Buying holiday home abroad

The pros and cons of buying a holiday home abroad

Owning a holiday home in a beautiful destination and escaping whether it’s for a long weekend in France or jetting off to Bulgaria for your usual summer holiday can have its pros and cons.

Holiday homes can be a big decision to make, that’s why we’ve outlined what we believe are a few areas to consider.

What are the benefits of purchasing a holiday home abroad?

1. A quick getaway
Having a holiday home you are just a flight away from your perfect break away from reality. No need to scroll through holiday booking sites when you have your very own home from home in your chosen location ready to go and relax.

2. Saving money on holidays in the future
When you own a holiday home, going on holiday or short trips can become a lot more affordable because the main cost of accommodation is no longer a concern. If you go abroad often, in the long run you could potentially end up saving money.

3. Friends and family can visit
Being able to host your friends and family whilst on holiday in your own holiday home is a great advantage of having a second property abroad. It can also be great for the whole family too for example, your grown-up children could take their friends or their own family on an affordable trip/holiday.

4. Renting it out for extra income
Some people may invest in a second property abroad to use for specific holidays, or in their retirement. However, if you decide to rent out your second home you could benefit from another source of income. Remember, this can be seasonal depending on the location and tourist season throughout the year or because travel destinations suddenly or gradually become unpopular.

What are the considerations of buying a holiday home abroad?

1. Potentially limiting yourself to the same holiday location
As much as you love the chosen location for your holiday home, you may want to explore and discover other beautiful destinations. Will the location of your second home lose its charm after trying every tourist attraction, restaurant or local delicacy numerous times?

2. Initial and ongoing expenses
When purchasing a holiday home, the price of the property is usually just the starting point when it comes to ongoing costs related with owning a second property, for example, purchase fees, any taxes, general bills, maintenance of the property etc.

3. Language barriers
When owning a second property abroad, language barriers may become a problem especially if you require services for example, local maintenance on your property (both during your stay and when it is unoccupied).

4. Natural disasters
Natural disasters can happen all over the world at any time. Natural disasters include; hurricanes, tropical storms, tsunamis, earthquakes and landslides etc. When looking for your perfect location for your holiday home, this may be something to consider because this could affect your property if one was to occur in your location, costing you for the damage and repairs needed the natural disaster has caused.

Protect your investment with Intasure

Overall, trying to find the right property in the perfect location that fits your needs could be difficult. When purchasing your property you may want to consider insuring it to help protect your investment. At Intasure we provide holiday home insurance across 40+ countries covering for long or short term lets during both occupied and unoccupied periods. Find out more about holiday home insurance abroad.

*The opinions and views expressed in the above articles are those of the author only and are for guidance purposes only. The authors disclaim any liability for reliance upon those opinions and would encourage readers to rely upon more than one source before making a decision based on the information.

Ref: FP1091-2020