75 m² warehouse or two-bed serviced apartment in Madrid?

[BrightStone]

I’m comparing a 75 m² warehouse with a similarly priced two-bedroom serviced apartment in Madrid. The warehouse appears simpler to maintain, while the apartment seems to offer more control over income but potentially larger irregular bills.

My model includes financing, insurance, energy use and resale liquidity. I’m less confident about shared-building reserves, vacancy risk, management workload and how tenant demand differs. The answer may also change depending on how the property is held. What would you put on a practical pre-purchase checklist, particularly for costs that tend to emerge after year one?

 

[nia_sage]

Don’t equate simpler maintenance with steadier returns. A warehouse may have fewer day-to-day items, but one long vacancy or work needed for the next tenant can dominate the year. With the apartment, shared-building contributions and replacement of furniture or equipment may be the lumpy costs.

First clarify the warehouse’s permitted use and likely tenant pool, and exactly what “serviced” includes for the apartment. Those two answers affect insurance, workload and resale more than floor area alone.

 

[sharp_journal]

I’d challenge the idea that the serviced apartment necessarily gives you more control. Building rules or the servicing arrangement could restrict decisions, while a warehouse owner may have more control over the unit but less control over vacancy duration.

Ask for a breakdown of recurring charges, reserve contributions, insurance responsibilities, energy obligations and management fees for each. Then model normal occupancy, a long vacancy, and one large unplanned bill. Also compare the likely resale buyer for each property; a broader audience may matter more than the headline yield.