The Daily Telegraph - Saturday
What you need to know about buying a holiday home
Acquiring a property in a favourite vacation spot is a dream come true, but there are many factors you have to consider first. Phil Spencer explains
‘The significance of feeling a connection with a place shouldn’t be undervalued, but it’s just a starting point’
It is a dream for many to one day be able to say, “I am off to my holiday home for the long weekend.” But owning a second home is undoubtedly a luxury. According to official data, there are currently 482,000 second homes in England, of which I have one.
However, it is not without its drawbacks and it shouldn’t be rushed into just because you can.
We have all had the experience of going on holiday, falling in love with a beautiful little village and thinking, “This is it, I’m going to buy here.”
The significance of feeling a connection with a place shouldn’t be undervalued, but it is only a starting point.
There are plenty of hoops to jump through after that, such as deciding whether you want to build or buy your second home.
Before you get that far, I would run through a mental checklist.
Firstly, how easy is the location to reach in terms of time, distance and methods of transport; and does that work with your plans for the home?
If you live in the Midlands and your dream bolthole is in the outer Hebrides, is it realistic that you will travel there for anything less than a week? Equally if you live in Chester and your getaway is in Snowdonia, will it feel far enough away to be a proper escape?
If the answer to either of these is a yes, then it is an arrangement that works for you. In which case, great. So delve further. And are you happy to holiday in the same place repeatedly?
Secondly, owning a holiday home and going on holiday to rented accommodation are very different.
When it is your own home, any trip will inevitably include doing jobs around the property, especially if you are there infrequently.
It doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to relax and take a break, but there is a likelihood that part of your time will be spent on admin and maintenance.
Thirdly, there is the question of what to do with the home. Is it just for your enjoyment or could you rent it out?
Letting it out as a furnished holiday let or Airbnb is a significantly bigger undertaking. Running a successful holiday let can make you a decent income, but it has to be done correctly. A holiday home can be managed as a business and so there are tax implications. Get it right and there is opportunity for loyal returning customers, the holy grail. If you find a holiday home that you like, it is well furnished, everything works and you feel it is value for money, then the chances are that you’ll return.
If you are planning on renting out your second home and live a distance away, I would recommend using a holiday lettings management company.
As with all properties, there will be glitches along the way. Paying guests will want any issues to be resolved as soon as possible, and you are unlikely to be able to do this yourself.
And plan ahead – you will need to book out the dates you want to be there yourself and then release dates for guests. The last thing you want is to only have interest from guests at the times you want to be there yourself.
Think in advance. If you are going to spend time at your holiday home in half terms and summer holidays, will you be able to find enough holiday-goers in the off-season to make it worthwhile? Do your research. There is also the question of whether you want to build or buy your holiday home. As I have written before in this column, it is cheaper to build than buy space.
And building something from scratch is very exciting. The joy is in being able to customise it to your lifestyle, and therefore choosing where to spend your budget – if you are a keen gardener, you can spend more time on the garden, if you are an avid cook you can spend more on the kitchen.
However, countless hours need to be dedicated to a build. Even if you outsource the project management – and managing something like this is a skill in itself – there is an absolute avalanche of decisions to be made.
No one else will care about the property as much as you do. It’s your money, your house, so you will want to be involved, and that takes time and energy. My wife and I have renovated numerous properties, and we have also built a holiday home from scratch.
The frequency and intensity of the decision-making is never to be underestimated. It is easy to say, but you must do everything you can to make sure the build does not become a nightmare. It is your dream and your retreat, so if it keeps you awake at night with worry or becomes something you hate doing, there’s a risk the magic of the dream house will be ruined.
Building is very exciting and potentially profitable – but just make sure you go in with both eyes open.
In contrast, if you choose to buy an existing holiday home, particularly one which has been functioning as such in the past, it may already be fitted out and have repeat business lined up so you can hit the ground running. With this in mind, I would suggest you start making friends and connections in the area, even before you think about buying or building. You may already have them. If you have been holidaying for years in one area, you may already be part of the community in some way.
However, out-of-towners coming into holiday areas and buying second homes is controversial and so should be handled with sensitivity.
There are clear arguments on both sides. On the one hand, we know that second homeowners push up prices, and there is one less home on the market for locals.
On the other hand, it injects outside money into the local community and economy.
My main advice is to make sure you are showing your commitment to the area. Visit your neighbours, keep them informed on progress of a purchase or a build, go and see them, take them wine. Be respectful. Think how you would like to be treated if it was your hometown.
If you are building your second home the neighbours are the ones who will likely have to deal with the noise and building work day-to-day if you won’t be there.
Whether you decide to build or buy, rent out or keep private, becoming a second home owner is a serious undertaking. It is one with many rewards. Owning your own getaway is a wonderful thing, a place to call your own where you can escape the stresses and strains of everyday life. Just make sure it doesn’t become another one.