We’ve owned properties there now for 4 years and the demand for our holiday properties has increased massively over that time. When we first advertised there were only 11 competing properties that we could find on the web.  Now (2011) there are over 200 and we are still experiencing more demand than we can satisfy over the summer period. We have added 25 properties to our Silver Coast property portfolio from investor owners (and our own properties) in the past 2 years. To see the portfolio visit http://www.rental-retreats.co.uk/rental-properties

Our own holiday apartments are by the beach in Sao Martinho Do Porto and Nazare on the Silver Coast. That’s just an hour drive away from Lisbon airport which is served by many airlines. It’s a 2.5 hour flight from London and typically costs between £55-£180 for a return flight. Thankfully because Lisbon itself is popular throughout the year it means our holiday makers can also get across off season and some prefer to do this to avoid the very hot weather. This gives us the opportunity to sell more weeks throughout the year. Last year our properties sold an average of 25 weeks.  

Unlike the Algarve the Silver Coast is still very Portuguese and it benefits from a long history making the region interesting and beautiful. And because it is being discovered a little later than the Algarve it also means that learnings that have taken place in the Algarve have been applied to the Silver Coast from the start. For example there are strict planning laws restricting most buildings to two stories. Whilst there are higher buildings they do not dominate the landscape and you can still appreciate the greenery all around.

Given how strapped for cash many of us are recently you would have thought that holidays abroad would be considered as a luxury. However this doesn’t seem to have affected demand for our properties in Sao Martinho Do Porto and Nazare. We’re not quite sure why that is but we guess it’s a combination of factors – because flights are relatively inexpensive, the food and drink is the cheapest in Western Europe and because more families are clubbing together to stay in a rental villa or apartment rather than looking at more expensive individual holidays in hotels.

Then we come on to the Portuguese themselves. What a lovely nationality! The Portuguese have welcomed us very warmly and there is generally a strong bond between the British and the Portuguese. This makes it great for us but also great for the other British families that stay in our apartments and villas.

As an investor in terms of your costs you can expect to pay very little by equivalent to council tax – we pay around €400 a year. Gas and electricity are about the same but you’ll also save on areas such as key changing fees and cleaning charges. There also seems to be capital gains tax advantages with Portuguese properties although you’ll need to speak to your accountant for more information about this.    

Now although all of this was very important to us as investors it was really something else that made us buy. And that is the Silver Coast itself! It has wonderful soft sandy beaches, great Portuguese restaurants, stunning castles and cobbled street towns, a beautiful, green countryside, lots of sunshine & sunsets and plenty of delicious wine. It’s the sort of place you want to just kick off your shoes and relax for a while – we do that regularly.  It isn’t overcrowded or overbearing. That’s why we have guests coming back each year and why we believe it’s really worth a look if you are an investor.

If you want to ask a question on the area just post it here.

Important Holiday Information

 <<Name of property, location, country>>

Please print and take with you

YOUR ARRIVAL 

We hope you are looking forward to your holiday booked with us. We hope you have a lovely time.

Please print this document as it contains important information about your holiday.

The person that manages the holiday property <<name of property>> is  <<name of local management company and name of person>> .

Their mobile and other numbers are:

 <<name>> <<mobile and landline>>

<<name>> <<mobile and landline>>

Their email address is: <<email>>   

Please call <<who>> when you are <<where – i.e an hour away, when you arrive at the airport  etc>>

Or please come to the office at <<where>> at <<what times>>

If you have any trouble getting through to the Management company then please contact us at <<where>> on:

<<Your name>> <<Your phone numbers>>

If other guests are using the apartment on the day that you arrive, you can check-in after <<time>>. If no other guests have used the apartment on the day that you arrive you can access the apartment at an earlier time however please contact us or the local management company to arrange this.

Departure is by <<time>> but again we can be flexible if no other guests are due to arrive on that day.

However if you arrive later than <<time>> or earlier than <<time>> then <<what are the implications>>. You should <<what should they do?>>

The address of your holiday rental property <<name of property>> is:

<<ADDRESS 1>>

<<ADDRESS 2>>

<<TOWN>>

<<COUNTRY>>

<<POSTCODE>>

DIRECTIONS

From airports or major routes

<<insert directions>>

When you get close

<<insert directions>>

What to do when you arrive 

<<insert instructions>>

<<Insert Google map highlighting the main points of interest>>

YOUR DEPARTURE

The departure time is at <<time> if there is a cross over of guests that day. If not, your departure time can be later but please arrange that with us or the local management company.

Where possible <<name>> will meet you on departure. If not <<what will happen?>>

Please place the keys on the <<where>> before leaving and << what else – i.e ensure that the front door is shut firmly and securely behind you>>.

<<What else should they do? Turn off gas, elec or close blinds for example? >> 

INSIDE THE PROPERTY

Please make yourselves at home! Have a look through the cupboards to familiarise yourself with the contents of the property. The property should be clean with clean bedding on the beds and clean towels in the cupboards. If you find anything to not be to your satisfaction please inform <<name of local management company>> immediately when you arrive at the apartment.  

Kitchen  

<<What is there in the kitchen and is there any guidance needed?>>

Lounge/Dining Room

<<What is there in the kitchen and is there any guidance needed?>>

Bedrooms/ Bathrooms

<<What is there in the bedrooms and bathrooms and is there any guidance needed?>>

Outdoor furniture, balconies etc

<<What is there outdoors and is there any guidance needed?>>

<<for example “When using the balconies please be careful not to shut the sliding door behind you completely or it may lock you out if the catch is on. Similarly be careful to ensure all sliding doors are locked before leaving the apartment.”>>

Smoking

Please do not smoke in the apartment. Feel free to smoke outside but please dispose of cigarette ends responsibly.

Towels

The towels provided are for use in the apartment. Please provide your own towels for use on the beach.

Parking

<<What is the guidance around parking and how to get into private garages for example>>

Other Facilities

 <<Any guidance needed – pool, tennis court, shutters, ski equipment, ski lift, other equipment that can be used?>>

<< for example “There are shutters on all windows. We recommend you leave these shut in the day if you are out so the apartment remains secure and cool. Please be sure to close all the shutters when you finish your holiday.”>>

Heating / Air conditioning

<<what is there and how is it used? Is there a charge for this?>>

<<for example “The apartment benefits from air conditioning, please feel free to use heating / air conditioning when necessary – you can find a simple switch on the kitchen wall”>>

Knacks

<<anything with a peculiarity about it? A key that needs you to pull the door towards you for example>>

Water Leak

If you have a leak of water then please turn the water tap off and call the management company immediately. The water tap can be found at <<where>>.

Also water can be individually isolated (i.e. there are valves on the pipes leading to the sinks / toilets which can be turned to prevent water getting to the unit).

Spillages

Please use the coasters for drinks on the furniture. Please be quick to clean up any spillages to help prevent damage.

Bins

There are bins and recycling <<where? >> 

Supermarkets

For a large supermarket go <<where>>

For a small convenience shop go <<where>>

Restaurants & Bars

Particular specialities of the area are <<what are they?>>
 

Of particular note are the following restaurants:

<<name of restaurant>> – <<where is it>> – <<what does it serve and how expensive is it?>>

<<name of restaurant>> – <<where is it>> – <<what does it serve and how expensive is it?>>

<<name of restaurant>> – <<where is it>> – <<what does it serve and how expensive is it?>>

 
Also you should try these bars:

<<name of bar>> – <<where is it>> – <<what does it serve and how expensive is it?>>

<<name of bar>> – <<where is it>> – <<what does it serve and how expensive is it?>>

<<name of bar>> – <<where is it>> – <<what does it serve and how expensive is it?>>

Doctor

If you need to see a doctor during your stay you can call << who>> on <<what number>> The doctor can speak <<which languages>>. Alternatively you can visit the clinic <<where>>. The address of the clinic is:

<<ADDRESS 1>>

<<ADDRESS 2>>

<<TOWN>>

<<COUNTRY>>

<<POSTCODE>>

Hospital

<< how far in kms>> at <<which town>>

Emergency Fire, Ambulace, Police

112

Hire Car

Try www.opodo.co.uk or www.travelsupermarket.co.uk. 

Coming without a car?

General Public transport details: <<bus, train, taxi information>>

Getting to the property by public transport: <<detail>>

 Locality

What to do in the local area:

<<List these and include distances and phone numbers of tourist information>>

WE HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR HOLIDAY!

<<Your name or your business e.g Antony Masters, Rental Retreats, www.rental-retreats.co.uk >>

Here are a few tips:

Sofa bed!

Even if you’ve decided to cap the number of guests in your home you should still think about getting a sofa bed. That way when brother and sister refuse to share the same twin room your guests have the option to let them fight out the room or the lounge. There are plenty of examples we’ve seen where the guests would prefer to split out to sleep in individual rooms, such as a group of friends for example. A sofa bed doesn’t cost much and you’ll see the return.

Twins and Doubles

1 bedroom house – we recommend a double bed in the bedroom and a sofa bed in the lounge. For a large one bed put a z bed (compact folding bed) in the cupboard for use either in the lounge or bedroom.

2 bedroom house – we recommend a large double bed in the main bedroom (or the one with the best view). And twin beds in the second bedroom. You should try to buy matching twin beds that can be pushed together. We would be as specific to say that on your advert too. That way you’ll still appeal to two sets of couples. We would definitely include a sofa bed in the lounge and a z bed that can be used in any room. You should be careful to specific the maximum number of guests though.

3 bedroom house or larger – here we recommend you follow the rules of the 2 bedroom place. However if you have enough room we would recommend that your extra room contains a double and a single room. That would appeal to a couple with a small child travelling with friends. If all rooms are small we would recommend a small double in the third bedroom. Keeping one or two z beds in the cupboards.

Seating and extra bits and pieces

When you decide what the maximum number of guests will be for your holiday home you should think about what that number of people will need. For example we have a 3 bedroom property in Portugal that can sleep 10 – see it at http://www.rental-retreats.co.uk/rental-properties/properties-in-sao-martinho-do-porto/palm-tree which means we need more seating possibilities for our guests. Therefore we have 3 large sofas in the lounge and reclining chairs that can be brought through to the lounge. The dining table can seat 8 but there is enough space at the table to seat 10 by bringing in two garden chairs. We have also increased other equipment and facilities such as cutlery, placemats, towels, bedding and glasses. It will cost you more, and you need a good storage system, but it’s worth it!

Bathrooms

If you still have a choice about the home you choose or the facilities it has in its bathrooms then we would recommend the following…

1 -2 bedroom holiday home – needs one bathroom with bath and shower over (electric), WC and sink and preferably a separate bathroom with WC and sink.

3-4 bedroom holiday home – needs one full bathroom with bath and shower over (electric), WC and sink and an additional bathroom (even if it’s en-suite) with a shower, toilet and sink.

For anything bigger than 4 bedrooms we would recommend at least 3 bathrooms. 2 bathrooms with bath and shower over (electric), WC and sink and a third shower room with WC, sink.

By just putting a bit of thought into it you can make sure your holiday home is as flexible as possible for your guests and secure more bookings. Good luck.

As we understand it with the proposed changes you can still receive the tax benefits you currently enjoy but you might need to let your property to the public for longer.

According to the news article currently your must property must be available to let for 140 days and you should provide proof that the property has been let for 70 days per year to qualify for better tax benefits.

However if the government go ahead with its consultation (written 2010)  then holiday home owners will need to let their property for at least 105 days and make their property available to let for 210 days in Financial year starting April 2011.

Whilst there is no denying this is significant and a pain for holiday home owners like us – in real terms it constitutes additional bookings amounting to just 35 days (5 weeks) per year. It means now rather than selling 10 weeks per year you’ll need to sell 15.

This might not be a huge problem for many holiday home owners if your property has a particular and reliable peak season or if it’s very busy all year. However the difficulty might arise for those where the location has not yet become an established popular holiday spot, or where accessibility flights or otherwise limits your bookings. Or indeed if you use your property yourself at peak season or lend it to your family and friends over this period.

We might be able to help you work out how many weeks can be realistically sold for your holiday home if it’s somewhere in Europe so please get in touch of you’d like some advice Antony Masters  – info@rental-retreats.co.uk.

It’s worth noting that this change may not even happen – it is still a ‘consultation’ so we’ll have to see what happens in April 2011. However you should be warned that if it does happen then according to the article it will cover all holiday homes owned by all UK taxpayers across the 30 countries in the European Economic Area.

As a preventative measure you should bear this in mind for your summer bookings in 2011 as if these fall after April this year they will be subject to whatever new tax laws come into place. If you rely on getting bookings lined up before April then you might want to start thinking about how you can sell more weeks right now.

So at least for now (2010-2011) we can continue to benefit from the tax rules as they stand and as defined in the BBC article by Stephan Barratt from James Cowper Accountants below.

“the ability to offset excess property expenses, including mortgage interest, against other income at the landlord’s highest rate of income tax”

“a capital gains tax (CGT) rate of just 10% on profits realised on the sale of the property”

“the ability to defer CGT by reinvesting into new qualifying property, and to make gifts within the family without a CGT charge”

The opinions expressed here are for general information only and do not constitute investment, tax, legal or other form of advice. You should not rely on this information to make (or refrain from making) any decisions. We are holiday home owners ourselves so these are our own thoughts.

Now what?

Well here’s what we do if it helps.

Sometimes there can be a little language barrier to overcome with bookings which is worth noting. If you’ve received an email out of the blue requesting to book your holiday home we would recommend you reply to double check that they would like to go ahead with the booking. In this email you should mention the dates, the total price, and a link back to the property on the website from which they enquired. We would also double check how many people they intend to stay at the property and check on any special requirements which they may have specified. Checking guest numbers is important – we had a request for a group to book that were intending to bring 16 people into a 3 bedroom apartment. You should also be aware of spam fake bookings designed to capture your email address or worse. Come back to the site next week and I’ll share an email we received this week along these lines!  

The next step is to be absolutely sure that you still have availability. You may have reserved the apartment for others whilst a group decision is made. To be absolutely sure we have four mechanisms – an excel colour coded calendar, the online calendars on the third party websites and our own website and each booking or reservation has a unique line in our excel spreadsheet. We check against all of these and we also email the management agency immediately following the booking so they too can cross reference the dates.

Then if you’re sure they’re sure they want to book, and that you want to accept the booking, then we would send an email thanking the guest for their booking reiterating the dates, the arrival and departure times, the payment methods and dates, a link back to the apartment so there is no confusion, and our contact details. Here is an example template for a holiday home booking email. Please note this does not constitute a legally binding document and we recommend you do speak to a local solicitor to draw something up which is signed by the guests and returned to you.

Dear <name of the guest> many thanks for your booking. I have reserved the property <name of property> for you.

Your holiday is from the <full date including year> to <full date including year> and will cost < price including the correct currency> plus a <any other category of charges i.e cleaning charge> of <cost of any additional charges including currency>. (note here you may need some charges to be payable on arrival or departure so be specific) 

Arrival can be from <times at which arrival is allowed – reiterating the date> and departure is by <the time of departure is by – reiterating the date>

Here is a link back to the property- <insert URL to property i.e http://www.rental-retreats.co.uk/rental-properties/properties-in-sao-martinho-do-porto/bay>

All we need from you now to secure the booking is a deposit of <amount needed in the right currency> which we require within <number of days/weeks>. We will reserve the apartment for you for <what is the date you need the deposit by> whilst we await your deposit.

The balance of <how much is left to pay in which currency> is due by <the full date by which you need to balance>. We will also need a breakages deposit of <full amount by currency if you need a breakages deposit> which we will return to you as soon as possible after your holiday provided there have been no significant damage caused to the apartment or its contents.

We would be grateful if you could include the deposit when you pay the final balance. Please also provide us with your bank details for the return transfer of your deposit or your home address for a cheque. 

We can receive funds by <how can you be paid? – by cheque or by electronic transfer, pay pal?>. Our bank details are as follows:

Bank name

Account name

BIC / SWIFT No

IBAN

Sort code

Account No

Please ensure that you mark your payment with a reference as your full name so we know it’s from you. Alternatively please send a cheque to <your full postal address>

Please also see the attached contract <you would need to see a local solicitor for this> which we would need you to sign and return to us by <full date you need it by>

I have attached a copy of our information pack which includes address, directions and local places of interest. Please have a read through the pack and print off a copy to take with you as it is important information for your holiday. 

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions.

Thank you very much for choosing to stay in our holiday home, we hope that you have a fantastic holiday! 

<your name>

<your contact details including mobile phone>

<the management company phone number in the local area if appropriate>

Once your email booking has been sent we recommend updating all calendars, telling the management company by email about the booking and any special requirements so you have a record, updating your excel spreadsheet or system and setting up alerts for yourself around deposit and final payment dates. We colour code our spreadsheets based on these two stages of payment so we can quickly see where we need to chase payments.

Information we record in this spreadsheet is below:

• Email address of renter
• Full name of renter
• Languages spoken
• Phone number of the renter – ask for mobile if you don’t have it as you won’t be able to get them on their home number when they are at your holiday home!
• Which property they have booked if you have more than one
• Dates of booking
• Colour coded calendar also showing the booking
• Received contract back check box? (if appropriate)
• Sent holiday information pack check box (which includes the arrival and location detail)
• Date and amount of deposit needed
• Date and amount of full balance needed
• Whether a security deposit is needed, the amount and by when
• The bank details of the renter to return the security deposit
• Number of guests
• Any special needs or agreements

Check back to the site when I’ll share what you need to include in your holiday information pack. Hope this is useful.

Jenny Masters

The truth that we came to realise quite early on is that some guests that won’t treat your home as you would. The trick is to recognise this, make your peace with it, and set up your home appropriately.

It doesn’t meaning buying cheap things as this will generally only go against you. Cheap furniture, utensils and linen probably won’t stand the test of time given the use and abuse it might endure and what’s worse is that you won’t know about it until you go to use the property yourself. By which time you may have already disappointed guests in between. Also your guests will know when you’ve cut corners and are more likely not to respect the holiday home. Think robust quality and you’ll be on the right tracks.

So here is our advice for when you’re planning the big shop!

1. We only buy ‘white’ for bed linen and things like tea towels for the kichen – they can be bleached! You could also buy black for towels but be warned the fluff can get everywhere!
2. Buy mattress protectors for the beds – this one is really important because any stain in a holiday rental place is suspicious to new guests and not very nice to arrive to.
3. Leather sofas – not fabric. Or fabric that can be washed at high temperatures – same goes for the dining chairs.
4. Glass not wood dining table. Glass will get scratched but is less likely to look as bad as a chip board table that could chip easily (unless it’s very good quality) or a wood table might get stained/ burnt. Same goes for coffee tables making sure that they don’t have sharp corners if you are catering for the family market.
5. Rust proof outdoor furniture – not wood again. Wood needs annual staining to keep it weather proof – do you want to give yourself jobs like this when you are out there on hols?
6. Good quality kitchen pans and cutlery etc but if you have a dish washer then everything should be dishwasher safe – your guests won’t read the pans to check.
7. Fire extinguisher and blanket – obvious reasons.
8. Good mats inside and outside the doors for dirty feet – particularly if you have carpets.
9. A cupboard full of free cleaning materials, hover, duster, bucket and mop – we buy in enough cleaning substances for the entire year.
10. Table mats and coasters that will withstand heat – you could also leave a wipe able table cloth.
11. A robust guest book and a holiday information pack in a folder with plastic sleeves so it’s less likely to be drawn on, taken, split drinks on etc.
12. Also make it easy for guests to tell you what’s wrong with the apartment with a tick sheet emailed following their stay – although be aware that this might spark your guests to look for a discount. You could leave a suggestion pot in the lounge and ask your management company to open it after each stay.
13. For loungers that you think will be moved about through the property then chose ones that are light and easy to carry to reduce damage to your walls in transit.
14. Paint the walls a fresh white colour if you can and keep pots of paint in the cupboard for touching up. Suitcases make a mess of the stairs.
15. Choose a tiled or wood floor where you can – red wine on carpets is a tricky one to get out.
16. For furniture we suggest you protect the surfaces of units but choose good sturdy furniture (wood is fine here) that looks good.
17. Keep paintings high enough not to be knocked into.
18. If you do want to use rugs then choose ones that are able to disguise small stains.
19. For the beds choose metal, not wood frames. We’ve had a number of wood bed frames that have broken which is a real pain to sort out.
20. Don’t leave precious items such as expensive vases around – instead make features of your lamps – study ones.
21. Don’t leave candles for guests to use – just in case.

We hope this helps you plan your holiday home furnishings – we live by these rules now. Good luck.

There are a fair few reasons why we don’t see the value in security deposits personally so I’m sharing those with you below.

1)      Admin and cost! To take a security deposit you’ve either got to ask for it as cash on arrival, keep it safe, and then return it on the final day (which is perhaps the easiest way if you can do this).  Or you have to ask for it electronically before the stay (which could incur a money transfer cost depending where it’s coming from), then ask your management company to do a full check (probably at an additional cost too) before reporting back to you so you can refund the guests. Refunding might mean you yourself incur a money transfer cost too. Plus if you are inspecting yourself with the cash from your guests in your hands then you’ll have to be at the property at the exact moment your guests wish to leave. That’s can be a stressful moment for renters only exasperated by you inspecting the property at that moment– plus your guests might need to catch a very early flight meaning you’d need to be there at the crack of dawn.

2)      Reduced bookings. Getting a security deposit together can be too difficult for some guests both financially and logistically. For large groups it means getting each person to contribute and then for someone to take accountability for returning the money. It’s sometimes therefore easier for your guests to choose the competition over your holiday home.

3)      Reducing likelihood of returning guests. Inspecting the property whilst your guests are still there can be a little embarrassing for you and your guests and shows a level of distrust in them by you. In many cases we’ve found that once guests find a place they like to come to they will return year on year. However they are much less likely to return to your holiday home if embarrassment was their parting memory. Your guests are much more likely to return if they feel they have a good, friendly and trusting, relationship with you or your management company.

4)      Whose fault is it anyway? Often if something does happen it will be fairly minor (in our experience) – a broken lamp or a broken chair for example and you’ve got to ask yourself whose fault is that? A guest for knocking over the vase or being too heavy handed with a chair; or you as the owner for choosing inappropriate furnishings for your holiday home? Have a look at the article on this site for how to make your holiday home robust enough for your guests and you’ll avoid buying the wrong things for your home.

5)      Insurance can cover significant damage. By buying the right insurance you can protect yourself from significant damage to your holiday home paying a small excess. Therefore do you really need a big security deposit?

6)      Risk to you and subsequent guests. If your renters think you’ll deduct their security deposit from them for something they could react in one of three ways.

One -Own up when you inspect the property and either willingly or unwillingly allow you to deduct money from the security deposit;

Two – try to hide the problem so you don’t notice it and chance their luck that you’ll return the deposit before you notice it;

Three – replace whatever it is before you get there so they know you won’t overcharge for the damage.

Now reactions Two and Three could be problematic for you. Firstly imagine the broken chair which has been propped up against a wall so you can’t see it’s broken and then imagine your next guests arriving and unwittingly sitting on it- disaster! Imagine the broken vase which has been disguised behind a plant ready for a young child to find and cut their hand on!  Reaction Three could also a problem for you – we’ve seen guests replace broken items with substandard items which don’t match the rest of what you have and you’ll be unable to deduct anything from the security deposit because the guest will feel they have already replaced the item.

Taking a security deposit can be the right thing for you to do if you think it’s likely your guests won’t respect your property. In its favour I would say it does generally encourage guests to be a little more careful but it’s worth spending a moment weighing up the pros and cons before you make a decision.

Shopping for your holiday home should be strategic – avoiding going backwards and forwards to the local supermarket or department store! If you can buy it in all one place then you’ll find it less painful I promise.

If your holiday property is abroad you may still want to consider buying everything in your home country and shipping it – just because you know where to get things! Don’t underestimate the time saving this will bring you – and possibly a cost saving too! I hope you find this list useful. If you can think of anything I should add just let me know.

Lounge / Dining
Three-seat leather sofa with sofa bed 1
Three-seat leather sofa 1
TV stand / unit 1
Occasional / Side Table 1
Wall Mirror 1
Dining Table and Chairs for 6 people 1
Large painting 1
Decorative cushions – washable covers 1
A nice heavy duty vase – make a feature of this 1
A wipe able table cloth 1
TV 1
DVD 1
CD player 1
IPod connector and cable 1
DVDs for guests to view (including children DVDs) 30
Board games and books (for all ages) Up to 30
First aid kit 1
Spare bulbs (energy saving) 10
Ceiling lights for each room and freestanding lamp in the lounge as many as rooms
Adaptors UK to region 5
Holiday Information Pack 1
Guest Book 1
Suggestion box 1
Management company business cards 50
Heavy duty mats for doors depends on how many doors
Coat stand (Metal standing or attached to wall) 1
Glass coffee table with rounded edges 1
Coasters 6
Pens 20
Notepad 4
Batteries 10
Lamps – make a feature of this 2
Rug – that hides small stains 1
Rubbish bins 4 for whole property

Bedroom 1
King-size Metal Bed 1
Bedside Cabinets 2
Bedside Lamps- make a feature of these 2
Bedroom Mirror 1
Dressing table 1
Hairdryer 1

Bedroom 2
Single Metal Bed 2
Folding Bed (giving guests flexibility) 1 or 2
Bedside Cabinets 1
Bedside Lamps – make a feature of these 1
Bedroom Mirror 1

Outdoor Furniture
Metal , non rust chairs and table for 6 – or wood if the metal will not cope with sea air 1
Umbrella if direct sunlight 1

Kitchen
Large Plates 12
Bowls 12
Small Plates 12
Knives 12
Forks 12
Desert Spoons 12
Tea Spoons 12
Wine Glasses (white) 12
Wine Glasses (red) 12
Glass Tumblers 12
Coffee Mugs & Mug Tree 12
Place Mats & Coasters – heat proof 8 each
Tupperware / storage set 1
Salt Pot 1
Pepper Pot (Grinder) 1
Knives & Block 1
Pan Set 2 large, 2 small
Frying pan 2
Ovenware with grill 1
Casserole Dish 1
Oven Gloves 1
Utensil Set 1
Mixing Bowls x 3 1
Water Serving Jug 1
Salad Bowl 2
Plastic Storage Jars 4
Colander 1
Sink Drainer 1
Chopping Board (set) 2
Dust Pan & Brush 1
Floor Brush 1
Can Opener 2
Corkscrew / Bottle Opener 2
Grater 2
Serving Trays 2
Kitchen Scissors 2
Peeler 2
Tea Towel Packs 2
Ironing Board and Iron 1
Metal Dustbin 1
Clothes Hangers 30
Clothes Horse 2
Mop and Bucket 1
Dust bin bags 5 packs
Cleaning materials – for floors, dusting, surfaces, Enough for the year
washing clothes and dishwasher, stain remover
Dry foods – coffee, pasta, pasta sauce, tea, dried milk, rice, salt, pepper Plenty!
Mosquito and other relevant fly sprays 2
Children’s beakers, knives, forks and plates 5 sets
Smoke alarms either wired in or with 10- year batteries In each room
Carbon Monoxide alarm with 10 year batteries and spare batteries 1
Fire extinguisher 1
Fire Blanket 1
Microwave 1
Kettle 1
Toaster 1
Coffee Maker 1
Ice trays 3
Bread bin 1
Egg Cups 8
Sieve 2
Dishwasher 1
Washer and Dryer 1
Fridge/ freezer (full length) 1
Oven and Hob 1
Washing up cloths and tools 10
Feather duster and duster fabric and furniture sprays 1

Bathroom
Metal Bin 1
Toilet roll holder 1 per bathroom
Towels –white 2 large and 2 small per guest
Towel holders 1 per bathroom
100 toilet rolls stored for guests 100
Tooth brush holder 1 per bathroom and toilet brush for each toilet (white)
Soap dispenser 1 per bathroom
Shower screen 1 per bath with shower over

Bedroom Linen
Mattress protectors 1 per bed
Linen for beds – either white or tasteful 2 sets per bed
Curtains – washable To dress all windows except kitchen
Duvets or blankets Suitable for each season
Pillows and pillow protectors 2 per person
Sofa bed linen, duvets and pillows To suit sofa bed

Garage or in storage
Recliner furniture (Light and foldable – not wood) 2

Hoover 1
Other garden chairs (deck chairs) 4
High chair 1
Travel cot and bedding 1
Potty 1
Stool 1
Bouncer 1
Play mat 1
Ball and other games 2
Ladder 1
Tool kit 1
Ash tray for outdoor use 2
Matches 2 packs
Torch 1

Because it’s difficult sometimes to know where to get things from (especially if your property is abroad) it’s sometimes better to collect everything at home and then ship it in one lump. We chose that route in some cases for our holiday properties in Portugal – working out more expensive overall but less running about for us.The shipping cost for 15 square metres was about £1500 door to door. Get in touch if you want us to dig out the details of the transport company we used.

Even minor items such as white tea towels for us were a nightmare to get hold of, as were smoke alarms! We gave up on both and brought these over from the UK. However don’t try to take over fire extinguishers like we did – the airlines don’t like it very much.

I am almost finished writing up a list of items we bought to furnish our apartments Bay and Palm-Tree in Sao Martinho Do Porto – see http://www.rental-retreats.co.uk/rental-properties/properties-in-sao-martinho-do-porto/palm-tree for photos. I will upload the ‘very long’ list next week so check back for this if it would be helpful.

You’ll need time to do this but you can do it from the comfort of your own home if you already have some great photos a computer and internet access!

Register with holiday rental sites

Get your home onto 2 or 3 holiday rental sites. We recommend holiday rentals.co.uk, holiday lettings.co.uk. If you have more than one holiday home then ask them for a deal! This will cost you about £300-£400 per year. Chose which ones you advertise on based on how they do when you search on Google for properties to rent in your area – plus consider how many similar properties look to be booking up well on this site. Some offer a holiday rental guarantee which might be worth considering too – you need to think like a potential guest to get this right.

Advertise with your best photos

Create your adverts using your best quality photos – the photos are the most important aspect of your advert. Don’t leave clutter around when you take your shots. Your guests know you use it as a holiday home but they don’t want to be reminded about you when they see the photos. They expect to see a show home not a comfy lounge with books and magazines falling off the sofas! See photos that work at www.rental-retreats.co.uk. You must include one of the building itself and each room or guests will think you are hiding something.

Update your adverts regularly

Make sure you update your advert regularly – especially the calendar as it will likely boost the popularity of your advert with guests, with search engines and with the rental site getting you a better position.

Create your own website

Create your own basic website and start driving traffic to it. You can buy templates for this quite easily or use a content management system like WordPress to make a basic website. You can sometimes embed a calendar from one of your adverts on the other sites so you don’t need to keep your own website updated. See how we’ve done this at www.rental-retreats.co.uk. We used WordPress for this.

Print business cards

Get some business cards created – you can get these very cheaply at www.vistaprint.co.uk and you can start giving these out to your friends and family. Warning – make sure you’ve decided whether there is a discount for friends and family and stick to that. You’ll forget what you say to people if you chop and change this. Also remember you might be counting on 90% of your income from 8 key weeks of the year. Can you afford to discount?

Advertise on your work intranet

Post adverts up on any accessible work intranet and posters on the walls of your work place if you can. We get 100 visitors a month to our site from my workplace intranet.

Add your site to any free sites online.

You’ll need to search for this on Google as if you were looking for a property yourself.

Add videos or slideshows to YouTube.

If you only have photos then use free tool http://animoto.com/ to make a 30 second free slideshow that you can upload to YouTube. Be sure to put your web address and property name as ‘Text’ on the slideshow.

Get searchable

Make sure you ‘optimise’ your website so Google finds your site. This essentially means making sure you include detailed information about the property and the area so offering high value to the people that visit your site. Make sure you include words throughout that are highly relevant to the area. The links you create to your site will make a huge difference too. Or if you can’t achieve high search engine results on Google then consider Google adwords marketing where you bid for keywords and your advert will appear on the right hand side of the screen.

Respond to enquiries within 3 hours

BIGGEST TIP OF ALL – Respond to your enquiries within 3 hours and make sure you answer all the questions well. It’s hard work keeping up with this but you are so much more likely to receive bookings if you are prompt with your response. When your time is worth more elsewhere simply get someone else to do all of the above but before you chose a third party ask them to tell you what they would do to market your property against this list!