If you were left a French apartment in a will worth around 100,000 euros....

[cremolafoam]

whta would you do?( not me BTW- a cousin)

the circumstances are:
1 cousin's family comprises 3 kids 2 adults
2 the apartment is a studio and sleeps 2 -3 at a push
3 it is worth approx 100,000 euros but costs about 200-300 euros a year to run with taxes and upkeep
4 Apartment in a good coastal location with a pool
5 Property market is flat ATM and selling might be difficult/might not get full askingn price

Would you
1 sell and get shot
2 rent it out and trat it as a business propostion
3 try to find the money to keep it up for family use -sell when market is better

4 other- suggestions welcome

???

2 - business

Rent it out as a holiday let (giving avenanap a chance to rent it cheeply for a week )and use it as a holiday home for when you need a break.

with property I'd always try to hang onto it and rent it if I could

Definately 2. Well worth hanging on to - unless the family really aren't in a position to deal with the hassle. But even then, they could lose a small % of rental income to an agent who would maintain the property and find tenants - I'd do that.

I would rent it if I had someone whom I could rely upon to manage the apartment when I wasn't in the country. I've known people to rent out properties when they live in another country and it's a lot of stress.

i would hold onto anything in euros right now.

1. rent it out.

Unless they need the money for something specific now.

I agree that option 2 is the best

But i ll warn you that renting property abroad is too much hassle for too little money. Well at least in my case.

I rent out an appartment in Athens and rent is very moderate, agency fees not cheap, tenants that leave the flat damaged, repairs, mentainance of the block (lifts etc).
But on the other hand is not good time to sell...

holiday lets can be done through these people
you'd simply need to get someone locally to clean etc

tirimasou - holiday let or normal rental? always interested in holiday lets in greece

Hi overthemill,
sorry it is long term rent and am having tenants in for at least a year

ah well!

I would sell it, unless it has already been set up as a holiday let and is managed by a good agency. It could end up being a bit of a millstone.

1. - to get it to cover it's costs at least, until the market is clearer.