Articles: Holiday home: UK or abroad? SB May 2007

Up until recently, people looking for a holiday home would look abroad as a matter of course.  Spain, France, Italy or Florida were some of the favourite places.  But things have changed.  Demand for holiday homes in the UK has never been higher.

So if you are thinking of buying a holiday home you may be wondering whether to look in this country or abroad.  More and more people are realising there are many good reasons for buying a holiday home in the UK.

Britain actually has some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.  It is the British weather that has kept people from enjoying it in the past.  But this is changing.  The last 10 summers have seen temperatures above the seasonal average and this trend is set to continue.  
 

The British seaside is experiencing a revival.  For much of the second half of the twentieth century, our seaside towns were in the doldrums. Smart sea-front guest-houses became B&Bs for the unemployed, and there was a general air of depression and decay.  Now, some of the fastest-growing property prices are to be found in coastal areas.  For instance, seaside towns along the south coast are seen as attractive bolt-holes for London residents, and are smartening up accordingly.  And the seaside too is benefiting from the warmer weather – for a period in April 2007, Scarborough on the Yorkshire coast was warmer than Greece, Italy or Spain.  Combine this with beautiful beaches, stunning coastal scenery and the delightful period architecture of many coastal towns, and you have a holiday home location that can rival most places abroad – but is much easier to get to.
 

People tend to think that because property prices are rising here, they will be rising everywhere else.  But economic conditions are very different in different countries. Take Spain for instance – so long a favourite with holiday home buyers.  Recently there have been increasing signs that there is a glut of properties in Spain, and not enough buyers.
 

Up till recently, it has seemed so easy to jet off to different countries.  Now, however, there is more and more pressure from environmentalists to cut down on flights, especially cheap ones.  If you are going to maximise the use of your holiday home, it makes sense to have it easily accessible.
 

If your holiday home is abroad, you need an agent to manage the property.  But it can be quite difficult to find an agent you can really trust when you are at a distance.  There are many horror stories - for example of agents making money on the side by letting the property to their own friends!
 

Property and land taxes in some countries can make UK stamp duty and council tax look like peanuts.  And if you’re not extremely careful to sort out legal complexities when buying your holiday home, you can find the whole purchase is invalid.

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