5 Things To Consider When Buying A Holiday Home

Thinking of buying a holiday home? It’s vital to understand that although a holiday home is a great place to treat your friends or family members to a long weekend away from reality, it’s a large commitment that requires significant investment. Buying a property abroad can be a rollercoaster of emotion; from excitement to despair. It can be a challenging time for all, from submitting an ehic form prior to your travels, to seeking professional advice from experts before signing the final holiday home agreement. No matter what the reason, there are five things that you should definitely consider beforehand.

1. Location, location, location!

Understandably, location is one of the most important aspects to consider when choosing where to invest in a property abroad. Several people have bought a holiday home overseas without giving its location any real thought. To avoid reciprocating their mistake, take into account whether you are buying to live in, or simply buying to let.

If you are buying a holiday home for your own personal use, you will choose a location that is suitable for you. However, if you are investing in a buy-to-let holiday home, you will have to imagine what kind of tenant you are looking for and what their needs will be – which may differ to yours.

2. Holiday home insurance

When it comes to purchasing your holiday home of dreams in the exotic destination of your choice, doing your utmost to protect it is paramount. Because different terms and conditions apply to most, if not all, holiday home insurance policies, you must choose the most-relevant policy for you and your new holiday home. An effective way to do this involves obtaining a number of quotes from providers that specialise in insurance for non-standard and holiday homes, as they are more likely to provide more affordable and the best offerings. 

3. Operational costs

Insurance and property management agencies aren’t the only costs that come with maintaining a holiday home. You’ll need to consider the cost of electricity, taxes, housekeeping and general maintenance fees, too – not including the cost of travel to and from your home in the sun! Before you jump to any conclusions or go ahead and buy a holiday home abroad, you should accurately calculate the annual expenses of owning a holiday home to identify the affordability of the upkeep of the property. If you decide to go ahead with the purchase, you can use this valuable information to budget.  

4. Parking

When you buy a holiday home abroad, you don’t want to spend endless hours finding a parking bay close by when you arrive. You should ensure there is available parking close to your front door, or within reasonable distance to the property. This way, you can have peace of mind knowing your car is safe, and you won’t have to fork out hundreds of euros on parking costs each day. Depending on the property you are looking to purchase, you may be offered a stand-alone garage. Not only are these practical in busy tourists areas, but could add as much as £9,000 to the value of your holiday home.

5. Travelling time

It might be an obvious factor to consider for some, but many people who consider buying a holiday home never properly consider how much time they’ll actually be able to spend there. Before you buy, take a look at your schedule. If you have plenty of free time to travel each year, getting a substantial amount of time in the sun shouldn’t be an issue. But, if you don’t have much time spare, you may want to consider booking a week-long holiday instead.