Is a Holiday Cottage a Good Investment?

The short answer is yes, absolutely – a holiday cottage is indeed a good investment, but obviously a lot of other factors come into play to make it the potentially great investment it is, so put away the chequebook for now and take the time to gauge each element of this possible investment.

Financing

As much as we’d all like to think otherwise, what is perhaps the most important factor to take into account when looking at investing in a holiday cottage is indeed that of the finances. In other words, can you afford it or not?

Remember that having the exact amount of money which covers the listed price of a property is far from an indication of its affordability, even if you’re one of a few people in the world who would have that kind of money in cash. Unless you’re building from scratch, in which case it’s really hard to find new developments in this day and age in any case, chances are you’ll have to finance the purchase of your holiday cottage through some or other type of mortgage, largely due to the fact that its upkeep will very quickly escalate the costs associated with its acquisition and maintenance.

All it is really is that you have to plan properly and make sure you don’t end up in any form of debt that can land you in some serious financial trouble, a scenario which all too often escalates into prospective holiday cottage investors finding themselves in a worse off position financially than they were in prior to even starting to entertain the prospect of acquiring a holiday cottage as an investment.

An investment driven by need

Your consideration of a holiday cottage as an investment can be gauged as a smart move by applying a simple test, that being whether or not it’s an investment that will make financial sense. For instance, are you merely seduced by this prospect as a result of the fact that you perhaps go away on holiday to the same favourite place quite regularly, staying there long whenever you visit, or will the acquisition of that holiday cottage actually make financial sense in that it will work out to save you money in the long run?

Is the location of the holiday cottage you’re considering investing in one which has you planning to retire to that region, perhaps?

Holiday cottages in Wales, for example, have enjoyed a fantastic boom in the success of renting to tourists. It seems to be the typical place for both overseas visitors and British nationals to go and holiday.

All of these considerations may sound like solid reasons to take the plunge and make the investment, but you have to be prepared for a whole lot of unexpected expenses which form part and parcel of owning and maintaining a second or third property, so if none of this fazes you and you’re still excited by the prospect which is you see as more of a challenge, then go for it!

Otherwise, if you visit many different places as part of your annual vacation, one of which may perhaps be the North Wales destination of Conwy, it might just work out cheaper for you to rent a holiday cottage instead of going all the way in and committing to the added headache of managing another property.