Many purchasers try to cover some of their
annual costs by renting out their properties. If you do this on a
serious basis you will be eligible for income tax on the rental earned
depending on where you are domiciled for tax. You will also have to
charge your guests the tourist tax and pass it on to the Gemeinde.
Letting Agencies?
Most, if not all, holiday apartments in
Austria are privately owned and run. There are only a limited
number of letting agencies who are able to operate the whole thing for
you.
Some of the larger
blocks of holiday apartments in some villages have caretakers who will,
in fact, be happy to help you service a flat after guests have been and
deal with lettings, but they will expect their palms to be greased in
the appropriate manner. We know several holiday developments where this
works very well. This is probably the most practical approach
but you will usually have to set this up yourself.
Own rental property in the Salzkammergut?
If you buy, or have
bought in the Salzkammergut region, we can recommend
a reliable local business who will handle the
lettings for you. Please ask.
How much can you charge?
The
best way to get an idea of how much you can charge for your property is
to see what others in the area are charging. A good source of
information are the regional brochures from the local Tourist Office.
These list all the apartments in the area that are available to rent.
This will give you a benchmark for what you will be able to charge by
way of rental.
How many weeks will you be able to
rent out for?
Please do not ask us how many weeks you can let it,
as we sell property and don't
really rent it, and we are in no position to
advise. That said the
average occupancy rate is about 22 weeks per year.
Some of our customers have been very successful in
renting out their properties. The key to their
success is good advertising and following up
enquiries as they come in. Many have created
websites. The real growth market here is eastern
Europe and increasing numbers of visitors now come
from Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Poland,
Russia, Slovakia, and Croatia. You would do
well to create a website in those languages, as well
as English and German, however much you might wince
at the idea!
Need a website but no idea where to start?
