 Buying
A Holiday Home: Five Steps to Getting the Right
One. EB July 2007
It seems everyone nowadays is
buying a holiday home. It is estimated
that there are over half a million holiday homes
in Britain alone, let alone all those
British-owned ones abroad.
If you know people with a holiday home, it may
look to you as if they have a really easy life –
swanning off every few weeks to their holiday
home and coming back looking tanned and relaxed.
However, don’t forget that they too once went
through the process of
buying a holiday home. Buying a holiday
home is not a matter of snapping up a property
then just sitting back. Just like buying your
main home, buying a holiday home is a
complicated process that requires careful
planning.
• Decide on your budget. Sit down and work out
exactly how much you can afford. Also work out
what you need or want in the way of a holiday
home. Do you want to be at the seaside, in the
country, or in a historic city like York? What
sort of home do you want? It could be anything
from a caravan to a castle. How often do you
want to go there? That will determine whether it
can be at the other end of the country, or
whether it needs to be within easy reach of
where you live.
• Arrange viewings. When you have worked out
exactly what you need and what you can afford,
make a check-list of all essential features.
Then start viewing properties for sale. Be
disciplined and avoid being tempted by
properties that are clearly outside your budget
or not what you need, however alluring they may
be.
• Apply for a mortgage. If you are lucky, it
won’t be too long before you find something that
fits in with your needs and your budget, and on
which you can make an offer. If your offer is
accepted, you need to get on with looking for a
mortgage as quickly as possible. You would be
well advised to consult a broker as
mortgages on holiday homes are not
always as straightforward as mortgages on
ordinary homes.
• Work towards completion. Once your mortgage
application is accepted, you can work through
all the remaining stages: survey, searches,
conveyancing etc. A good mortgage broker will
help you with all this, to keep the process
moving as smoothly as possible.
• Enjoy your holiday home! This
process of buying a holiday home might
be quite stressful, especially waiting for
completion and hoping no snags will arise. But
hopefully, the day will come when you at last
have the keys to your much longed-for holiday
home.
The important thing about buying a holiday home
is to plan as carefully as you would with any
other major financial transaction. If you act on
impulse, you risk making an unsuitable purchase
that will only bring you problems. Go about it
the right way, and you will no longer need to be
envious of your neighbours!
Bookmark with:
Facebook
 Delicious
 Digg
 Reddit
 Stumbleupon
|
