About to start your search for a place in the sun? If so, take this simple test to see what and where you should be buying. Ten minutes spent now could save you a great deal of time, stress and money later.

QUESTION 1: Are you buying a holiday home?  

If YES - go to Question 2

NO - If the property you’re buying isn’t going to be a holiday home, then you’re likely to be hoping it will be a money-spinner in the short or long term. There are two ways to make a profit from property – rental income or by waiting for the property to increase in value (capital gain). In current times, it is unlikely that we will see a significant capital gain in the short term, so if you are using the rental income from the property to pay the mortgage while you wait for the value to increase then this will determine where you buy.

Look for the following when determining which destinations are popular: 

• Good connections between your home country and the resort either with plenty of flights or easy connection by road
• Popular with a variety of nationalities to maximise the rental season (for example a UK half term week will be popular with British families but not in demand by the Spanish whose children are at school that week)
• Established tourist destinations, offering a wide variety of restaurants, bars and shops as well as plenty of activities for children, naturally attract a higher number of tourists than sleepy, inland hamlets (however pretty and peaceful they may be)
• If buying in a resort, choose one with a good number of on site facilities as this will attract more renters to your property
• Political and economic stability will ensure your investment is secure 

Many of the mainstream markets in Spain offer owners the probability of regular income, mainly because they are popular tourist destinations, almost guarantee good weather and thus rental demand is high.

Emerging tourism (and property) markets are less certain sources of regular rental income – mainly because they are less popular destinations for most tourists and their tourism industries are not so developed.

Our verdict: mainstream areas such as Spain, France and Portugal.

QUESTION 2: How often will you visit your holiday home? “Now and again” or frequently” (i.e. more than four times a year)

If “NOW AND AGAIN” – go to Question 3

If you will be travelling “FREQUENTLY” to your place in the sun, it must be somewhere closer to home and on one of the regularly used flight paths. You will probably be considering one of the more popular parts of Europe: Spain, France or Portugal.  As they are the most highly sought after areas, they tend to be also the most expensive. However, they are served by busy and international airports which makes getting there a breeze. For example, we have made it door to door from Javea (Costa Blanca) to London (NW) in 5 and a half hours.

Our verdict: popular resorts with regular flight connections.

QUESTION 3: Will you be visiting your holiday home  in high or low season?

If “IN HIGH SEASON” – go to Question 4

If “IN LOW SEASON” – choose a European destination which sees warm temperatures and blue skies from early September onwards until at least early May. Although weather cannot be guaranteed for the whole of the low season, it is very common to wear short sleeves in the winter months on the Costa Blanca, for example.

An alternative is to choose further afield destinations such as South Africa and Thailand, Dubai or Cape Verde. However, long-haul means more expensive flights and not all these destinations offer cheaper property.

Another thing to bear in mind is that some resorts are very quiet out of season. It is wise to visit the areas in the winter months to be sure that restaurants and shops remain open and that there are other people around.

Our verdict: European destinations, Spain or Cyprus. Long-haul destinations, South Africa, Thailand, Morocco, Dubai or Cape Verde.

QUESTION 4: Will you be travelling with or without children in high season?

If “WITHOUT CHILDREN” and you will only be using the property during high season you can consider buying in one of the further destinations such as Egypt, Brazil, Canada or the Caribbean. This is because a longer journey won’t be such a problem if you’re visiting infrequently. Ideally you’ll probably want to “lock up and leave” your property, so a purpose-built resort is ideal as security is higher than in a remote village or town. Also because you’ll be using it infrequently and just for yourselves, consider an apartment or a townhouse, with access to a swimming pool, rather than a villa, to keep maintenance costs low.

Our verdict: purpose-built resorts in more affordable markets.

If “WITH CHILDREN” – although your money may go further in emerging countries compared to the more established and closer destinations such as Spain, France or Portugal, flight prices and journey times may make long-haul unattractive.  

Our verdict: popular and easy to travel to European destinations.

QUESTION 5: Are you buying a permanent home?

YES – As this will be your permanent home, you can choose exactly the type of property you prefer: an apartment, a townhouse or a villa, with or without a pool. Good connections between your home country and your new home will enable you to easily visit friends and family and of course, enable them to visit you! It is important to ensure that your new home offers good facilities such as hospitals, banks, shops and schools so check these carefully if you are considering a property in an emerging market. A vibrant community and social life may be important for you and established destinations are more likely to offer theatres, cinemas, clubs, etc. throughout the year.

NO – Go to Question 1