Land Investment
At the moment, January 2009, the city of Riga is a great place to buy with lots of BMV properties available.
The only drawback being it is nearly impossible for foreign investors to get a mortgage on any type of property in Latvia. We recently contacted a selection of banks to discuss this issue and were given a very negative response from most and only one saying they would consider lending to a foreign investor if some very stringent (mostly unrealistic) conditions were met.
The fact is most property (and land) is still relatively cheap in Latvia by EC standards and in the medium to long term only has one way to go - and that is up in value.
Inflation is high in Latvia at the moment (13%), the property market is in the doldrums, new car sales have plumetted. But all is not doom and gloom. One sector of the economy is doing well - countryside 'tourism'.
Country guesthouse facilities, usually small developments standing alone in the countryside comprising of a group of buildings. Often 'log cabins' offering restaurant/cafe/bar, sauna, outdoor activities, water sports, barbecue etc. Often a meeting hall with bed and breakfast accomodation for between ten and fifty people in various forms, from one and multiple bedroom 'cottages' to dormitory style sleeping facilities.
These small developments are used by Latvians for family celebrations, weddings, birthdays, retirements etc etc and by foreign tourists from Scandinavia, Finland, Germany and Russia.
Who knows maybe one day the British tourist will appreciate what's on offer too!
Those near lakes or rivers often specialise in watersports activities and of course fishing which is probably the major national passtime in Latvia. Latvians like to spend time near the water, be it lake river or sea.
Land can be bought quite cheaply even with permission to build dwelling houses or operate tourism related businesses.
As an example we recently concluded a deal for a client on a 4 hectare site with permission to build four houses not far from a small town (140 km from Riga) for 2,500 Lats per hectare.
The photographs above are views around a small (20 hectare) lake which is completely unspoilt by any commercial activity. It is possible to buy water frontage at a very reasonable price and possible to build. It's an anglers paradise too!
We Build Houses Too
Building a house or even a log cabin on your land increases it's value considerably. It is a big step to take but very feasible and need not be expensive.
We built the four room 140 m2 house pictured at the right for 38,000 Lats including all services and 700 m2 of land - a large country garden.
Please note that the information on this website is not regulated financial advice, which recommends any specific course of action.
Property values can of course decrease as well as increase. No express or implied income claims are made on this website. Riga Property Services HVS take all reasonable efforts to ensure the information published on this website and communicated elsewhere, written or verbal is accurate, current and complete in every respect at the date of publication or communication. However no warranties, guarantees or representations are made or implied as to it’s accuracy.
