Although everyone looks forward to it, the annual family vacation can sometimes leave you feeling exhausted, stressed and (probably) broke, wondering why you bothered to even leave the office in the first place. In some cases, you’ll need another holiday just to get over the stress of the last one.

According to a recent study by NatWest Bank, more and more Brits are investing overseas partly to avoid the expense and stress of the annual family holiday.

Holiday Hassles
Family holidays are meant to be a time for relaxation and rejuvenation – in a place where you can unwind, away from the stress of the office. Unfortunately though, they often end up as being hugely traumatic.

The hassle and expense of organising the whole affair can be more exhausting than just spending the time in work and sticking to your usual routine.

There’s location and accommodation to consider. Then there’s flights, car rental, packing, taking the kids stuff and (nowadays) airline luggage weight restrictions. It all adds up in terms of time and money. And this is before you’ve even left. Once you get there you’ll have to work hard on not killing each other!

One thing’s for certain, if the accommodation is terrible, the holiday will be “challenging”.

Buying a holiday home
If you’re going to be going to the same holiday destination every year (like most people do) it makes sense to invest there. After all, rent is dead money.

A holiday home can be an excellent investment, cutting the stress out of the annual holiday and bringing in significant rental income for periods that you are not using it. It should just basically pay for itself.

The long-term benefits of owning a second home should greatly outweigh the initial up-front costs. You obviously won’t have to pay for your holiday accommodation anymore – a significant saving. Along with rental yields (mentioned earlier), if it’s a good quality property in a popular location it should accumulate substantial property appreciation.

So where’s popular…

Spain “tops the tables”, in terms of popularity, according to Mike Freer (Head of Business Development at NatWest International Personal Banking).

Top European Investment Locations
Spain and the Canary Islands have been firm favourites with UK investors for many years. The warm climate, friendly locals and chilled out pace of life has attracted more immigrants than any other country in European.

According to homesworldwide.co.uk, “Foreign residents now comprise almost ten per cent of the total population, adding up to 4.48 million out of a total of 14.12 million people”. Spain now has more foreign residents living in the country than Germany or the UK.

A significant proportion of these are British. Spain has a large English expat community on both the mainland and on the Canary and Balearic Islands. The numbers are growing too. Every year more and more families and young couples decide to leave the dreary UK climate and set up home in Spain. Most never look back.

Buying Property in Spain (2007)
Most experts agree that despite the recent property “crisis”, Spain and the Canary Islands still have excellent long term potential. The market is predicted to stabilize and just become more realistic.

Overbuilt tourist traps like Marbella on the Costa del Sol have been hit the worst but this vast country still has many untouched areas with plenty of fresh investment opportunities. Take the Costa de la Luz (Cadiz), inland towards Olvera, Alpujarras region, La Gomera and Fuerteventura etc.

The Canaries offer year round sunshine and warmth, unlike the mainland. As it’s literally always peak season here, buy-to-let investors can charge peak season prices all year long. Tenerife, the largest island in the group is one of the most popular. Click on the following link to find available properties – Tenerife Property.

Buy to let investment
Buying a property with the sole intention of renting it out is a popular and stable investment option.

Basically you buy a property and rent it out as soon as possible and ideally rent should cover the cost of your mortgage. A sound knowledge of the local letting market is essential for success here.

At the moment there’s huge a demand for short-term rental and holiday let accommodation in Tenerife, Los Gigantes, in particular.

The island has it all – beautiful beaches, spectacularly diverse landscape, perfect climate, excellent nightlife, cosmopolitan culture and a good infrastructure.
Despite the island’s popularity and the growing numbers of visitors each year, there’s still plenty of room for growth in Tenerife’s property market.

Background (Los Gigantes – “The Giants”)
Los Gigantes is one of the most popular holiday resort areas on Tenerife. It’s located on the southwest coast of Tenerife, close to the small village of Cueva del Polvo and the blue-flag beach of Playa de la Arena. The town is named after the famous “Los Gigantes” cliffs, which are located close by.

These massive rock formations are truly spectacular. Apart from Mount Teide (Spain’s highest mountain), they’re one of the most impressive parts of the Tenerife – an absolute must see for any visitor to the island. They’re best seen from a boat, which you can hire from the nearby marina.

Apparently, this part of Tenerife gets the best climate in the whole of the Canary Islands.

Los Gigantes is an idyllic resort that blends in well with the surrounding landscape. The local authorities have made every effort to ensure that the resort’s central apartment complexes and residential areas are all low-rise.

Not to be missed
Whale & dolphin watching as well as scuba diving are two very popular activities here.

There are around 27 different species of whale and dolphin in the waters off of Los Gigantes.

Water temperatures reach up to a cosy 24°C in summer and a fresh 20°C in winter, making it a diver’s paradise. The visibility here is excellent, sometimes reaching up to 35 meters.

There are around 25 dive sites in the region offering all kinds of diving experiences to all levels of diver, from beginner to advanced. The local dives schools can help you decide which site is most suitable to your level.

Los Gigantes resorts
There are now numerous top class resorts offering superb holiday rental accommodation in Los Gigantes, Las Rosas & El Marques being two of the best. For more information on these see the following article ”Los Gigantes holiday rentals” on http://www.holiday-sunrentals.com/.

Renting a place in Tenerife is much the same as it is back in the UK. You sign a contract for a short term period (weekly) or for a long term period of three months or more. You have to put down one months rent in advance plus one months rent as a damage deposit.

You need to give a months notice before you are due to move out so the agents can advertise the property as “soon available”.

Also, if you wish to extend your contract you must notify the agents one month before your contract is due to finish.

Long Term Rentals (What you’d expect to pay)
For a three bedroom town house in Las Americas, you’d pay around € 1,200 (approx £828)per month.

To rent out a business premises in Adeje (Barranco De Las Torres) complex you’d pay around € 3.000. For long term rentals, the minimum rental period is normally three months.
About Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest of the seven Canary Islands. The north of the island is a lot greener, wetter and quieter than the south which is dry, sunny, warm and much livelier. The island has an incredibly diverse landscape with deserts, mountains, exotic fauna and flora, volcanoes, lush green forests and miles and miles of spectacular coastline and beaches.

There’s plenty of things to do in Tenerife. If you’re into sports you can try windsurfing, surfing, scuba diving, jet skiing, sailing, tennis, trekking, climbing, football and much much more.

Santa Cruz (in the north) is the capital of Tenerife and home to the island’s main port. This is where you’ll find the best shopping on the island. All the major department stores are here like El Corte Ingles and Carrefour etc.

Tenerife is said to have the perfect climate. The minimum and maximum annual average air temperatures are about 24C in summer and 15C in winter. The island enjoys wonderful weather all year round. You’ll find the most sunshine, the least clouds and highest temperatures in the coastal areas.

Tenerife Facts (quick tips)
You get the most sun between Los Cristianos and Callao Salvaje. It’s windiest between Candelaria and Golf del Sur. The most peaceful areas are generally about 500-1000m back from coastline. If you’re looking for truly spectaular views you’ll normally find them from the tops of hills, not on the front. If you want sun all day long yhou need to rent/buy a place with a south facing terrace or garden.

The Canary Islands are one of the world’s major tourist destinations and not surprisingly, tourism is big business here. Many people come to the island, fall in love with it, and decide to stay for good.

For more information about long term rentals, buying a property, or just general advice about Tenerife you should contact one of the many English-speaking agents on the island.

Holiday-sunrentals can look after your accommodation for you. They offer a wide range of rental properties including two bedroom holiday villas as well as one bedroom and two bedroom apartments. Holiday rentals in Tenerife are big business. Investors can make a fortune renting properties during peak seasons.

Holiday-sunrentals offer a wide range of accommodation styles throughout their seven 7 resorts, in Tenerife (las Rosas and El Marques resorts), Lanzarote and the Costa del Sol.

After my last visit, I’d definitely recommend them to friends as they were in no way “pushy” and never tried to offer accommodation that wasn’t suitable. The whole experience was informative and actually very enjoyable. There was none of the pressure that you often get from other rental agencies.

The amount of time and dedication given to me was unbelievable. I’m sure the management are proud to have such committed and diligent employees working for them.

Tenerife is known as the “Island of Eternal Springtime” and also as “one of the last paradise islands in Europe”. As soon as you arrive you’ll understand why. The weather is amazing! Balmy sunshine all day long and cosy (almost luke-warm) waters all year round.

It also has an incredibly diverse landscape too. Think deserts, mountains, volcanoes, exotic fauna and flora, lush green forests and miles and miles of spectacular coastline and beaches.

Los Gigantes is located on Tenerife’s picturesque west coast, beside the small village of Cueva del Polvo and the resort of Puerto de Santiago. It’s home to the impressive blue flag beach of Playa de le Arena.

Every year more and more visitors are coming to this idyllic part of the island looking for holiday rentals.

The resorts of las Rosas and El Marques are popular investment areas in Los Gigantes.

Inspections visits
If you live outside of Spain and you are thinking of buying a property on Tenerife, one of the easist ways is to book your accommodation through Holiday-sunrentals and spend some time on the island, before you take the plunge.

They specialise in quality holiday rentals in Tenerife. Each exclusive resort has its own individual characteristics.

At Holiday-sunrentals, the staff are a team of highly experienced professionals, all with a detailed knowledge of Tenerife.

They look after huge numbers of prospective and existing clients who are based outside of Spain, arranging accommodation for clients wishing to view properties on the island.

Holiday rentals in Tenerife are in big demand all year round. There’s now a huge selection of accommodation on the island – everything from small one bedroom apartments to luxurious four and five bedroom villas.

The climate, spectacular scenery and wonderful beaches make Tenerife one of the top tourist destinations on the Canary Islands. Come and see for yourself!