Buy where you already holiday: let it for 11 months, live in it for one

In brief (October 2026). The model is simple: you buy a flat in the resort you already visit, let it to guests for about eleven months and use it yourself for one. In our illustrative calculation a 150,000 euro one-bedroom nets about 3.4 percent a year before tax and financing if you never use it, and about 3.1 percent if your own month falls in the shoulder season. That month costs roughly 530 euro in lost income, around 18 euro a night, against about 1,860 euro for a guest renting the same flat. In August the same month costs about 1,840 euro. The model works only where short lets are legal in your building and your area.

What the idea is, and what it is not

Many people spend two or three weeks a year in the same resort, pay a hotel or an apartment rental for it, and wonder whether they should own instead. The answer people look for is "buy a flat there, let it out when I am not there, and the rent pays for it". This guide is about the version of that idea with a fixed rule: the property is let to guests for about eleven months and you take one month yourself.

That rule is not a detail. It decides whether the property is a holiday let, a second home or an investment, and it changes how licences, taxes, insurance and wear apply. A property used by its owner for one month and let to guests for eleven is still primarily a rental business. It is not a home that happens to earn some pocket money, and it is not a pure investment that you never visit either. Reading the sections below with that in mind avoids most of the disappointments we describe.

This is not an investment recommendation. Numbers are indicative, rules change, and you should check the facts for your own building with a local lawyer before you pay a deposit.

Who the model suits

• You already return to the same place every year and know it in every season, not just in August.
• You can choose your own month freely. A flexible month is worth a lot; see how to choose your month and calculate break-even.
• You can leave the day-to-day to a manager and accept paying 15-25 percent of revenue for it, a range given in our short-term versus long-term rental guide.
• You are comfortable with net yields of roughly 2-4 percent and see the owner month as the other part of the return.
• You buy with equity or accept that interest costs eat much of a small net yield.

Who it does not suit

• Buyers who count on a headline 7 or 8 percent. Headline gross figures are not what stays after costs; see rental yield by country.
• People who want to use the flat in July and August. That is where most of the income is earned.
• Buyers in cities or buildings where short lets are banned or licences are being withdrawn; read licences, condo rules and insurance first.
• Anyone who would be upset if guests used the flat, or if it needs a repair while they are away.
• Buyers who need the money back quickly. A resort flat can take months to sell.

The maths in one page

The detailed calculation is in the owner month article. Here is what it shows, using our own illustrative model of a Mediterranean-type resort with four seasons.

• Revenue is concentrated. In the model, July and August (62 nights, 17 percent of the year) bring about 43 percent of annual revenue; low season, November to March (151 nights), brings about 11 percent.
• A 150,000 euro one-bedroom earns about 13,700 euro a year in revenue and about 5,200 euro after costs, a net yield of 3.4 percent. A 300,000 euro two-bedroom nets about 3.6 percent, a 600,000 euro villa about 2.7 percent, because large units fill less often and cost more to run.
• The cost of your own month is the net income you lose, not the price a guest would pay. Costs you no longer incur (management share, cleaning, platform fees) come off the loss. For the one-bedroom the loss is about 1,840 euro in August, 1,070 in June or September, 530 in April, May or October, and 160 in the winter months.
• A fall of 10 percentage points in occupancy cuts the one-bedroom's net yield from 3.4 to 2.5 percent. A 10 percent fall in nightly rates takes it to 2.8 percent.

All of this is before income tax, financing and purchase costs, which are not small; our Spain guide, for example, puts total buying costs at 9-13 percent on top of the price.

What the model does to income, wear, licences and taxes

Four things change when you mix your own use with letting.

• Income. Every owner night is an empty night for the business. The question is not whether the flat earns while you are away but what each of your nights costs; our calculation puts it between a few euro in winter and over 200 euro a night in peak season for a large villa.
• Wear. A flat that is used 170 nights a year by guests and 30 by you needs the same furnishing, cleaning and repairs as a full-time rental. Plan a replacement budget; managing the home explains how to block your dates and what a manager does.
• Licences. Whether you may let at all, and whether your own stays change the licence category, depends on the country and sometimes the municipality. See licences, condo rules and insurance.
• Taxes. Rental income is taxed where the property is and often also where you live. Some countries tax personal use of a let property or limit the expenses you may deduct if you use it yourself; see personal-use days and rental income taxes.

A map of 14 countries

The list below is our assessment from public tourism patterns and from our own short-term-rental guides. It is a starting point, not a rating, and it states no fee or cap. Yields quoted are gross figures from our yield overview.

• Spain: long season on the coasts, strict and varied regional licensing; gross about 6.5 percent on average, net 2-4 percent. Guide: short-term rules.
• Portugal: long Algarve season, rules rewritten more than once; gross about 4-5 percent in cities. Guide: short-term rules.
• Italy: strong June to September, a national code on every listing plus city rules; gross average near 6.6 percent. Guide: short-term rules.
• Greece: May to October, registration number and real property standards; gross average about 4.4 percent. Guide: short-term rules.
• Cyprus: one of the longest seasons in the EU, registration and tightening enforcement; gross 4.5-5.9 percent. Guide: short-term rules.
• Turkey: April to November on the coast, permit and unanimous owner consent for tourism lets up to 100 days; gross 6-8 percent in lira terms. Guide: short-term rules.
• Thailand: high season roughly November to April; condo short-let rules are a grey area that needs checking per building; gross about 6.5 percent on average.
• Indonesia (Bali): demand across most of the year, peak in the dry season; seller brochures promise 10-15 percent while platform data point to about 5-7.5 percent gross.
• UAE (Dubai): peak from October to April, quiet in the summer heat, a permit with a number on every listing; prime gross 5-6 percent, mid-market 7-9. Guide: short-term rules.
• Georgia: Batumi peaks in summer, Tbilisi is steadier; no dedicated licensing regime but tax and building rules still apply; gross about 7-8 percent, net 2-4 percent in Batumi. Guide: short-term rules.
• Bulgaria: June to September on the Black Sea, ski season in winter; municipal registers plus EU data sharing. Guide: short-term rules.
• Montenegro: short, intense summer, private accommodation still regulated although outside the EU; gross 4-5 percent, net 3-4. Guide: short-term rules.
• Croatia: June to September with May and October as shoulder; the shortest effective season of the coastal group, so the owner month matters more.
• France: Riviera in summer, Alps in winter; declaration number, change-of-use permission in big cities and a 120-day cap for a primary residence; gross 3.8-4.0 percent in big cities, 5.2-5.7 in some southern cities. Guide: short-term rules.

Two seasons, one trap

In the northern Mediterranean the cheap months for the owner are November to March, the winter low season, when each of your nights costs a few euro in lost income. They are also the months when many people do not want to be there. The compromise is the shoulder season, April, May and October, when your nights cost between 18 and 55 euro each in our model and the weather is usually pleasant. In Thailand and Dubai the logic is reversed: your cheap months are the hot summer months. Choose your owner month before you buy, not after.

Checklist before you buy

• Confirm in writing that short lets are allowed in this building and this municipality, and for how many nights a year.
• Ask the condominium or building manager for the statute and the minutes of recent meetings; a vote against short lets can arrive after you buy.
• Find out whether the licence belongs to the property or to the owner, and whether it transfers on sale.
• Ask the seller for 24 months of booking history and the platform statements, not a brochure yield.
• Get a manager's written quote with all fees; see property management companies abroad.
• Build your own net model with occupancy 10 points below the seller's and rates 10 percent lower.
• Decide your owner month and recompute the yield without it.
• Check the tax treatment of your own nights in the country and at home.
• Check insurance covers short lets and your own stays.
• Plan the exit: who buys a flat with a short-let licence, and what happens if the licence is withdrawn.

Steps from idea to keys

1. Choose the country and two or three resorts you know in at least two seasons. 2. Read the short-let rules for that country and the building rules for the flat. 3. Run the model in the owner month calculation with your own price and assumptions. 4. Check the tax picture in personal-use days and rental income taxes. 5. Compare your shortlist against rental yield by country. 6. Shortlist managers and sign nothing before reading the contract. 7. Buy, register the licence, furnish for guests and block your own dates before the first booking.

Common mistakes

• Using the seller's yield instead of your own net model.
• Choosing the owner month in July or August because that is when you always went.
• Counting on a licence that cannot be transferred.
• Forgetting that a condominium vote can ban short lets later.
• Furnishing for yourself rather than for guests; see furnishing a rental abroad.
• Assuming your own month is free. It always costs something, and the cost is largest in peak season.

FAQ

Is it realistic that the rent pays for the flat? Not usually. In our illustration a 150,000 euro one-bedroom nets about 5,200 euro a year before tax and financing, so the rent covers its running costs and a modest return, not the purchase price. Can I use the flat for a month in summer? You can, but in peak season that month costs several times more than in spring or autumn. How many months should I keep for myself? One is the base case; each extra month in shoulder season costs another 500 euro or so for a one-bedroom in our model, each extra month in August far more. Do I need a licence if I stay there myself part of the year? Often yes, because the letting for the rest of the year is the regulated activity; check the country article and the building rules. Which country is best for this model? None is best in general: the one where you already know the seasons, short lets are allowed in your building and your owner month falls outside the peak.

How we help

We help shortlist resorts, check building and licence rules with local lawyers, model net numbers on your assumptions and find a manager. This article is informational, not legal, tax or investment advice; figures are illustrative and change.