Owning a second home has many benefits. Having a 'home away from home' that you know and love. Somewhere to store all the things you normally have to pack the car with - or carry through airports. The time you save booking vacations. And the income your vacation property can generate for you through rentals. With the initial and ongoing costs of purchasing and running a second property, deciding to buy a vacation home rightly takes a lot of consideration and research.
If you're wondering whether you should buy a second vacation home, the answer is yes! To help with your research, we’ve compiled a list of the three main reasons many homeowners decide to purchase a vacation property:
- A Comfortable Vacation - Guaranteed
- Spending and Earning Money Through Your Vacation Home
- Remote Working: A New Opportunity
- Retiring in Style
A Comfortable Vacation - Guaranteed
Having a vacation home as a second property can be both a smart financial investment and a time-saver, too.
Instead of finding accommodation each time you go on vacation - all of which involves hours of researching and checking reviews, maps and amenities - you have a ready-made slice of paradise waiting for you in a holiday destination you already know and love going back to.
Many vacationers look for comfortable accommodation with all the amenities specific to their own interests and needs, searching for somewhere that feels like a ‘home away from home’. With a vacation home, this feeling of comfort and ease is a given, which makes starting your vacation on a good note all the easier.
There will be no doubts as to whether you'll enjoy your stay or questions on what to do. Having that sense of familiarity in your very own getaway will ensure every vacation is comfortable, enjoyable and memorable.
Spending and Earning Money Through Your Vacation Home
Spending Money: Buying Your Vacation Home
Making the choice to buy a vacation home isn't easy. Not only is there the initial cost, which may require you to take out or top up your existing mortgage, but there are also bills and the costs of traveling to the property to get maximum personal use out of your investment.
However, there are ways to offset these costs and make it worthwhile.
Earning Money: Renting Your Vacation Home
Renting - particularly internationally - can take a lot of time and effort to arrange and oversee, so be sure the rental income you are likely to gain is worth the time and money you invest in renting. There are third-party websites and management companies - such as Airbnb or Villa Plus - that can help manage the renting of your home to various degrees for a percentage of the earnings.
Deciding how to rent out your vacation home and what platform or management service to use can be difficult. Make the best decision to suit your needs by reading about the real costs of running a vacation home, which include:
- The time commitment.
- Repairs and maintenance costs.
- Equipment such as WiFi, toiletries, digital keyless entry systems.
- And much more.
However, going down the Airbnb route isn't for every vacation homeowner. Although there's potential for income and is fairly easy to manage on your own, things like unforeseen circumstances, difficulty in hosting and the legality aspect are all yours to manage. You can find out more about the pros and cons of Airbnb owners need to know here.
When considering the rental opportunity of a vacation home, it’s important to know what you can do to maximize your property’s earning potential. Buying a property in a prime and desirable location and ensuring it is well-kept are key to maximizing your occupancy. Furnishing the home to a high standard and making sure your guests have access to amenities are also a must and can mean the difference between charging guests a lower or higher amount.
If the property you’re considering investing in is a condo or part of a complex, the company that owns or oversees the buildings may be able to manage your property rental on your behalf. This would save you valuable time, money and effort spent communicating with guests or maintaining, advertising and managing bookings of your property.
In some cases, hospitality giants like Hilton can even manage your condo hotel property on your behalf when not in use.
Remote Working: A New Opportunity
More and more people are now making their homes their workplaces. In most industries, employees know that work can carry on without a heavy dependence on offices. Thanks to online platforms and video-conferencing, working from home has become part of the ‘new normal’. The modern office can be a living room, a coffee shop, or even a beach - all you need is WiFi and a laptop or tablet.
So, if you don’t have to live within commuting distance to your office anymore, you can live more or less anywhere you like. Where would you live and work if there were no limitations?
Having a vacation home in a hotel condominium like Bermudiana Beach gives you up to 90 days a year to relax in Bermuda. With that kind of freedom, you can choose to live, work and play in Bermuda. Short flight times to Bermuda from Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Halifax, and Toronto mean you can commute easily and still be only 1 hour ahead of EST.
This gives you the time and opportunity to enjoy Bermuda’s culture, meet new friends, and find local places and activities to complement your new lifestyle. Bermuda offers everything the adventurous homeworker is looking for. fantastic weather, an endless list of things to see and do (including world-class golf courses and facilities) beautiful beaches and island life. All of this paired with the first-class infrastructure like the hospital, airport, shops and communications network makes Bermuda the ideal place to live and remotely work. All in a safe and hospitable environment.
Retiring in Style
Establishing a life in a country with a large expatriate community - such as Bermuda - before reaching retirement age is a good way to prepare for your retirement. If you’re thinking of settling down in the sun for your retirement, then purchasing a vacation property is a good way to slowly settle into your future permanent home.
This gives you the time and opportunity to enjoy Bermuda’s culture, meet new friends, and find local places and activities to complement your new lifestyle.
If you're weighing up your options and Bermuda is one of them, here's everything you need to know about retiring in Bermuda.
Buying a vacation home in a location you hope to retire in allows you to spend time there before retirement. Then, by renting it out, you can also accumulate a nest egg to fund your retirement adventure under the sun.
We understand buying a vacation home isn’t always a straightforward process, but it can be made easier. One of the first steps is to find the right location for you.
There’s no doubt buying a condo can be a great decision if you want access to more amenities, less maintenance and a closer community. That's something Bermuda offers. Purchasing a condo abroad is a fantastic experience that allows you to have a vacation getaway to call your own in a lucrative way.
If you're deciding on destinations and Bermuda is on that list, we have a great guide about owning your very own slice of Bermudian paradise.
Next Steps: Your Bermudiana Condo
There are questions you need to ask yourself and education you need to access before jetting off. With that in mind, we’ve created a free, downloadable Condo Buying Guide filled with everything you need to know about purchasing a vacation home in the subtropical paradise of Bermuda.
Get your copy below.
