After previously rife in America, in recent years, condominium hotel offers (condotel) have spread in the property market. The offers are usually packaged with attractive marketing strategies, the lure of guaranteed returns, the right to occupy the unit for 12-30 days a year, and a strategic location in the middle of a business district or tourist spot. What exactly is a condotel? From the name, the condotel comes from the Hotel Condominium, which is a condominium or high-rise building alias apartment which is operated as a hotel and has hotel facilities. The difference is that the units or rooms are owned by individual investors, but are usually operated by a third party, namely the hotel management (eg Aston, Ascott, and others). Find out How to Own a Condo in Singapore right now.
The advantage of the hotel is that the layout is relatively more comfortable. One condotel unit is usually equipped with a living room, dining area and kitchen making it ideal for longer stays and rents can be higher than hotels. Can condotel be an alternative investment? With various attractive schemes offered by the developer, the condotel is an alternative property investment other than land, rental houses/apartments, or business space and boarding houses.
The main advantage of condotel is that this type of property allows the owner to occupy the unit while on business or on vacation, and earn rent when not occupying it. With a low deposit interest rate, the rental guarantee rate of a condotel around 8-12% a year (in 2012) is indeed tempting. Well, but remember, be careful if the promised rental guarantee has actually been included in the selling price of the condotel unit. The existence of an alternative to withdrawing the rent (usually a rental guarantee) at the beginning which can reduce the unit price is one indicator.
As a smart investor, keep in mind that you need to calculate the potential return and risk for the money you are about to invest.