What are the downsides of owning a holiday villa like this (link)?

[rarga]

We are seriously thinking about buying a holiday villa like this one below. Obviously not going to post exact one, but it’s similar style/size/layout/price.

Caribbean Villa

This place rents for around £250 a night.

My parents owned a house 30 years ago that they rented out so on the back of that...

We went in April to open it up and October to close it down - both 'holidays' were spent cleaning and doing maintenance.

Summer was a holiday there. No point going anywhere else as staying in our house was cheaper.

You might want to go in peak weeks so you'll make less money.

We rented to friends, but renting to other people seems to mean they can break whatever they like and not take care of anything because they are paying for it. So factor the cost of repairing things.

Our friends understood that they had to clean the property for the next people, you might need to get in a cleaner - more expenditure.

Our next door neighbour used to mow the lawn but you might need a gardener - more expenditure.

Have a look through mumsnet at all the private landlords and the state their houses can be left in. Also, the moans and groans from tenants about how shit their landlords and estate agents are. Maybe dip into the holiday cottage ones too. That will help with the possible pitfalls and will enable you to see what sort of agent you need to look for!

If you are buying it for a holiday villa then to recoup costs means you are limited to going to the same place all the time on holiday, I wouldnt like that

If you are buying it for an airbnb then you just have to bear in mind you need good systems for cleaning and repair and that will cut into your profit

Friends and family will expect to use it for free or cheaply. In peak weeks when you would otherwise make the most money.

How well do you know the island? Legal system ( legal title, planned developments etc).
What property taxes are there? Planned increases? Different regime for non citizens? Non permanent residents?
Will you live there yourself? Safety/security.
Insurance costs.
How will you maintain and clean the property? Do you have reliable family/friends there who will do this for you? If not how much will a management agent cost?
If planning on renting all the pitfalls associated with being a landlord anywhere: Rogue tenants, difficult tenants, management, maintenance and insurance costs, tax ( on island and in UK)
Travel costs if you have to go out and resolve any issues personally.

Looks lovely though!

Whenever it came up in conversation, our accountant would always say you’re better off renting someone else’s property than buying one and dealing with all the hassle of ownership.

In addition to all of the above, which I agree with, another downside is just how far away it is.

We've had a holiday home in Mallorca for the last 15 years and that's been absolutely great.

It's also close enough that it makes sense to use it at weekends as well.

Finish up work early on Friday afternoon, then it's a 2.5 hour flight to Palma and then a 30 minute drive to get to our home there.

We then leave Sunday evening about 7.00pm - 7.30pm from Palma to return home.

We've never let it out and it's just been a family home over all that time.

It's a long way away if there are any problems, anything needs fixing. You'll need someone locally to act as an agent so that's more expense.

Too far away to use it for short breaks for you/your family and likelihood is that when you do go out there you end up doing jobs, updating the villa, sorting out admin.

If you're renting it out you can't leave a lot of your own stuff there. For me the attraction of a holiday home would be getting off a plane knowing that I had clothes, toiletries, towels, some food/wine etc. all there ready for me.

Obligation to go back to your villa for every holiday because you're paying for it. Depends whether you like to explore different places.

Every so often I have a holiday home daydream but all of the above bring me back down to earth.