8 Things to Consider Before Buying Your First Vacation Home in India

You have just landed back in your city after enjoying the long awaited extended weekend at your favourite destination- and you are already ruing the drive back home and the thought of getting back to your office routine is like a stone weighing your spirits down. The next time you are planning to revisit the place, the challenges of hotel booking, flexibility of dates, soaring flight prices gives you just the nudge you required – You are now ready to buy a home for yourself in your favourite vacation destination.

Welcome to the club – for all those who seek to have the comfort, convenience, for some the luxury of having a home away from home. You are finally ready to seek out your perfect oasis of harmony and would like to go over the checklist. Here’s what you need to think through:

1. Destination: buying a home is always a long term commitment. So think through your choice of destination – has every subsequent visit left you begging for more? If you love something, you can never have enough of it – so if it’s the majestic views of snow-capped mountains, or the tranquillity of plantation farms, or verdant greenery of a wildlife sanctuary or even the sun and sand adorning the waterline, you can spend hours soaking them in and yet yearn for it when away.

2. The People and Culture: The diversity within India manifests itself at every step. During your longer stays have you had a reason to believe that minus the people, the place is truly spectacular. Stray incidences don’t count- if in general people are warm, welcoming of strangers/tourists, and even go out of the way to assist, then this parameter is definitely met.

3. Tenant before Owner: One last test that you need to ace is to simply go and live there for an extended period without too much of planning. Take up a place on rent for a couple of weeks – walk down to the beach or through the forest trail , to the nearest grocery for buying the provisions, to the nearest café to see if you can sit there for hours reading a book few days in a row and, to all those activity areas where you think your family is going to spend majority of their time. If the routine or absence of it makes you want to stay longer, you are ready to graduate to the home owner band.

4. Location: You have zeroed in on the city/village/town where you plan to pick up your primary vacation home – now what next. How do you find that perfect lane-street-hairpin bend-beach where you can go about putting your nameplate. Location for a vacation home holds equal significance as it does for any other real estate offering. How far is it from your primary mode of transport – highway/airport/railway station; how well connected it is from the nearest major road network; what is the development of social infrastructure around it; and most importantly if it’s going to serve as the family vacation home you will have to consider attributes like what all activities are nearby that can keep the family engaged even on rainy days.

5. Stand-alone v/s Community Homes: You can choose that quaint little villa/cottage overlooking the bay or the valley with no one else to infringe on your privacy, or you can choose to buy that perfectly designed condo that is part of a larger housing complex with all amenities- clubhouse, kids play areas, convenience shopping, gym, sports facilities and the whole nine yards.

6. The financial decisions – The Deal Breakers: Calculate all the Costs: It is not just the cost of property but what comes after that matters. Be prepared for the onslaught of monthly maintenance, local taxes, hired help and any other charges that you would have to shell out for keeping the place ready to use anytime.

7. Would you Rent it out or not: A related point to the financial assessment is after you have put in all the requisite efforts to find the perfect getaway home for your family, would you want it to sit idle or possibly earn a little when you are not around. Depending on the seasonality of the destination, you can always take the call of whether it would be worthwhile to place it on rent.

8. Vacation home vs Retirement Home: Vacation Home can turn into a retirement home provided couple of elements have been considered – primary ones being, availability of health care facilities nearby, social/cultural club to keep you engaged, not so adventurous approach to or exit from the property, homes that are not spread over multiple levels without lift.

With all these tied up you are now all set to take the plunge.

Many at times, you would still want to go and explore some new resort or a boutique property that has come up – don’t let that deter you from buying your vacation home. The four walls that make up your home will always be more welcoming and relaxing than any paid resort.

Here’s your dream world class vacation home in the most loved destination in India, Goa. Presenting Adora De Goa by Puravankara where you’ll find the true spirit of Goa architecture that’s vintage yet modern in outlook. If you are someone who loves Goa’s beaches and its laid-back lifestyle, here’s an excellent opportunity for you to own a beach home in Goa which is conveniently located in Central Goa and 15 mins (3 kms) from airport, 3 kms from vasco.

There is no place more delightful than one's own fireplace.~ Marcus Tullius Cicero