When looking for that second home, your usage intentions will determine your choices. In other words, if you intend to use it solely for your own leisure and close family, you will be lead by your own interests and needs. However, if you are planning a rental income from the property you will need to research the requirements of potential tenants whether they are long term or vacation lets.
If you are motivated by investment potential than you will want to buy in an area that offers a guaranteed return on investment. The downfall of such areas is that you won’t be the only one with this in mind. Very quickly such areas become investor hotspots and a consequence is more traffic, more construction and more competition when trying to resell.
Whilst on holiday, many people begin to fantasize about owning a vacation home. People get a taste for the sense of freedom and relaxation and decide that they aren’t content with this just once a year.
When shopping for a second home for your own personal use, you should consider the following:
Your Interests
Decide what are your interests i.e. what do I like to do from a recreational point of view. Even more importantly decide what you don’t like to do there’s no point spending your vacation on a golf course if you can’t stand the game. Even though you may not be particularly enthusiastic about one given recreational activity, without realising it many of your interests will be subconscious ones that you take for granted.
Weather
Will the weather affect your leisure time? It may be that you buy on the coast because you’re a surfer, however you need the wind to practise your sport.
Proximity to transportation
How will you arrive? Your vacation home needs to be easily accessible so that at the end of a hectic week you can jump on an aeroplane and arrive at your vacation home within a few hours. Therefore, you need to buy reasonably close to an airport which offers flights in and out of your home city.
Nearby Entertainment
When you’re doing the daily grind in the metropolis the thought of a mountain retreat might seem like heaven. However, you may be a nature lover but from time to time you might want an evening out at the theatre or a restaurant during your vacation.
An Enjoyable Experience
Sourcing your second home should be just that. If it starts to become a chore, forget it. People often have to make sacrifices when buying their main home in order to be close to work or schools etc. However, this shouldn’t be the case with your vacation home. It needs to fit your exact criteria and you should be fussy.
Neighbours
You may need to do a bit of door knocking to find out if they are vacation homes or permanent residents. Are the permanent residents owners or renters. Renters do not usually have the same emotional attachment with their homes as owners, so they will be less likely to keep up with maintenance and will have less interest in the general appearance of the community.
A week or two is not enough to go by
You need to visit the location and other times during the year. You cannot make your mind up about a place after a fortnight’s vacation as you will be biased. After two weeks in what seems like paradise it is inevitable that you will want to return soon. However, a quiet, relaxing retreat may turn into the destination for the annual bikers convention.
Don’t be hasty or pressurised by hard sell
Although, this is about fulfilling your holiday dreams do not lose perspective. There are thousands of potential dream homes out there so don’t panic buy without doing all your necessary research.
Written by
Susan Pedalino