Buying A Second Home? Consider This
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Are you thinking about purchasing a second home? If so, then there are a few things you should consider whether you are buying a holiday property or a buy-to-let home as a smart investment.
A New Location
One of the first things you need to think about when it comes to your second home is where this will be located. You don’t want a second home right next to your existing one, you may choose to use this as a holiday home for family getaways. It is also nice to occasionally rent out your second home as this will give you a steady income in months you may be feeling the pinch.
You may already know where you want your second home to be, having been there many times before. This could be the city or located close to the beach for summer vacays. Don’t be afraid to spend some time finding the best location, this is after all a huge investment. If you need to get out and about then you could make use of a luggage storage facility at the nearest station. This saves you dragging heavy bags or luggage around house viewings.
Selling Value
Something you need to think about when buying a second home is how much you could make when you come to sell it. No matter which house you buy, you must always have in the back of your mind whether you can make a profit or not. You don’t want to buy a home and lose money when you sell it, that isn’t the goal. Make sure you check out house prices in the area and how much these have sold for in recent years. This will also give you some haggling power if you don’t want to pay the full asking price.
There are some things you can do to your new home to make it more appealing to buyers and to up the asking price. This could be installing hardwood flooring, a new kitchen, or even a loft conversion.
Marketing
If you are looking at renting out your second home then you will need to market your home the right way. If potential holiday goers can’t find information on your property then they aren’t going to inquire. This leads to a whole spiral of you not having renters or money coming in from your second property. You can advertise on various social media platforms, this is where you can gain most of your interest. Make sure you add pictures, videos, and pricing so potential clients don’t have to message for the information.
Management
Another point to consider is management. This is important if you are buying a home that is far away as you won’t be able to handle everything yourself. By hiring a management service you can keep things under control with minimum levels of stress and ensure that your new property doesn’t cause headaches. This is worth doing if you are planning on renting the property out as a holiday home or even if you are taking on tenants. If you don’t do this, then you could be hit with negative reviews and even legal issues because your property isn’t managed correctly.
Additional Costs
Think about any additional costs that may be associated with your second home. This could be anything from a management fee, usually paid annually but can also be paid monthly. There might also be other ongoing costs such as pool maintenance if you are lucky enough to have a private pool on site. This will need to be cleaned regularly so make sure you do your research on finding the perfect pool person. Check out their rates and reviews before hiring them.
When you go through the home buying process you will be informed of any hidden or additional costs that may crop up. You can also ask the estate agent when you go to your viewings if there are any other costs associated with the property.
DIY
Lastly, if you are trying to save money then don’t be afraid to do various DIY jobs yourself. If you have the tools and the experience then you don’t need to get a contractor or builder to do the work for you. Do be aware that for bigger jobs you will need to hire a registered tradesperson just so everything is done to the book.
Work out costs of materials and everything else you need. Doing repair jobs and renovations yourself will certainly be cost effective and kinder to your wallet.
We hope you found this article helpful and that it gave it some ideas and inspiration on what you need to consider when buying a second home. You can have a lot of fun with a second home, especially if you are buying it in a luxury location.
