Looking for Marrakesh riads and villas?

You've recently been to Marrakesh, you love the place and want to buy a property in Marrakesh. It's no wonder with its attractive climate, fascinating blend of Moroccan, Islamic and French culture, the buzz of the souks and Djemâa el Fna Square and the dramatic Atlas Mountains.

Buying a home in Marrakesh

Popular Marrakesh property options right now are:

• off plan villas
• renovating an old riad and
• new properties with traditional riad designs, sometimes called 'courtyard homes' or 'riad-style aparthments and houses'.

If you've heard about riads and are keen to look at riads for sale in Marrakesh, be sure of what they are. They're typically very old houses which have bedrooms opening off a closed courtyard. The central courtyard will typically feature a small garden and fountain and is open to the sky.

Riad building design helps make bedrooms cool in summer - offering the perfect opportunity to offer attractive guest accommodation with excellent rental returns. However if you opt for riad renovation, it can be very expensive.

An ideal half way house solution is a new property built to Riad-style. Property resorts on Marrakech's outskirts offer courtyard homes with high ceilings and ornate detailing. Along with onsite facilities like swimming pools, spa, gym and eateries. You'll be pleased to know you can currently pick up a three bedroom property for £240,000.

Moroccan tourism boosts
Marrakesh property rental prospects have been dramatically boosted by the Moroccan government's recent policies and financial support which are making tourism a major national priority.

These efforts have been rewarded with major increases in tourist figures. For example, 6.5 million foreign visitors visited Morocco through 2006. And getting to, and from Marrakesh is much more affordable these days with these low cost airlines now serving Marrakesh:

• Atlas-Blue
• Ryanair and
• EasyJet.

Finally, Moroccan mortgage advice

When you've decided on what property you want to buy in Marrakesh, it's worth knowing that Moroccan mortgages are generally more expensive than British ones. So do shop around the British banks which offer loans for Moroccan off-plan property.

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