Yes, I agree if we hadn’t been so lucky we would have rented.
Even if it takes you 12 months to find the correct property it would cost you less in rental fees than all the legal costs in buying, selling and repurchasing a property.
There are three “seasons”you need to look at when looking at locations.
1. January/February is everything closed or are there enough residents/holiday makers around to stop the area from looking like a ghost town.
2. July/August is the area over run with holiday makers. Can you still go out and be able to park your car when you return or are you going to be stuck in a traffic jam just doing your weekly shop.
3. The other 8 months of the year - the normal months. When there’s a pleasant mix of residents and tourists. Most locations should look the same up and down the coast and inland.it’s the summer and winter footfall you need to find out about.
Lynn