Posted by We all have times when we go somewhere, and it enters our head that this would be a nice place to live. For some of us that is dismissed when we gaze in the Estate Agent window but for a lucky few this dream can become a reality.
What is it for?
Firstly you need to be clear why you’re buying a second home. Is it to generate income? If so, it is worth looking close to home as you will be able to manage the house and the lettings yourself. Or, is it solely for your purpose as a holiday home? If it’s just to be a little holiday bolt-hole then you will again need to consider distance. How long will you want to travel to get there, if it’s too far it may rule out a long weekend away and start eating into your holiday allowance.
Set out the costs
Using a calculator to help you figure out your payments is a good idea. Don’t forget to include home and contents insurance or landlord’s insurance. Make sure you note down estimates for utility bills, council tax and even the television licence. This will help you to ensure that your proposal is viable.
You’ll need to also allow for unexpected costs, which might pop up from time to time. For example, you might need to hire https://www.pestcontrolexperts.com/local/utah/ at some point, or you may need to repair fencing or roof tiles after a storm. There can be quite a lot of unexpected or unaccounted for costs when purchasing a home.
Furnishing
You will want to paint and re-carpet at the very minimum to create a clean and clear space. There will be additional costs to be added for all the kitchen paraphernalia such as crockery, cutlery, toaster, pots and pans etc. You’ll also need to budget for new beds, mattresses, duvets and duvet covers as well as towels for the bathrooms. Then there will be additional costs for a television, sofa and arm chairs, dining table and chairs and places for storage.
Make friends with the neighbours
It would be helpful to make friends with the neighbours adjacent to the second home. If this is just your holiday home, it will be useful to have people who can keep an eye on things if you are not there. It might be useful to find a handy person who you can pay to tend the garden while you are away, perhaps mow the lawn and water if it is hot. You won’t want to arrive and have to deal with a garden that mother nature has taken back for herself. If it is a property for rental you will want to let the neighbours know to contact you if there are any problems with unsociable behaviour.
I hope you found this blog post useful? Whatever you end up doing, it sounds like exciting times are ahead! Investing in property can have so many returns, so long as you make the right decisions when it comes to which properly, location and whether you think it will work for you. If I had to choose, I would probably go for a second property in a warm and sunny location and would plan to stay in it for half of the year while renting it out for the other half. After all, a girl can dream!