A recent report still concludes that Morocco is the perfect place to invest in a holiday home or property. Whether you opt for the traditional Riad, or one of the many new builds, the choice is yours depending on your use and views.

There are many new build projects in Agadir, especially around the harbour, so property of all shapes and sizes can be bought. Good rental income and capital growth opportunities are found and you are very close to the action of Agadir – a 5 minute walk and you are in the centre.

For us, we didn’t want a new build, we wanted character. We also wanted to be more traditional and love the culture and people, so a small village where we got to know some (or most) of the local shop-keepers and local people was essential. So the perfect place for us was Aourir, a small fishing village 10km North of Agadir. As with all property purchases, there are 3 things that matter – Location, Location, Location!.

Unspoilt beaches were important to us

We did our homework on the area, again another essential , and found lots of interesting facts about the area, including approximate pricing of properties, set out budget and then engaged with a local agent.

Maybe we were just lucky, but we found a great agent in the UK, who use a local agent in Agadir to do the “on the street” stuff, so booking a trip to view was really easy and painless.

We viewed 6 different properties, all with very different aspects, all about the same price. Once we viewed, we narrowed it to a short list, then re-visited with our specific agenda in place, finally deciding on the wreck that was Villa Ramalah!

As the Moroccans use the French system of house buying, everything happens really quickly, but key to the purchase is meeting the local Mayor. If he doesn’t like you, forget it. He deals with the legal side of everything, plus makes things happen for you. Luckily, although the language barrier was frustrating for both parties, we seemed to hit it off and the deal was done.

So a whirlwind of opening bank accounts, getting notorised at the local land office, signing power of attorney to our agents in Morocco (make life easier for everybody) all in about 4 hours, then off to the airport and home! This is probably the longest flight I ever had – did we do the right thing, will the building renovations be done right, are we going to get ripped off…but you have to go with your gut instinct and assume all will be well – as it turned out, all things went VERY well!

Our agents in Agadir, Laurence and Michel, are just superb. We could not have asked for more honest and trustworthy people if we tried. They just deal with things. Laurence has a keen eye for design and so we left her to do her thing – they also renovate properties as well, so getting our villa “re-built” was a major project for them, but one they handled in incredible timelines and to great standards of workmanship.

The before and after shots of the villa speak volumes of there work, and now phase 2 is completed, I cant wait to see the results on our trip next week!

The Before and After of Villa Ramalah

So if you are thinking of investing abroad, take a good long hard  look at Morocco. Contact www.residence-maroc.co.uk in Wallingford initially, or contact our agents directly in Morocco Immo Bab Souss.

For more information on the benefits of Morocco investments also see here