Imagup General Magazine 2024
Buying a holiday home represents the dream for a great many people. It is the natural step up from simply visiting a place on holiday, and if you develop a special connection with a particular destination, then it is the perfect way of deepening your bond with it and enabling you to immerse yourself in the local culture.
Holiday homes are also fantastic because they allow you to have all the creature comforts of home without the boredom of familiar surroundings. As a result, it bridges the gap between home and holiday, giving you all the comforts of your home country with the adventure of a different location.
However, the actual process of buying a home overseas is a daunting one. Indeed, while the purchase of any home is difficult and a long-drawn-out process, trying to do that in a different country with its own laws and regulations, perhaps a different language, and many cultural differences adds to the challenge.
This is why, even if they have the money, many people are put off the idea of actually buying a holiday home. It can look like too much fuss and bother for the result to be worth it. Well, we are here to tell you that owning the ‘right’ holiday home is worth it. You only need to do your research and due diligence to make sure you pick the most suitable property at the right price.
To help you with the process of buying and managing a property overseas, here is a quick guide:
Establish a Transportation Method for Moving Furniture to the Property
When you do buy a holiday home overseas, one of the most obvious and immediate challenges you will inevitably face is how you are going to transport all your furniture to the property.
While you can, of course, buy furniture in the country where the house is situated, it can become very expensive as a result. Finding bargains can be difficult, and your overall choice could be limited.
Instead, many holiday homeowners shop at home and then transport items over to the holiday home. However, how can you do this? It’s not like you can jump on a plane with a couch and a bed.
Well, it all depends on where your holiday home is. If it is on the other side of the world, you might have to bite the bullet and buy furniture there, but in all other instances, you can use international shipping from a transportation firm – try Shiply, for example – to get your items over to the holiday home.
You can also take this route if you want to move large amounts of clothes, pictures, books, and other personal items to the new property.
Choose an Area You Love, But That Is Also Desirable to Others
When it comes to choosing a location for your holiday home, then you need to consider both your own tastes and preferences, as well as one that is desirable to others.
The reason why you want to appeal to the tastes of others is because you may find that you need to rent the place out to make some of your money back, or eventually sell it for a profit.
You can’t hope to do this if the area is not desirable or one that is never visited by tourists.
Thankfully, it is unlikely that you will have fallen in love with a location overseas that other people hate because you started as a tourist yourself.
Remember that combining a rational business head with the emotional pull of personal impulses is key to choosing a holiday home. You need to perform a balancing act between right and left brain, to ensure you make the right decision for you and your bank account.
Spend Time in Possible Locations Before You Buy
Another great tip that you need to remember if you want to buy a holiday home is that you should spend an extended period in possible locations before you settle on a particular property and buy it.
The reason for this is that holiday romance is a real phenomenon. You can fall in love with a place on holiday, feel compelled to buy a house there, and then realize that over a longer period, you don’t like the place as much as you thought you did.
Therefore, rent a place for a month or so in a location where you are thinking of buying a house. Explore the local area but avoid touristy activities. Instead, act as if you already live there – going shopping, spending time in local eateries and bars, meeting locals, and even working from there.
If you still feel like you love it after a month, you know you have chosen the right place.
Don’t Overstretch Yourself on the Budget
A further tip you should take into consideration when you are buying a holiday home is not to overstretch yourself on the budget.
While you might fall in love with a particular home that comes in over budget, the reality is that you will desperately need that money at some point in the future to pay for maintenance of the property, travel to and from it, the cost of moving your belongings there, and so on.
The last problem you want is to own a great house, only to lack the money to enjoy holidaying there.
Have Someone to Look After the Place When You Aren’t There
One of the biggest fears that prospective buyers of holiday homes have is that they can’t control or maintain it from long distances.
This is why you need someone trustworthy and skilled who can look after the property when you aren’t there.
Try to find someone with experience in hosting local Airbnbs to give it a clean and check-up once a month, to make sure everything is okay and that the house is kept on top of in terms of hygiene. This way, you know you’re not going to turn up to find the property in disrepair.
