out for a winter holiday to one of the many resorts we cover, you might just spot an alpine-property agent in their branded jackets. We’ve just had these technical mountain shells, labelled with out name and logo. They’re light-weight and comfortable yet tough enough to withstand harsh conditions and are made by directalpine. Many of the Chamonix high mountain guides choose this manufacture as their preferred kit supplier, therefore we know they’re a top product.

So, if you see us about on the mountain in our red, black or lime jackets, don’t hesitate to come and say a “hello” and introduce yourself. And, we’ll be easier to spot when we meet buyers for a visit too!

Finally, a friendly word of advice this year on snow conditions. Yesterday was perfect, but living here I get to witness the conditions over a long period of time, a luxury you don’t have if you’re just heading out for a ski holiday. Consequently, I know that the snowpack this season is very unstable, in fact one of the most unstable in decades. This is leading to an uncharacteristically high number of avalanches and with that, sadly more victims too. Of course on the piste, you’re fine but what might look like a innocuous, pristine powder run on your week’s holiday, could prove to be deadly. Know your stuff before heading off piste this winter and if you’re in any way unsure, don’t take the risk.

A couple of articles on this year’s unstable conditions can be found here:

http://pistehors.com/watch-out-say-swiss-mountain-guides-23147387.htm

http://pistehors.com/most-unstable-snowpack-for-a-decade-in-alps-23122007.htm

And the daily avalanche report is found here.

http://www.meteofrance.com/previsions-meteo-montagne/bulletin-avalanches/haute-savoie/avdept74

Alpine Property Logoed Jackets

I want to run a Chalet Business in the Alps

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I used to get asked this question twice a week.

“How do I start a chalet business in the Alps?”

I think 2005/6 was the peak. Everyone wanted to move to the Alps, sometimes it was 1 in 4 of the enquiries we received . There was a lull in interest from 2008 to 2011 but the question is returning now. Not to the same level but maybe once a week.

I have learnt over time that the question should really be phrased a bit better. Perhaps:

“how can I make a life in the Alps?”

would be more appropriate. I think the reason that most people assume a Chalet Business is the way to do it is because most people that have gone skiing have witnessed at first hand a chalet business. The holiday cost them €800 so the embryonic business plan started over the dinner table.

€800 x 10 people staying in the chalet = €8,000

€8,000 x 16 weeks for the season = €128,000

That sounds like a lot of money! There must be a margin there?

Obviously you need a chalet or even better a small hotel, then there are the usual bills, food and linen to pay for too but surely there is a fair living to be made? And that’s not including the summer business. Right, sign me up, where do I start?

Well I’ve been there. Now I earn my living from my full time job with Alpine Property I’ve also worked a couple of winter seasons, I did run a chalet business (mostly summer based) for 10 years and now I live in the Alps with my wife and 3 children. Surely living proof that it’s a good idea? Well “Yes” and “No”. I’m now going to give my advice. Feel free to take it with a pinch of salt!

My first bit of advice is “don’t do it”. Well don’t start the chalet business that is. Living in the Alps is a great idea! Have a look at your skills, can you carry them over to the Alps and keep working? That’ could be a possibility? And it might be better in the long term. There are plenty of people that live in the Alps and make a living here or based from here. These are the trades I know of:

Accountants, #pilots, #lawyers, journalists, IT experts, various consultants and #project managers, guides (walking / biking / climbing), ski instructors, electricians, carpenters, plasterers, plumbers, builders, bankers (in Geneva), doctors, nurses, #engineers, estate agents, interior designers, graphic designers, photographers, artists, writers, teachers, taxi drivers, hotels owners and hospitality workers….

The professions marked as # generally work away from home and use the Alps as a base. There are bound to be more, these are just the ones I know personally.

Alpine Property Team Meal 2011

Even with the various jobs I have mentioned there are some fairly thorny issues that you need to take into account. Living in another country is the main one. Of course there is the language but that isn’t half of it. The French have a different attitude to life and this should not be forgotten. In fact it’s crucial. Before I came out I read “60m Frenchman can’t be wrong”. I read it but I didn’t really understand it. I’m still coming to terms with that 14 years later. I’ve three observations to make on this subject.

1. France loves rules. The French pretend they don’t. The state loves rules and regulations though and as far as a profession or job goes you would be well advised to find out about the rules and work within them. In contrast the UK seems to have no rules. Commerce seems to be something that anyone can try their hand at. Not so in France.

2. France is a socialist country. When labour governed in the UK (in my lifetime) they were only pretending to socialist. When Sarko was in charge in France he was only pretending to be right-wing. The fact is it costs a fortune to run a socialist country and this will need paying for. The cost of living in France seems high compared to the UK, everything costs more (almost everything) and everything in a ski resort costs more than that! It seems that in general the French are taxed considerably more that in the UK, this means that everyone needs to charge more to break even.

3. The French value their time off. Be that eating times or weekends. Never get between the French and lunch. An Anglo Saxon might find this funny but if you are French it’s deadly serious. It becomes before business. No question.

So if you don’t feel that you can carry over your current skills and you still think running a chalet is the way forward then hang on! I’ll go on to explain some of the issues and pitfalls in the next post.

PT 2, updated in Dec 2016.

New apartment development in Samoens

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Les Rivières des Montagnes is a new development right next to the Grand Massif Express in Samoens. It’s a prime location that is hard to beat. 250m from the lift and a 5 minute walk from the centre of Samoens . In the summer it’s a great spot too, it’s next to the riverside path and only a short bike ride from the park and municipal swimming pool too.

If you look at the map below you’ll clearly see the ski lift, swimming pool and edge of Samoens village centre. I’ve marked the plot in red too.

There are 17 apartments and a ski shop in the building. Currently there are 13 apartments left to sell (as of February 2014)

We have one studio for sale 3 x 1 bedroom apartments, 3 x 2 bedroom apartments, 7 larger 2 bedroom apartments, one 3 bedroom and one 4 bedroom. I have listed them below.

#Apt 14 – studio
#Apt 4,6,9 – all 1 bedroom (#4 is SOLD)
#Apt 2,7,12 – 2 bedrooms (#7 is SOLD)
#Apt 3,5,8,10,11 – 2 bedrooms+study (#3 and #8 is SOLD)
Apt 13 – 2 bedrooms+study+store
Apt 15 – 2 bedrooms+mezz+study
#Apt 16 – 3 bedrooms + study
#Apt 17 – 4 bedrooms

#On our website

Appt. Rivières des Montagnes, 2
http://www.alpine-property.com/index.php?page=prop_1_rivieresmontagnes2

Appt 5:
http://www.alpine-property.com/index.php?page=prop_1_rivieresmontagnes3

Appt. Rivières des Montagnes, 6
http://www.alpine-property.com/index.php?page=prop_1_rivieresmontagnes4

Appt 13:
http://www.alpine-property.com/index.php?page=prop_1_rivieresmontagnes13

Appt 14
http://www.alpine-property.com/index.php?page=prop_1_rivieresmontagnes14

Appt. Rivières des Montagnes, 16
http://www.alpine-property.com/index.php?page=prop_1_rivieresmontagnes16

Appt 17:
http://www.alpine-property.com/index.php?page=prop_1_rivieresmontagnes17

The price list is available here:

Price list only

The new apartments are due to be completed by early summer 2015. That might sound like some way in the future but it’s not. Construction has just started. There will have to be a break for winter. It will restart again in the Spring of 2014, then the major works will have to be completed by the end of 2014, when you think that there are 17 apartments and a ski shop to build that’s a big job! The building will need to be watertight by the Christmas 2014 so the internal finishing can take place over the following winter for completion at the end of Spring 2015.

Here is a picture of the works up to date (Dec 2013)

and the advertising sign erected on the site.

Nordic Skiing at Le Grand-Bornand

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Last weekend (14/15 December 2013) the Grand-Bornand hosted the 3rd round (out of 9) of the Biathlon World Cup. It’s the first time for 22 years France has hosted World Cup Biathlon and so this event was a really big deal for Le Grand-Bornand and the local area. In fact as is typical with these events it was named “Annecy-Le Grand-Bornand” for marketing purposes and probably because Annecy and the local region would have helped out with the 4m€ the event cost to host.

Nordic skiing is well known in France but it’s not the money spinner that it is in places like Norway, Sweden, Russia, Germany and Italy. The French star is Martin Fourcade, he’s been world champion 4 times and is a very consistent performer at World Cup level. He’s a household name in some of the countries I’ve already mentioned and well known in the XC-Ski community in France.

Le Grand-Bornand set up a course and stadium just a few moments walk from the town centre, the kept it nice and compact so it was easy for spectators to get a view, wander around and visit the town too. Apparently this isn’t the norm in cross-country skiing as often these events are held in the middle of nowhere with few facilities. The weather played it’s part too. It had been very cold in the bottom of the valleys in the preceding few weeks so they had perfect conditions to make snow ready for the event, all 4 days were clear and sunny so it could not have been better. The locals formed an army of over 500 volunteers to help the 24,000 paying spectators that turned up over the 4 days. I went along for the final day which was a sell-out with 7,500 spectators in the stadium and viewing areas and plenty of others around the course. We had been warned of traffic chaos and we were prepare to take one of the many navettes laid on for the day. In the end we arrived so early that we were able to park adjacent to the course and walk the few yards into town for a coffee.

My family has a little experience already when it comes to watching these events. One of the hardest things to deal with is the inevitable cold. It takes some quite specialist cold weather clothing to deal with being static for hours in sub zero temperatures. The next thing is some idea of the format of the events. Like with many sports if you have no knowledge of what is going on the spectacle can be rather meaningless. We went to watch the “pursuit” races. Full details can be found on Wikipedia . Basically the competitors start times are separated by their time differences from the sprint race the day before. Thankfully the skier crossing the finish line first is the winner. They skied 12.5 kilometres over five laps; there are four shooting bouts (two prone, two standing), and each miss means a penalty loop of 150 m. This penalty loop takes about 20 seconds. In theory the race could be a procession but in practice it’s not. It’s very difficult to achieve a clean sweep on the shooting so in reality the positions are changing constantly throughout the race. If you are in the stadium all this is visible, it’s very intense and never boring!

I did keep an eye out for some of the properties we have for sale around the village. I spotted Chalet Fleur de Neige overlooking the town and right in the centre the Apartment de la Place. You can see them all on our property map.

Skiing and Saving: Renting your Alpine Property!

The apartment itself is set up for the rental market and has a solid existing client base, as well as a website that can be transferred to the new owner. With about €14,500 taken in bookings already for the season 2013/14 (which would be passed directly to the new owner), this property comes with a guaranteed return-on-investment of 5% GROSS ROI for the coming season.. That’s 10 times better than the Bank of England’s rate!

Chalet Frollie: €695,000 This 5 bedroom, 4 bathroom chalet is perfect for the rental market. Low maintenance, it means that management from afar is very low-hassle. Less than 5 minutes walk from the nearest ski-lift and the village centre ensures all the action is nearby, but the chalet itself is in a nice quiet neighbourhood. Perfect for family rentals! With an annual turnover close to €35,000, a solid client base and an established website, this chalet also offers a fabulous investment opportunity.

If you’d like to know what the annual costs are associated with these rentals please let me know via the contact form on our website. This will make the NET ROI easy to work out. It’ll beat the current rate of inflation which is 2.4% and that leaves capital appreciation which is doing well at the moment.

With the massive growth seen lately in road biking and triathlon holidays boosting summer rentals, and the well established family and mountain biking holidays the investment potential of a property in the Alps can only continue to grow!

We’ve written an article here on the different ways to gain a rental return.

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