Buying a Holiday House?
With the holidays fast approaching many people find themselves dreaming of owning their very own getaway.
However, buyers shouldn’t think owning a holiday home will be all blue skies and sunshine. Wakelin Property Advisory associate director Jarrod McCabe said people should not buy a holiday home as an investment.
“While these properties do have the potential to bring in a rental income and experience capital growth that isn’t a reason to buy,” Mr McCabe said.
“The reason to buy a holiday home is for lifestyle benefits as it can actually be a very expensive process. “However, that is not to say there aren’t benefits in buying a holiday home.”
Here are Mr McCabe’s pros and cons for buying a holiday house.
PROS
■ Home away from home
You can pick a holiday home you truly love and personalise it if you own it. You are also able to pick your dream location and make it your own.
■ Unlimited access
There’s no need to book and you can go anytime you want. You have flexibility as you can head down for the weekend or head down for the whole of summer if you want to.
■ Rental income potential
While it shouldn’t be relied upon there is the potential to have either long or short term rental income. To best maximise this it is best to stay within an hour to an hour and a half of the city for potential renters.
■ Potential for capital growth
Depending on where you buy there is the possibility of good capital growth. While this is a plus, it is not a reason to buy a holiday house as it can’t be relied upon.
CONS
■ Expensive
A lot of the locations people want to buy into are quite expensive, most of the time you aren’t looking at cheap property.
■ Potential to be empty
The property could be empty for much of the year. There are no guarantees you’ll have tenants for much of the year.
■ Obligation
If you own a holiday house you can feel obligated to go there. This can mean that you always end up vacationing at the same place.
■ Conflict of interest
Holidays and peak periods are when you are most likely to have renters for your property, however, this is also the period where you will most likely want to visit yourself meaning you need to choose between the two.
Jordan Marshall – Herald Sun
