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Many investors view turn key rental properties as the “Holy Grail” of real estate.

A proper turnkey property is one that’s ready to hit the market and provide ROI as soon as you sign on the dotted line. Once rented, it requires little attention on your part, as the right property management team handles all the nuanced aspects of maintaining a profitable rental property.

The advantages are as clear-cut as they are desirable. With the right turnkey property and property management team, you can expect:

• Less work than a regular rental. Forget dealing with contractors, repairs, marketing the property, finding a tenant, staying on top of bills or chasing down rent. With a turnkey rental, all of this is streamlined for you.

• Reliable rental income & fast ROI. With the right conditions in place (which we’ll be reviewing in this article), a turnkey property will bring in reliable rental income in the short-term while deepening in value over time.

• Diversification of your investment portfolio: Because turnkey properties are relatively easy to purchase and maintain, it’s feasible for an investor to “stock up.” The short-term ROI adds an extra incentive for investors to diversify and add more properties, as that passive income can free up finances for further investment.

•  Easy to find. Finding your ideal turnkey rental property in Panama is easier than you’d expect, thanks to Punta Pacifica Realty’s large inventory of highly coveted, ready-to-go properties. Combined with our premier property management team, owning a profitable rental property in Panama has never been so obtainable.

What to Look For in Turn Key Rental Properties in Panama

Coveted Location

The desirability of the neighborhood in which you buy will dictate not only the ability of your property to attract renters, but the quality of renters it will attract.

Panama is an astoundingly diverse place, both culturally and in terms of lifestyle standards and economic capabilities. However, certain neighborhoods are considerably more likely to attract a steady influx of high-value renters– and, to an outsider, the differences between the coveted neighborhood and the one that’s “old news” are often indistinguishable.

For the highest return on investment, most prestigious tenants and lowest risk of vacancies, we point our investors towards one of two neighborhoods in Panama City:

Punta Pacifica:

The iconic waterfront community of Punta Pacifica features some of the most luxurious and highly coveted properties on the market. With its ideal coastal location, unmatched luxury lifestyle, encouraging pricing trends and consistently rotating community of high-powered executives, Punta Pacifica boasts one of the most reliable and profitable rental markets in the country. The skyscrapers offer an array of luxury amenities and a stock of beautiful, move-in-ready apartments.

Avenida Balboa:

Another valuable source of turnkey rental properties in Panama is Avenida Balboa, the upscale ocean-view strip perched against the glamorous boulevard of the same name. While not as “truly oceanfront” as the buildings of Punta Pacifica, the stunning ocean and boardwalk views, world-class amenities and convenient location of Avenida Balboa attract some of the city’s wealthiest clientele.

Diverse Tenant Pool

When purchasing a property for investment, you don’t want to “put all your eggs in one basket” –depend largely on one type of renter to keep vacancies low. Doing so puts your investment at the mercy of cultural or political shifts that lay outside your control. Many property owners in Costa Rica learned this the hard way, when the seemingly infinite pool of retired property buyers faded in the wake of the economic crisis in 2008.

The best turnkey rental property will appeal to a broad range of demographics.

Panama is unique in its ability to attract a varied range of renters– from multinational executives and young entrepreneurial types to baby boomers drawn to Panama real estate now that U.S prices are on the rise again (we call this the Miami Effect.)

A diverse pool of tenants safeguards you from depending too much on any single demographic. In Panama, there are already a variety of renters and buyers, with more diversification on the way (Recently, we’ve noticed a marked increase in European interest in Punta Pacifica, whereas the last few years were predominantly North American.) It’s essential to choose an apartment that appeals to a diverse clientele.

Desirable Building

Naturally, the building in which you choose to invest is going to have a great effect on the quality of renters you attract. Developments with a well-established legacy will always have a healthy source of inquiries. In Panama, you find this phenomenon in buildings such as the Trump Ocean Club and Yoo Panama, which attract consistent interest from buyers and renters despite their high price points.

You should select a building with a sophisticated reputation, world-class amenities, elite community and convenient location. Such buildings never go out of fashion, and can be trusted to consistently attract renters who prize luxury and prestige.

Impending Infrastructure

One quality of an ideal turnkey rental that is often overlooked is the future of the infrastructure in the surrounding neighborhood. When selecting a property for investment, you want to be sure that the community will become even more accessible and desirable in the future.

For example, in the past few years Punta Pacifica has seen major infrastructure improvements, including a highway offering direct access to the Corredor Sur and the freshly inaugurated SOHO mall– an upscale shopping plaza featuring high-end boutiques and swanky restaurants.

Punta Pacifica has more enhancements on the horizon, with plans approved for new roads that will minimize cut-through traffic, as well as more commercial and recreational amenities.  

Encouraging Pricing History

Looking at a neighborhood’s past pricing trends can give you crucial insights into the area’s future.It’s important to know, for example, how an area weathered a lull in economic activity, such as the worldwide economic recession of 2008-2012.

Looking at Punta Pacifica pricing trends from that time period, it’s encouraging to see the area still outperformed many of the world’s principal real estate markets. Whereas places like Miami, Dubai and London suffered price drops of  as much as 65 percent, Panama managed to float tolerably around the 25 percent decline mark. Since then, the market was quick to recuperate, having stabilized by 2012 and bounced back with a vengeance by 2014– with property prices increasing by 5 to 7 percent.

Premier Property Management Team

No matter how exquisite your property or favorable the market, a property can never be truly turnkey without the support of a premier property management team.

Too many owners have suffered nightmare property management scenarios as a result of putting their trust into the wrong team. If you want a truly turnkey rental property in Panama, it’s crucial to get yourself set up with a property management team that understands the nuances of the market and has the in-house ability to handle all the aspects of effective property management. Insist on a property management company with a diverse and highly trained team of specialists.

Here at Punta Pacifica Realty, we have an in-house staff of cleaners, maintenance staff, technicians, lawyers, marketing specialists, and quality control personnel. We also have strategic alliances with multinational corporations, granting us high-level access to the well-heeled executives constantly rotating in and out of Panama City. No matter what your interests, our experts are always available to answer questions and talk about the market.

How to Find a Turn Key Rental Property in Panama

If you’re interested in learning more about turnkey rental properties in Panama, Punta Pacifica Realty is the place to start. Our unmatched inventory of luxury condos is jam-packed with places bearing all the conditions of an ideal turnkey rental property.

If you would like more information on turnkey rental properties in Panama, contact us today.