As the pound continues to grow in strength, holidaymakers are thinking about traveling a bit more than usual. But there are a small but growing number of travelers that are thinking about taking the ultimate step: getting their own vacation home. There are some obvious pros and cons to it. For example, one of the top benefits of buying a vacation home outright is that you have a space that’s always yours. So even if a travel destination gets super popular and rooms are hard to find, you can just arrive and come home to your space. It’s always set up the way you like it, and you don’t have to share it with anyone if you don’t want to.
But there are some pitfalls that you need to avoid. One, it can look cheap on the surface to have a vacation home, but this is still another property that you’re going to have to maintain in order to enjoy it. Many people believe that the maintenance costs are going to be less because they’re not going to be there as much. You might be surprised what a vacation home requires, simply because you’re not there as much. In addition to the maintenance, you may have property taxes due every year to a completely different country, and you have to make sure that’s settled. Living in the country will also require the usual expenses. Who handles the electricity servicing in that area? What about the water? Who takes care of the Internet? You’re going to have to think of it like a second home, more than a vacation home that you abandon for months on end. If you’re really far away from the new home, you’re going to need to think about how to get back and forth to it. Are those costs very expensive? Continue Reading