Home and Away
With an estimated global television audience of 3.5 billion viewers, the beauty of Yorkshire enjoyed significant exposure courtesy of the successful Tour de France ‘Grand Depart’ over the summer months. Such exposure is likely to further boost tourism, demand for holiday accommodation and in turn the existing logic for investing in a holiday home in Yorkshire.
Following summer holidays and time away from work, many begin to plan their ideal holiday property. Buying a holiday home can sometimes be a ‘heart overruling head’ decision and accordingly, just like any other investment, careful consideration is needed to ensure you make the right purchase.
Business or pleasure
Are you planning on retaining your holiday home for exclusive family or friends use? If so, it is easy to personalise your property so that it feels like home every time that you arrive. However, if you are planning on taking advantage of the holiday-makers market and making a few empty weeks help pay for the running of the property, then practical personalising needs to implemented, as you will need to allow for general wear and tear. One downside to offering your property to the open market for holiday rentals is that it can depersonalise the property sufficiently to the extent that it becomes less of a home from home and more of an investment.
Where to look
‘Honeypot locations’ are always a favoured destination for holiday makers and the quaint ‘chocolate box cottages’ always have appeal and this helps to optimise financial returns. This needs to be balanced however by asking if you actually want to live where lots of visitors are continually arriving. Perhaps this location is ideal for the odd one or two week holiday but can tend to become a nuisance if you are proposing to spend most weekends of the summer in your holiday home, enjoying your downtime.
Types of property
Purchasing a quaint cottage with beams and old-fashioned ‘nooks and crannies’ might seem idyllic, but if you owned such a property, then more often than not, you will have a continued programme of maintenance to think about. You might end up spending most of your leisure time sorting these problems out which is something that you are probably trying to get away from doing. Easy to maintain or recently renovated properties can be a real bonus when you are trying to relax. Demand for these types of homes from holiday tenants can also be equally high in the right locations.
Near or far
Living in Yorkshire and having a cottage in Devon or Cornwall might seem appealing, but for every time you wish to use it, you could have a five hour car journey or even more. Yorkshire has some of the best views and locations close to your doorstep, such as the Dales or Moors. Having a holiday property within an hour’s drive from home might seem to defeat the point initially, but being able to spontaneously visit on a quiet weekend without prior planning or even visiting during the week can be highly desirable. Getting the best use out of your investment is paramount when buying any property especially as the costs involved can be considerable. Just remember, it’s a lot easier to reply to ‘are we there yet?’ when your holiday home is close by!
There are many aspects to consider when purchasing your holiday home. Having independent and impartial advice helps ensure your head rules your heart, making sure your property investment purchase is not only an enjoyable one, but also a well-informed one.
