Often, it’s the little expenses that add up and become the biggest inconveniences. In the process of investing in your holiday home, you will probably have covered essentials such as the ideal place, style of property and tax complications - but have you considered some of the important extras?
We have identified a few of the small things that may seem obvious, but can get forgotten in the process of buying a holiday home; and they may add up to some bigger issues in the long term.
1. Does it come with parking?
Not a priority when on holiday, however making sure your property comes with parking will be vital to your daily activities when living abroad. After your dream purchase, there would be nothing worse than realising you must walk 35 minutes to your car or pay expensive fees. That would make it costly and exasperating.
2. What is the internet connection like?
Have you considered the internet speed in the location of your new property? Most of us will need high and reliable broadband for essential work, entertainment and emailing friends and family. If you don’t want to hopelessly stare at the buffer icon, make it a priority task on your search. Another idea is to test the speed of your location with speedtest. Its website covers every country with 7,260 servers.
3. Facilities, where?
You might have taken your local facilities for granted from the pharmacy to local supermarket and gym. Check on Citymapper or Google maps to see if the local amenities of your chosen holiday home are convenient to your everyday needs. If your travel calculations tell you it may take you more than 30 minutes to reach basic necessities, consider if this would be difficult to sustain on a regular basis.
4. Are you getting the best exchange rate for your pounds?
Making sure your travel expenses are sorted may seem like nothing in comparison to saving up for the dream holiday home. However, often the smaller hurdles can mount up if left until last minute. Take exchange rates seriously as it could make a drastic difference on the overall price of your home abroad and travel expenses. Exchange rates are constantly fluctuating, so keep your eyes glued to the various exchange rates that brokers offer months before you make the journey. Stay updated on financial news to help gauge when the best rate for the pound will occur to get you a better deal.
5. Could you rent it to get additional income?
If your holiday home is abroad, for tax and residency reasons, you may not want to live there for 12 months at a time. You can read more about these residency rules here. With that in mind, consider renting your property out for additional income to help with costs while you are not staying there. You could advertise your house on travel accommodation websites including Air BNB, Home Away or Booking.com.
6. Does it come with furniture?
Remember to ask if the property comes furnished as having to find the cash to fill a whole new property can be a huge extra cost. Also, it’s worth taking a tape measure when you view the property to see if that spare sofa, wardrobe or dining table you already have will fit.
7. Do I have enough savings?
Overall, you may find the first step to making your holiday home dreams come true is by saving up. Therefore, it is essential to maximise your current savings to finance your holiday home. We offer a range of savings products that can increase your savings and help you on your way to owning your dream holiday home.