[Help] Buying a holiday home

[schmunk]

I'm a rabid socialist and I have no problem with this thread.

What gives?

You're becoming right wing in your old age...?


c.f. your comments on tax rates

 

[Dave the OAP]

We have been looking at long term rentals in Spain as we like visiting different places so buying a place in one area in Spain doesn’t work for us.

We love a place called Nerja just up from Marbella and there are some month long rents in really nice villa complexes, nearby golf courses etc, for around €750.

One we are looking at is owned by a Swedish lady and she throws in use of a car too!

 

[mikeyjh]

We bought and converted a water mill and a couple of associated buildings in Normandy with a river and loads of land about 25 years ago and I had visions of the family meeting up for holidays, for years to come.

I think we had the family join us about three or four times before they got bored with it. Too quiet, nothing much to do for them so we sold up before the first grandkid even arrived. It was way too big for just the two of us and the ongoing costs didn’t justify keeping it on. If I’m honest we probably lost the equivalent of a couple of round the world cruises by the time we sold up.

In contrast, me and a couple of workmates bought a two bed flat on the Promenade de la Croisette in Cannes about thirty years ago when we were often there with work. That has been a total goldmine ever since, although none of us actually use it any more, it still makes a tidy sum for us all every year.

Two different experiences of owning holiday property abroad, I guess you win some and lose some. I personally wouldn’t do it again unless it was an exceptional opportunity.

I watch way too much 'Place in the Sun', if I had 10p for every time someone was looking to buy an apartment in the a**e of who knows which Spanish resort for £80k saying that they want 3 beds and enough space for when the family come over for holidays/visits/christmas, I have a few quid and it always leaves me with a knowing smile.

In fact, our house has 3 permanently made up bedrooms with TVs set up, all mod cons, towels etc for the 3 nights a year that anyone visits, so who am I to mock?

 

[Papa Lazarou]

We have been looking at long term rentals in Spain as we like visiting different places so buying a place in one area in Spain doesn’t work for us.

We love a place called Nerja just up from Marbella and there are some month long rents in really nice villa complexes, nearby golf courses etc, for around €750.

One we are looking at is owned by a Swedish lady and she throws in use of a car too!

My parents owned 2 different places in Nerja (not at the same time) and we spent many holidays there as kids. Wonderful, relatively unspoilt town, with some lovely restaurants, plus the magnificent Balcon De Europa.

They (the parents) lived out there for about 10 years full time before they sold up and went to live in Australia.

 

[HastingsSeagull]

A big house is likely to cost a lot of money to maintain and lead to silly arguments at some stage like an early posted commented if shared.

That said we have some small holiday homes dotted around which are simpler. Might not be the kind of thing you want if kids and dogs will be running around, but something easy for a few days away as a base that you’ll sleep in works well. If it’s a condo/flat in a block there will be people around for security and it also might be easy to let out occasionally or to fix anything that goes wrong if you are not there. Or at least prevent an issue getting worse. There’s also a lot less that can lead to arguments with that type of property.

Whatever you do decide, before you potentially look, I’d suggest going to a similar rented place while you think about it. Could spark other ideas and priorities/requirements that aren’t so obvious sat at home.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

all the arguments between the shared owners,
‘I want that week’, ‘no I want that week’.
‘ You broke that so you pay for it to be replaced’, ‘No I didn’t break it Harry did’
‘We think the bedding needs replacing, will cost £150’, ‘well, we are quite happy with what’s there, so we aren’t paying’
etc, etc, etc.

This is almost certainly the best advice on this thread. You might think you know your family members, but this will put a massive strain on all concerned. Recessions happen, people lose jobs, relationships fall apart, priorities change. The chances of everything remaining sweetness and light between family members for the length of time required to maintain a shared holiday home abroad I'd suggest are minimal