Having the freedom to take a break from the daily grind whenever you want is a luxury that many wish that they had. There are ways for you to enjoy short holidays whenever you like, and having the ability to nip off for a relaxing break at your whim can give your life a bit of breathing space.
Buy A Holiday Rental Property
By taking out a holiday let mortgage, you may be able to own a holiday property that you could rent out for as much of the year as possible. If you work your pricing right, you should be able to make a profit on the holiday home.
There may be times of the year that you will naturally find that bookings start to slow down. These will offer a great opportunity for you to take a free holiday and spend some time in your own holiday home.
If you find that your property is in high demand you may need to keep some dates free for yourself to use your holiday home.
If the property is not located within an easy commute of your home, you may need to look at paying someone close by to maintain the property. This will entail visiting between guests to change bed linen and clean throughout. If there is a garden, this will also need weeding and the grass will require mowing.
Get A Camper Van
There is no greater freedom than having your home on the back of your vehicle. Take off and drive wherever you like, and when you get weary of the road, pull over and rest for the night. Whether you are drawn into the vintage appeal of the Volkswagen Camper, or you imagine something more substantial like an American style RV, there is a campervan out there that will no doubt suit your style.
If you are buying from a dealer, you may be able to source finance options as they can be expensive to buy. And once you have your campervan, you will no doubt want to take it far and wide as often as possible in order to get the most use out of the vehicle.
One of the greatest freedoms that you will have with your campervan may be to take it abroad. Check out the legal restrictions to driving in the countries that you would like to visit. You will need to check that your license is valid there, that you have suitable motor insurance that allows you to drive overseas, and you should also make sure that you have international breakdown cover. There would be nothing worse than breaking down thousands of miles from home.
Buy A Fixed Caravan
Owning a static caravan is also a good option to give you somewhere that you can go whenever you like. If you have a caravan in a popular site, you will find that you can rent your van out whenever you are not using it. Over the peak of the season, you could expect to get a reasonable amount of rent in return.
Again, as with renting out a holiday home, you should consider how you will get your caravan cleaned between visitors. Nobody will want to stay in a dirty caravan, however, there will be cleaners in the area that will be able to do the job for you. Find other caravan owners on the same site to find out who they are using to manage the cleaning in their vans.
Your caravan will generally be connected to a gas bottle for use in heating, providing hot water, and cooking. Make sure that there is always sufficient gas available at all times, and have a contract in place so that your bottles can get replaced as needed.
The other thing that you will need to think about when you are buying a static caravan is that you may well need to pay ground rent to the owners of the park where your caravan is situated. This will cover the cost of electricity and water, while also providing a rental income for the landowners. Check how much the ground rents are in any caravan site before you make the decision to buy a van there, because the monthly payments on the caravan may seem like a bargain, but the ground rates may end up being more costly than you may expect. You should also take into consideration how often the ground rents are likely to change too.
*This is a collaborative post.