1.    What type of investment should you make?

There are three possible types of buying in the French Alps:

- The purchase of a holiday home for personal purposes exclusively
- A purely financial investment
- A mixed investment with profitability (by letting) and personal occupancy

2.   How would you use the apartment?

If you want immediate profit coupled with long term investment you should buy with a Leaseback scheme! It is the purchase of an accommodation in a new touristic residence, that is to say a residence with fully equipped apartments (kitchen and bathroom), ready to live in, usually offering recreational facilities such as sauna, swimming pool, fitness rooms, etc. The buyer signs a commercial lease with the residence manager for a minimum length of 9 years (renewable). During this time, the management company collects the rents, is in charge of the usual maintenance and everything that concerns marketing to find tenants. A share of the rents is then paid to the owner, according to the purchase agreement he chose: either a purely financial purchase (the owner receives therefore the maximum profitability for the accommodation) or a mixed purchase (the manager deducts the number of weeks the owner used for his own leisure from the rent he should have received with a pure investment option). The maximum occupancy rate is usually 8 weeks (but can be up to 6 months), but it is advised not to exceed too many weeks, otherwise the profitability become too low. These terms (number of week and their distribution) must be determined in the contract with the agent and the management company. It is important to note that there is a possibility at the contract renewal (after 9 or 11 years) to modify the personal occupancy and the rent paid accordingly.

With this type of purchase (LMNP), the property is financially depreciated because the leaseback enables to collect rents which will not be taxed for the next 20 years (it uses complex French tax calculation which is taken care of by a French accountant for €280/year).

With a French leaseback LMNP scheme, the owner can use his property up to 6 months per year.

3.   Which return do you expect from your investment?

Usually, the profitability fluctuates between 3.5 and 4.5% according to the development, the location and the potential future capital appreciation. The difference between the yields comes from the price of the lands, not the rents, which are roughly equivalents for the same types of estate with equivalent locations.

4.   Where to invest in priority ?

Be careful not to buy anywhere! Pay attention to investments in ski resorts where the prices rose sharply recently and are now at the “maximum of the maximum”. On the contrary, it is advised to look around alpine resorts at high altitude, where the prices haven’t reached their maximum potential yet, such as Les Arcs, Tignes, and Les Ménuires. Or the resorts linked to a major ski domain.

You should notably favour the resorts located at least 1,800m high. All the consulted experts agreed on this: it is necessary to give priority to the high altitude resorts, which will offer – a priori – a good snow cover for a long time again. Some prefer the North Alps (Haute Savoie), offering a better snow covering rate considering their aspect. The director of the Pierre-Simon Laplace Institute considers that if the weather becomes warmer, the average snow cover rate will raise from 100 to 150 metres every 1°C. According to him, 2°C temperature increase will be overtaken in 30 years.

Think about alternatives to ski. « People’s habits have completely changed » says Pascale Jallet. People skiing all day long become scarce. Consequently, you should better choose a resort which diversifies its activities.

5.   Finally, will your investment be as interesting as a seaside investment?

Despite the crisis, the resorts occupancies in the Alps are always close to 100%. Besides, as the buildable lands in the mountain become rare, mountain properties promise a good price resistance to economic fluctuations. It is possible to make interesting investment profits in ski resorts which are relatively preserved from the global warming: numerous tourists go there, and as a consequence, rents will rise in the future. It could be profitable as well to avoid some resorts in a too low altitude. Jim Beattie favours an investment combining pleasure and profitability, so that the owners also enjoy their holiday home.

Source : www.challenges.fr

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Today, leisure extends into all sectors including real estate. During your French holidays, it is now very easy to take part in an activity even if you have never practised it before: it is an opportunity to discover France as you’ve never seen it before.

Whether indoor or outdoor, in summer or winter, here is a list of activities you could enjoy:

=> In the countryside:

Country leasebacks are also often close to the seaside. Hence, you can find many leasebacks on the French Riviera set at most 30 miles away from the sea. With good weather, you will find residences where you can find the following:

-          Football pitches

-          Badminton courts

-          Tennis courts

-          Dance floors

-          Swimming pool: either for swimming, diving or water polo…

-          Horse-riding: particularly when your apartment is located near a forest and part of a beautiful landscape, as local tourism is working well these days thanks to such small scale attractions.

Should you have a river or lake a stone’s throw from your residence, you could even practise canoe, kayak, rafting or pedalo boat…

=> In the ski resorts:

In the mountains whether in the summer or the winter, you’ll always be able to enjoy what nature has to offer.

Winter activities:

Of course, the first activity that comes directly to mind is skiing or snowboarding. Moreover, 99% of French ski resorts also offer sleigh rides! It is an opportunity to discover the mountainous landscape in an entirely new way  . And when it’s cold outside, luxury leasebacks often include well-being centres with fitness, spa, sauna and hammam.

Summer activities:

It is worth trying paragliding or hang-gliding in summer to take in the landscape as well as to literally get a breath of fresh air (in summer, temperatures in the mountains can reach up to 40 degrees in the shade). Another way to admire the landscape is by  helicopter ride, an experience you shouldn’t miss.

If you are used to teeing off like Lee Westwood or Ian Poulter, you will find a golf course in every ski resort in the French Alps. Unfortunately, on account of the huge amount of space needed for a golf course, it is still rare to find an 18-hole in a resort.

=> By the seaside:

By the seaside, apart from the pleasures of sunbathing, there are various clubs offering afternoons of deep-sea diving! Discover the ocean floor and observe marine animals in their natural environment (fishes, algae, coral reefs…).

If you are ready to show off your prowess, show off by windsurfing, water skiing or kite surfing along the beaches.

-> Don’t believe that these sports are reserved for a certain category of people who can afford them. You can actually take lessons at prices far lower than you’d think. You don’t have to go to every class if you don’t want to. Although the more you go the quicker you’ll pick up the sport.

You’re on holiday, so have fun!

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You know it’s that time of year again when we start mentioning the first snow of the season. Often it falls a little later in the year, towards the end of November or the beginning of December, so could we see this as an auspicious sign for a good ski season in the Alps?

The honour of the first snow this year fell to Risoul, a ski resort in the Hautes Alpes, part of the Foret Blanche domain with neighbouring Vars. The 185 km domain (108 runs taking in 20 green, 43, blue, 35 red and 10 black) is one of the most beautiful skiable areas of the southern Alps, with over 300 sunny days a year, stunning panoramas and recent modernisation meaning queues are a thing of the past. Indeed its 50 ski lifts (ski tows, chair lifts and a cable car) make sure of that. Here you can practise alpine skiing, snowboarding, snow shoeing, sledging, dog sledding, and test out the snow park and snow mobiles in winter. In summer try horse riding, trekking, mountain biking, tennis, archery, volley ball, paragliding and rock climbing.

In these stunning surroundings, Sextant brings you a unique ski in ski out leaseback residence of chalets, complete with pool and fitness centre (ref 34208). It offers you a great investment with up to 4% yield, guaranteed rental income, VAT cash back and the possibility of occupancy too.
However if you sign today you will probably not be able to make use of it this coming February in the school holidays, but will have to wait until next ski season.

If you’re impatient to get out onto the slopes, then how about one of our apartments in Les Arcs, for instance a studio apartment with pretty views in a ski in/ski out residence, priced at €55,500 (ref 33076)? If you’re after slightly more space, a 2 bed apartment with balconies and views over the slopes could be ideal, and is a reasonable €220,000 (ref 19216). Tignes also has a number of ski in/ski out apartments, such as a studio apartment to refresh, ideal as a first investment at €55,000 (ref 33324), or a studio with a mezzanine, a balcony and ski locker at €85,000 (ref 29551).

To find out more about our extensive portfolio of properties in the Alps, from studios to chalets and investment developments, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

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The Eurostar is arguably one of the best inventions of the 20th century – it is without a doubt the best and easiest way to hop between London and Paris. It is sleek. It is comfortable. It is fast. It is entirely carbon neutral. It is very, very stylish. And, from the 19th December 2009 and the 17th April 2010, it can whisk you from St. Pancras International or Ashford International to the ski resorts of Moutiers, Aime-la-Plagne and Bourg-St-Maurice at a seriously speedy 186 miles per hour. If booked early enough, prices are competitive – a Standard class return journey begins at £149, while a Leisure Select ticket, including meals, drinks and extra comfortable seating, starts at £229 return. One of the many advantages of using the Eurostar Snow Train service is that it deposits you on the doorstep of your resort – it is merely a case of hopping on the train in London or Kent, settling back to enjoy the stunning scenery, then hopping off the train at the other end, ready and raring to hit the slopes. Either opt for the day train, which departs from St. Pancras at 10am and arrives at its last stop in Bourg-St. Maurice in time for dinner around 8 hours later, or the overnight train which leaves at 8.30pm and arrives at 6.30am, allowing you time to grab breakfast before hitting the slopes. It is worth taking into consideration the fact that if you decide to travel on the night train in both directions, it will allow you to spend eight days on the slopes rather than the usual six. Those travelling with children needn’t worry about sharing the train with crowds of drunken revellers, either – Eurostar will be imposing limitations on the amount of alcohol passengers can bring onto the train with them, so a restful journey is assured. Snow Train passengers also benefit from an increased luggage allowance, allowing you to pack clothing and equipment for the whole family without resorting to wearing it.

For avid skiers looking to invest in the French property market, there is plenty of affordable accommodation in the most popular Alpine resorts, conveniently located for the Snow Train service. Fully furnished leaseback apartments in a new 4 star development in Les Arcs cost between €222k and €428k, have between one and three bedrooms, and come with access to a superb leisure complex including a swimming pool, sauna, hammam, jacuzzi and fitness room. The complex is a stone’s throw away from the station in Bourg-St. Maurice, the last stop for the Eurostar Snow Train, making it unbelieveably easy to travel from the UK in comfort without having to haul mountains of ski equipment between the airport and your resort. As all the leaseback apartments come with a guaranteed return on your investment of between 3.8% and 2.5%, dreams of a cosy apartment in a winter wonderland have the potential to become a reality.

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