SM: This is a great passion for my husband and my daughter. I try to join them when I can.
This was the first such impulse. It has to be somewhere where we have great conditions for water sports. Where the whole year will be pleasant, with a mild climate, where there will be a French school.
That was also very important to us. This was the destination we were looking for and when I turned up in Tenerife, when I was looking for a house – and it took us a while, at that time I didn’t know the property market as well as I do now, so it was more difficult – I knew this was the place – because I immediately felt ‘at home’ there. That energy of the people: welcoming, smiling, so helpful, everywhere.
And I said: “Michael, yes, this is the place! This is where we stay and this is where we look for. I just feel it.” So it fell on Tenerife.
JC: Real estate is bought with emotion.
SM: Definitely. We are driven by emotions, but beyond emotions, however, infrastructure was important. Education – first of all I wanted the children to go to a French school. And then it turned out that the British and Spanish-British schools were also fantastic, where I moved the children after a year.
I’m very happy because the children at this point already speak French, Spanish, English and Polish.
JC: Beautiful.
SM: But it’s so very gentle, without any forceful rushing of the children to learn. It was the children at that age – 9 and 12 years old – who came into this environment so easily and quickly grasped the language, I was really surprised!
JC: Tell me, because I understand we’re talking from the perspective of someone who is considering a permanent move. What is it like to invest in property in Tenerife? Many clients, however, are looking strictly for investment vehicles.
SM: Obviously and diversification in these uncertain times, but the geopolitical situation is causing us to look for alternative places to invest.
JC: What is the entry threshold? What rates of return can an investor expect from buying property in Tenerife? Where is the best place to buy? Three questions in one.
SM: It’s just that it also depends on what we expect. Are we expecting a property purely for investment? That’s when I would highly recommend the south of Tenerife, although now the north is too…. A different kind of tourist comes to the north, but properties also rent well. The south, on the other hand, is an assured rental all year round. Tenerife receives 10 million tourists a year.
Summer lasts all year round and the south has the most days of sunshine, so by all means – it is a very good investment.
When it comes to flats, you can find flats in the south from an interesting €200,000 upwards, because it also depends on the location. Location, location, location!
It’s the same with houses in the north – we can find beautiful houses overlooking both the Eteids and the ocean at the same time. You might be able to find a house – from €500,000 already with a pool, although these prices are usually higher. About a million, a million and a half euros – a villa with a pool.
JC: And tell me, because it is an island – what is the transport, infrastructure, what are the flights like?
SM: If we have to fly direct there are flights 3-4 times a week, and in the highest season there are even 5 times a week. As for connecting flights – we have two airports. In the north in the lagoon and in the south. The airport in the south handles, I remember, 8 million passengers a year, in the north 4 million passengers a year.
JC: But this is LOT from Warsaw? And what are the flights from, say, Gdańsk?
SM: LOT from Warsaw. There are also flights from Katowice and flights from the Tricity – but via Warsaw, or via Katowice. There are also transfers with other airlines via London, Frankfurt.
JC: All right, and tell me Sylvia, because this is an island. We already have access, there are beautiful views. And in terms of infrastructure, well, because where I am in Cascais, I have Lisbon next door – a beautiful metropolis. And you, how do you deal with the issue of theatre, culture, art and exhibitions?
What is life like on a day-to-day basis in Tenerife?
SM: Tenerife is a small island, but you could say – it’s a mini continent, because we have everything. Santa Cruz, La Laguna, Leandro Tama are the cultural centres. Santa Cruz is the capital alternating with Las Palmas, but in Santa Cruz we have a philharmonic, theatres, the same in La Laguna. We have film festivals, music festivals, very interesting exhibitions.
We have the largest solar observatory in the world – a really special place! I think it’s still undiscovered by many people. That is why it is worth visiting the north. I especially encourage you to do so because it is the cultural centre of Tenerife, and the best schools, the university, are here too. Medicine is besieged, especially among students from all over Europe. We have a great number of restaurants, there are more than 5,500, including five with a Michelin star. For an island, I believe, this is a very good result.
JC: And you have tourism pretty much all year round.
SM: There is tourism all year round, but living in the north I don’t feel it. The south is more frequented by Brits, Scandinavians, and the north by Germans, French. There are still a lot of Italians in the south – different nations are drawn to different places and there are different kinds of tourists. There are also active tourists who love to work out here.Sports-wise it is very attractive – there is both trekking and surfing, windsurfing, kitesurfing, beautiful golf courses.
My favourite is Buena Vista del Norte, beautiful. Tennis all year round outdoors is fantastic for kids too. The kids love it… There’s also horse riding, motorbikes, enduro in the forests. On Monte Esperanza there are specially designated trails in the forest for horse riding, motorbikes, bicycles also there are lots of opportunities. It really is a very interesting island. Tenerife surprised me.
JC: You have encouraged me a lot, I have to say I think I will visit you soon. Say one last thing in terms of the rate of return. What can an investor expect after buying a property?
SM: I can give you an example, because it also depends on the location, of course, but in one place where a property was bought for €500k, a client came in straight away and said he would like to buy back at that point. He immediately made an offer of €700k for the same house to the person who had just bought it.
JC: I understand what a person can expect when they move, as you do. School, nature, sport, fantastic culture, a very interesting island. And tell me, from an investor’s point of view, what kind of return can they expect from such an investment?
SM: It depends on whether it’s a long-term or short-term rental, so it could be between 4 and 7%. I would also like to add that what captured me about the people of Tenerife is that the Canarians really like and respect the Poles.
They really do. We also respect their culture a lot, we learn Spanish, we assimilate. They appreciate it very much. It’s so nice, when I say I’m from Poland, they are happy. The surprising thing is that who I don’t know, everyone has either been to Krakow or Warsaw – different places. And the Tricity, and Lublin, Katowice, all sorts of places.
The Canarians travel a lot, they also study abroad, they send their children to study, they also know Poland. Of course, they know Lewandowski, and now also our great league, Świątek.
JC: I think I can promise you that Sylwia will help with any choices, decisions and advice on a potential relocation.
SM: I’d be more than happy to, in terms of choosing a school, even helping you find architects or notaries. There are a number of issues that can be greatly expedited by just contacting someone like me.
JC: Tenerife, just with Sylwia Mączyńska. Unless Portugal? I’d love to! Sylwia, thank you again, how to say in Spanish…. JC: Let’s say: see you there.
SM: Hasta Luego,
JC: Hasta Luego.
