Will you regret your holiday home purchase?

A real estate expert says that many holiday home buyers end up regretting their purchase after six months. Can you relate?

Holiday homes come with a whole lot of pros and cons. You may be in love with that beach house you bought a month or so ago, but you may not feel the same way half a year on. According to Patrick Bright, EPS Director and author of The Insider’s Guide to Buying Real Estate, emotion-driven holiday home purchases can lead to some serious buyer’s regret further along the track, and 6 months is the average incubation period for said regret.

Why we regret our holiday home purchases

There’s a huge list of things to consider when buying any home, but according to Mr Bright, the main culprit when it comes to bad holiday home buys is our own emotions. We might not have any solid idea of the financial ramifications of purchasing a holiday home, but an emotional attachment to the area or home in question can completely override that (rather large) issue.

“People get carried away with their holiday and decide to buy a place that they can come to whenever they like,” says Mr Bright.

“It’s often a really poor financial decision and in about six months’ time, many people who have purchased a holiday home will wake up with a massive financial hangover because of it,” he said.

He also adds that holiday homes have a number of disadvantages that many buyers don’t consider before making their decision.

The risks or cons of a holiday home

According to Mr Bright, some of the risks of purchasing a holiday home include:

According to Mr Bright, these risks are compounded by the fact people tend to let their good judgment take a break while on holiday, which makes the whole thing even more dangerous from a financial standpoint.

“One of the key risks associated with buying this type of property is that most people don’t have the time to do rational research while holidaying and their decision will be an emotional one,” he says.

Potential buyers may also rush through house inspections and considerations due to only being on holiday for a short period of time, which may lead to them missing some of the finer details and potential red flags.

“Like nearly all emotional decisions we make, they cost not only now but often later on as well.

“From a financial perspective, buying a holiday home or getting into a time share scheme is a luxury, not a sound financial decision.”