Websites: www.riadazzar.com, www.atlasimmobilier.com, www.savills.com/abroad, www.hamptons-int.com, www.premierresorts.co.uk, www.imoinvest.com, www.saffronvillas.com

INVESTORS' HEALTH CHECK

Easy buy, easy sell: Foreigners can borrow 66 per cent of the purchase price from Moroccan banks and can sell at any time. Capital gains are taxed at 20 per cent — which can be offset in the UK.

Government welcome: Foreign buyers are encouraged; King Mohammed hopes to boost tourist numbers to ten million a year by 2010. Stability: Be aware of possible tensions in a developing country.

Getting there: More frequent and cheaper direct flights are on the way.

Property investment: Prices are likely to continue to rise, particularly for riads and smaller villas.

Rents: High prices for luxury villas keep rental yields down.

Weather: Year-round sun means a long letting season.

CASE STUDY

The old Moorish house — or riad — in Marrakesh with its cool, scented inner garden and water feature so entranced Cees and Maryk van den Berg, above, that they bought not one but two.

When they gave up their jobs in London and home in Amsterdam two years ago to run the first riad as a guesthouse, business was so good that another seemed a natural progression. “We are probably booked

about 50 per cent of the time, which is about two years earlier than I had anticipated,” says Cees, a former finance director of the drinks giant Diageo. The couple’s only experience of the hotel business had been as paying guests but many years of travelling had given them a clear view of what they wanted.

But finding the right property was the hardest part of setting up their business. Cees and Maryk visited at least 30 properties on two trips before finding the Riad Azzar. Cees remembers that buying the old house was “amazingly easy”. French-style notaries oversaw the documentation, while legal fees, stamp duty and other expenses come to 5 per cent of the property price.

Attracting visitors has not been difficult: Cees contacted a few good tour operators and guidebooks and set up a website. Word-of-mouth recommendations followed.

The couple have great affection for Marrakesh. “We are very happy here,” Maryk says. “We really like the Marrakesh way of life. The warmth of the people is reflected everywhere.”

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