Phil Spencer: Everything you need to know about buying a holiday home

Another big question is whether you are happy to holiday in the same place repeatedly. It may feel strange and not very cost effective to put the effort into a second home and then go and spend money travelling elsewhere for a break.

Second, owning a holiday home and going on holiday to rented accommodation or a hotel are very different. When it is your own home any trip will inevitably include doing jobs around the property, especially if you are there infrequently.

It doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to relax and take a break, but there is a likelihood that at least part of your time will be spent on admin and maintenance.

Third, there is the question of what you want to do with the property. Is it just for private enjoyment or would you like to rent it out to others when you’re not there?

Letting it out as a furnished holiday let or Airbnb is a significantly bigger undertaking. Running a successful holiday let can make you a decent income, but it has to be done correctly.

A holiday home can be managed as a business and so there are tax implications that need to be considered.

Get it right and there is opportunity for loyal returning customers – the holy grail of the industry. If you find a holiday home that you like, it is well furnished, everything works and you feel it is value for money then the chances are that you’ll return.

I know this from personal experience. For about eight years we rented the same place every May half term in Cornwall, returning because it was exactly where we wanted to be, suited our needs, was well furnished and managed, and we had built up a good relationship with the owner.

If you are planning on renting out your second home and live a distance away, I would recommend using a holiday lettings management company to support you.

As with all properties there will be glitches along the way. If you have paying guests they will want any issues to be resolved as soon as possible, and you are unlikely to be able to do this yourself.

And plan ahead – you will need to book out the dates you want to be there yourself and then release dates for guests. The last thing you want is to only have interest from guests at the times you want to be there yourself.

Two families I know bought a holiday house together and plotted out in advance over a year who was going to use it and when.

When the children were really small it worked brilliantly, but then gradually became more challenging when their teenagers became old enough and wanted to start visiting themselves with their friends. Suddenly there was a huge demand to use the residence and the yearly planner went out the window.

The moral of the story being: think in advance. If you are going to spend time at your holiday home in half terms and summer holidays, will you be able to find enough holiday-goers in the off-season to make it worthwhile? It may very well be, but it’s worth doing your research.

There is also the question of whether you want to build or buy your holiday home. As I have written before in this column, it is cheaper to build than buy space.

And building something from scratch is very exciting. The joy is in being able to customise it to your lifestyle, and therefore choosing where to spend your budget – if you are a keen gardener you can spend more time on the garden, if you are an avid cook you can spend more on the kitchen.

However, countless hours need to be dedicated to a build. Even if you outsource the project management – and managing something like this is a skill in itself – there is an absolute avalanche of decisions to be made.

No one else will care about the property as much as you do. It’s your money, your house, so you will want to be involved, and that takes time and energy.

My wife and I have renovated numerous properties, and we have also built a holiday home from scratch. The frequency and intensity of the decision making is never to be underestimated.

It is easy to say, but you must do everything you can to make sure the build does not become a nightmare. It is your dream and your retreat, so if it keeps you awake at night with worry or becomes something you hate doing there’s a risk the magic of the dream house will be ruined.

Building is very exciting and potentially profitable – but just make sure you are going in with both eyes open.

In contrast, if you choose to buy an existing holiday home, particularly one which has been functioning as such in the past, it may already be fitted out and have repeat business lined up so you can hit the ground running.

With this in mind, I would suggest you start making friends and connections in the area, even before you think about buying or building.

You may already have them. If you have been holidaying for years in one area you may already be part of the community in some way. However, out-of-towners coming into holiday areas and buying second homes is an ongoing matter of controversy and so should be handled with sensitivity.

There are clear arguments on both sides. On the one hand, we know that second home owners buying properties in a local area pushes up prices, and there is one less home on the market for locals.

However, the other side of second home ownership is that it injects outside money into the local community and economy. This can have a significant impact, particularly if owners are visiting during the off-season when tourism levels fall.

My main advice as a new or prospective homeowner is to make sure you are showing your commitment to the area. Visit your neighbours, keep them informed on progress of a purchase or a build, go and see them, take them wine. Be respectful. Think how you would like to be treated if it were your hometown.

If you are building your second home the neighbours are the ones who will likely have to deal with the noise and building work day-to-day if you won’t be there.

You really don’t want to fall out with them, it is just not worth it.  And if you are not there all of the time, having someone close by who can keep half an eye on the property and ring you if there are any issues is really useful.

When we built our home we chose the builder based on local recommendations and it was one of the best decisions we made. It never goes 100pc to plan, and more often than not things do cost more and take longer. But if you are still good friends with your builder at the end then that is a positive indictment of the process.

We visited houses he had built and spoke to people he had built them for, seeing that they were all still on good terms was a big comfort. We also were sure to employ local tradesmen, as well as source kitchen, bathroom, tiles etc locally.

Whether you decide to build or buy, rent-out or keep private, becoming a second home owner is a serious undertaking. It is one with many rewards.

Owning your own getaway is a wonderful thing, a place to call your own where you can escape the stresses and strains of everyday life. Just make sure it doesn’t become another one.

As ever, do email me with your thoughts and questions: phil.spencer@telegraph.co.uk