Tips for Buying a Holiday Home
We all have that one place we’ve travelled to and fell in love with, so much so that we can’t wait to go back and often find ourselves dreaming of it at all moments of the day. Whether your special place is a quaint seaside town in the south of France or a luxury island in the Bahamas, you’ve probably given some thought to buying a permanent holiday home there. Few are brave enough to take the plunge, but if you are seriously thinking about spending all your holidays in your most treasured place, here are some things to consider.
Condition of the home
In the same way you look at the condition of a house when you’re looking to buy it, you need to assess the condition of a holiday home, too. Do you have the budget to complete a full static caravan refurbishment, or do you only have the budget to buy the initial home? Is the home in a livable state for holidays, or does it need some essential maintenance?
Moreover, do you have the time to upgrade your holiday home? If you purchase a home in a different country, you might not be able to dedicate months to the refurbishment project, especially if you work and can only get over there for a few weeks a year.
Think about how much you’re willing to pump into the project and make sure your purchase reflects your reality.
Location
Location is key, as you will know. It’s even more key in holiday areas. You might think you’ve stumbled upon a hidden gem, but if you’ve found it, other tourists will have, too. In the same way you’d scope out future plans for a normal home, you need to look at tourist numbers and any developments in the pipeline that could affect the desirability of your property. After all, Benidorm was once a quiet seaside town, and now it’s a bustling area integral to Spain’s tourist trade.
In-between holidays
The next thing you need to think about before buying a holiday home is what you’re going to do with it in between your holidays. A lot of people choose to leave their homes unoccupied and completely private, especially if they are situated further away from tourist hotspots and are less likely to generate income from travelers. For a lot of people, they like to make their money back on their holiday homes, and a good way to do this is to rent it out when you are not there.
The issue is, because you’re not present, it can be hard to manage the property. This means you might need to hire a housekeeper to ensure the house is clean, everything is in working order and nothing gets damaged after bookings. Think about how much you can earn from renting it out and how much you’ll be paying a housekeeper to effectively manage it in your absence. If you can still turn a profit, it might be worth doing.
Taxes
Buying and running a property in a foreign country is not the same as it is in your home country. It can be tricky to navigate the legal system of a country that is not your home, so be prepared to pay for lawyer’s fees. Just because you’ve bought a home in the UK, it doesn’t make you qualified to buy a home elsewhere, so to avoid any nasty surprises, it’s best to leave it to the professionals.
Summary
Owning a holiday home can be extremely rewarding and a great choice is you know for a fact you’ll get plenty of use out of it. We hope you’ve found these tips to be helpful.
