A riad in Marrakech?

[wagslikeadog]

Hi all!

I'm considering buying and operating a renovated riad in Marrakech.

MANY things must fall into place for this to happen, of course, but with regards to purchasing, owning property (as a foreigner) and operating a business in Morocco, does anyone have specific experience with this?

I understand that many riad owners are Euro ex-pat's with the same mind as me. To complicate things a little further, I am Canadian, so I can't just pop over to Morocco on weekends for a quick look-see...
The plan is to live, probably off-riad, full-time as well.

Who knows about buying a riad in Marrakech?

Many thanks!

 

[Grant Rawlings]

Reply

Hello and good evening.

I would be happy to try and help.

I live and work in the Medina, designing and restoring riads.

I have started a blog - Find, buy and renovate a riad in Marrakech – the builders guide, to offer a valuable introduction to the property market in the Medina, as well as advice on renovation and design. It is on blogspot under my name, Grant Stoner Rawlings. Hopefully this is a helpful starting point.

You might also find my website useful. Its link is on my blog. It has been temporarily off-line, but should be live again from tomorrow morning.

If you have any questions you would like to ask, please feel free to get in touch and I will do my best to answer them as best as I can.

Yours,

Grant

 

[wagslikeadog]

Hi Grant!

Thanks for the reply. I've checked out your blog and website.
They were very informative and helpful. An English-speaking authority on Marrakech riads is exactly what I could use right now!

I will condense my 1001 questions to just a few, and get in contact with you.

Cheers!

Paul

 

[Grant Rawlings]

It would be pleasure to help Paul, if I can.

I have relocated myself and am a big fan of Marrakech and will gladly try and advise you as best as I can.

I am off with the family tomorrow for a short break, but will not be away long, as one of my renovation projects is coming to an end soon and I can't leave Marrakech for long despite the summer heat.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email, but it is better via my email [email protected] as it is on all the time.

Yours,

Grant

 

[darzaman]

Would you like to buy mine?

darzaman dot com

Hi all!

I'm considering buying and operating a renovated riad in Marrakech.

MANY things must fall into place for this to happen, of course, but with regards to purchasing, owning property (as a foreigner) and operating a business in Morocco, does anyone have specific experience with this?

I understand that many riad owners are Euro ex-pat's with the same mind as me. To complicate things a little further, I am Canadian, so I can't just pop over to Morocco on weekends for a quick look-see...
The plan is to live, probably off-riad, full-time as well.

Who knows about buying a riad in Marrakech?

Many thanks!

 

[wagslikeadog]

Thanks for the reply!

I've sent you an email.

 

[Grant Rawlings]

Response

Dear Paul,

Good evening. I hope you are well.

I've just arrived back to Marrakech in an incredible heatwave.

Sadly, it seems I am having technical difficulties still with my [email protected] address and haven't received a whole host of emails including yours. Would you mind kindly resending your email to my personal address - [email protected] ?

Thank you and sorry to be a pain.

Yours,

Grant

 

[esmerelda]

yes, we bought & renovated a dar 2 years ago in asilah medina 30km south of tangiers. We also renovated at a distance & it was actually a pretty pain free process provided you do the following:
1. You must check the papers related to the house properly. They will probably be a Mulkia rather than Titre. I see on another thread that someone advised you can apply for the titre on purchase...our experience was slightly different, we could only start to apply once we had explained to the planning authorities what work we were planning to do to renovate...for extensive renovations we know several friends with properties in the medina that had to show a complete set of architects plans before they could start to apply. This may be down to differences in local planning or the extent of the work to be carried out, I don't know.
Tire takes a LONG time to come thorugh - we have been waiting 2 years since our application - we hope we will get this in October...but...you never know. DO NOT lose your temper with officials...or your papers will go the bottom of the pile!
2. Although riads with lots of architectural features look lovely..all that ornate plasterwork will need repairing...there are many examples of people buying large ornate riads & running out of the wherewithall to complete their renovation...so be aware that that arabian nights fantasy comes at a cost.
3. Be wary of people telling you labour costs are cheap..they are ...BUT building materials are not...prices for sand and cement have rocketed in the past couple of years due to the massive increase in building projects across the country. Also when getting quotes, be sure that quote includes building work, MATERIALS & final finish. It is better for you to source your own materials to ensure quality, but that could be difficult if you are offshore.
4. Check access to your property in the medina. You will have to have sufficient access for a donkey cart...not all places have this...if they don;t everything has to be brought in by handcart....and you will not believe how many carts of stuff you will need!
5. Legal documents cn be completed in arabic &/or French. If you need an english translation, this has to be done by a translator, attested by the notaire/solicitor (additional cost)
6. Be aware of the tax implications...
7. You will need to make a will, ineritance laws are not the same in Morocco, this is quite expensive.
8. Be wary of baksheesh...it does grease the wheels BUT it can be difficult to know where you start and when you stop.
9. Be wary of the differential between the declared sale price and the actual sale price. Whikst a certain amount of flexibility is expected, if you underdeclare the price too much...then YOU will get stung on the differential between the declared price & the resale price when you come to sell.
10. Be nice to your neighbours...moroccan building techniques are not in the main highly mechanised..so they are VERY noisy...your dream home will have vcaused them a couple of months of daily banging...all day!
11. Be aware that if buying from a moroccan family, it's a lot easier if there aren't masses of family memebers -some of which can be located overseas...this complicates the buying process.
12. Check that the people in the house are the owners not tenants..you should not buy a house with tenants in it....otherwise you will have to pay them compendsation to move to other lodgings...& they may contest it.
13. Be aware that you may complete the purchase, the morrocan family may negotiate anything from one to six months right to stay on whilst they find alternate accommodation (they'll need you money to use as purchase as mortgages are still in their infancy)
14. Use the time to plan....we worked through all the renovation work schedules & put them into 6 week tranches - we then visited at the end of each tranche....if the work was completed and up to standard, the guys got a bonus, if it wasn;t, they didn;t.

Well that's my brain dump for what it's worth...(longest message I've ever ;left anywhere!!) good luck with it.

 

[wagslikeadog]

Thank you very much for that, Esmerelda. That was very informative and helpful!

With regards to the "longest message ever": I'm sure that your post could have been 100 times longer and STILL there would be many questions left to ask! It was a good read for me.

Thanks again...

Paul

 

[markwillenbrock]

There are adverts in the local press in Marrakech offering to rent riads, turn key, with all the permissions and furnishings, for 20,000dhs a month!

There are something over 650 riads operating as maison d'hotes in the Marrakech medina. Coupled with a 27% drop in French tourism this year, it's no wonder people are pulling out.

That isn't to say that a new venture won't succeed, but it will need to be very, very good.

My advice would be to look further afield. The conventional favourites like Marrakech and Essaouira can only support so many riads. Morocco is a big country, and there are lots of cities that are sleepy at the moment, but much cheaper, with much less competition.

 

[wagslikeadog]

Yes, tourism is down this year, thanks to the Credit Crunch, but won't stay down forever.

We've thought about other cities in Morocco, but there's something...unique...about the diversity and energy of the medina in Marrakech.

Do you feel that people are pulling out of Marrakech right now? (other than from the summer heat)

You make valid points about the volume of B & B's, but the same could be said for accomodation competition in any major city, would you agree?

 

[markwillenbrock]

Yes, it's certainly true that Marrakech has that certain special something, and for many people (not least Medieval cartographers) Marrakech and Morocco are synonymous.

Having said that, the Marrakech medina (Jma el Fna excepted) is not that outstanding. A very large number of the old houses have been rebuilt (which in many cases means demolished) and the old tradition of artisans making their wares and selling them from a little shop in the souk has become near extinct. Climb up onto the roof tops, and the story is clear - a 360 degree view of concrete blocks and unfinished development.

Marrakech is rescued by the spirit of the Marrakshi, whose energy and love of life keeps the place interesting.

The Marrakech riad market is crowded. Many have only five rooms. Together they make up a very significant proportion of the rooms on offer in Marrakech - but the challenge for any prospective maison d'hote proprietor is - how do you stand out against the competition? Most major cities aren't like this.

The market has been dominated by the French until recent years, and subjectively they seem to be being hit hard by the crises.

Anyone who has borrowed to purchase a riad is in a potentially difficult position. Room rates are down, and owners who aren't resident are more likely to sacrifice a second home. I saw exactly the same thing happen in France amongst British owners in the 90's. Interestingly, at that time, the banks repossessed some very large properties, but interest picked up in much more modest homes.

It seemed to me at the time, that people who had been mauled by the recession would often look to start a new life abroad, starting with a small house that they owned outright. Perhaps Morocco will see the same trend.

 

[aicbo]

a riad in marrakech

Hey Paul ... we will be happy to help ...

We are a Swedish couple, my husband is architect and artist and I am Bachelor and business lawyer with origin from marocco. I speak Swedish, French, English and Arabic. We have a long experience of the broad agreement and
completion of Riad as we have recently renovated our entire Riad in the Kasbah in Marrakesh.

To have a check list before you go into the project is only an aid in the process, but the most important based on check list is to be interpreted correctly and to understand that in Morocco it is the physical reality as valid. There is no obvious. the codes and the right of communication that works.

Thanks to my brother who is Caida we have good contacts in the Moroccan authorities which have been enormously helped us throughout the process. Many foreign Riad projectors have been due to lack of language, codes, and the right contacts had to leave their Riad projects unfinished and returned home.

I hope not scare you with this. What I want is that you always should start from the right way and have someone you really have been a believer for. What we can offer you is

-the handling process from finding the object to completion
-Containing architekt drawings, calculations, permit.

I have much more important inforamtion to give you but I prefer to do it through a private email.

hope to hear from You
aicha

 

[wagslikeadog]

Hi Aicha.

Thanks for the response!

I've tried sending you a private message, but can't for some reason...

I can be contacted at:
[email protected]

It would be great to hear from you.

I've spoken with some great, informative people courtesy of this forum. Thanks to all who have responded! "Meeting" and "talking"with you all has been a huge help for me.

THANKS again!