Holiday home in France?

[ThousandCows]

I think I probably just need talking down... Would this be a terrible thing to spend inheritance on? Not looking for a money-maker, just want to be able to potentially cover costs, with any extra being a bonus. Or is it more likely to just be a money pit?

Tbh, I know I should chuck a load at our mortgage, and/or do some extension work on the house. But I also know that this will probably be our only chance to buy a holiday home outright, and it would be so lovely to have while kids are young, etc...

Any words of wisdom gratefully received

We can afford to buy a little property outright in France or Spain, but I won't. Too much hassle with property taxes, insurance, maintenance and concerns about squatters, burglaries, burst pipes etc. I would never let it out BTW as that is just TOO much hassle.

Use your inheritance to rent a gorgeous spot that you wouldn't necessarily be able to afford. All problems with owner! Or have the holiday of a lifetime.

But having said that a little bolthole sounds idyllic alright, but the downsides can outweigh the good sides too, especially if you can only use it during kids school hols. etc.

You could do what we did, and rent an apartment for six months money upfront (France is a difficult place to rent long term, there are lots of rules!) and pop up and down. Again, all the potential problems are with the owner/agent. Win win.

Realistically how much would you use it, your kids would probably miss their friends, toys and home comforts if you planned to stay the whole summer and realistically could you actually spend any length of time there as presume you or partner has work commitments and could only do 2 weeks at a time? factor in the costs of ferry’s, car travel, taxes, council tax, maintenance insurance, it makes for a very very expensive way to holiday, all that will happen is you have two homes to finance, run, furnish and maintain, plus gardening as well, it won’t be a case of arriving at you holiday home and opening a bottle of wine and relaxing on your summer break it will require work and a lot of it. Unless you are retired have plenty of money in the back I don’t think it’s the right thing to do. Also if you did buy it and then realised it was a mistake it could take years to shift, the property market is nothing like the UK. I would not do it if I was you.

Plenty of money in the bank that should read!

Oh definitely put it towards your mortgage, it'll give you so many further options down the line.

Also who knows what will happen after Brexit!!

Renting is much cheaper in France so I wouldn't buy especially as it can be impossible to sell. Plus you will have all the upheaval of owning and looking after a house in France which can be a nightmare believe me. You'll spend your "holiday" doing work on the place. I have 2 houses there and one is empty, gathering dust and mould and still costs money to own.

My parents have a holiday home in France. It’s in the countryside but in a hamlet. It’s never been rented out & they have not had any issues with it. When they bought it in the 80s it had no roof, electricity, etc. & it’s been done up in stages.

As children we spent the entire summer there as my mother didn’t work & was happy to make the massive journey from London. We did stop going for a bit as teens but in our 20s we all started going back.

You do have to be careful of taxes though as they are different to the UK.