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Searching for a piece of paradiseHoliday homes are fun, but returns can be slimBy Bina Brown  A beach shack in Bali sounds an attractive lifestyle choice, but it may not work as an investment. YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS(CNN) -- How many times have you returned from holidaying in an idyllic location, wishing you owned your own piece of paradise there? Whether it is a villa in the Greek isles or Bali, a ski lodge in Canada or a house on the water somewhere, the dream of a lifestyle change in the form of a second home is never far from people's minds. If it is an overseas destination and you are only visiting once a year, then more than likely the flight and a hotel booking for a month would be cheaper than buying a second house. But then it wouldn't be yours to use when and with whom you want, and to decorate to your own taste. On the Indonesian island of Bali, for example, the joint owners of a luxurious villa in the picturesque fishing village of Seseh are hoping one day to break even on their investment. But in building a villa in a country where non-citizens can't own the land or the building, they are also realistic enough to know they could lose the lot if circumstances change. Ownership of the seriously upmarket "Sesehserasai" is split three ways and includes designer Glenn Parker of architects Grounds Kent in Perth, Australia. His wife Bridget manages the villa, including the local staff, which gives the owners extra peace of mind that it is being run to the standard they want. At $300 a night in peak season, the villa is rented about 50 per cent of the year. The owners reserve it for two weeks of the year each. "A few years ago we all thought we'd put some money in and if we lost it we wouldn't be devastated," said one of the Perth-based owners. "The key to having it is the management. We know other people who have gone into villas but if you don't have the staff on the same level it doesn't work. We are competing against 4 to 5-star resorts." The other great lure of a holiday home is being near the water. Sydney schoolteacher Hillary Stockton fell in love with the Greek island of Kasterllorizo 20 years before she finally bought a rundown villa there, 100 meters from the water. "I called in for six hours on a boat and thought 'I could take this'. It's the wonderful light and great way of life. I always liked islands. I used to go on holiday to Rottnest (an island off the coast of Western Australia), so it might have started there." Securing the two-story stone cottage, with its olive trees and grape vines, took far more negotiating than she was used to, but then she wasn't in a great hurry and the end result was worth it. Stockton had planned to rent it out during the ten months of the year she is not using it, but hasn't yet been able to share her space with strangers. "I have local friends who keep an eye on it and they have family who might use it occasionally. I planned to rent it but it's my home," she says. At $20,000 such a cottage sounds incredibly cheap compared with something in an established coastal resort near a big international city, where even a shack on the beach will attract a premium price. It's not hard to break the million-dollar barrier in these circumstances. Lifestyle choiceMost property and financial advisers will tell you that investing in a holiday home is a lifestyle choice, rather than a purely commercial one. "Absolutely," says Certified Financial Planner and director of Baldry Financial Group, Suzanne Baldry. "It is a lovely lifestyle asset and a valid one for people who can afford it. But don't count it as an asset which will generate income to live off, because in most cases it won't," she says. For those who got in early, the strong desire for future lifestyle living has seen a surge in property prices within easy driving distance of most major cities around the world. In some places, such as Whistler resort outside Vancouver in Canada, or Nikko, north of the Japanese capital Tokyo, winter sports are part of the attraction. In places like Australia, strong demand for beachfront homes just outside capital cities has seen millionaire's rows replace rundown shacks in many seaside towns. In some cases these lifestyle homes will start out as affordable weekenders and become the primary residence as retirement nears. For others they will be an expensive money pit. Regardless, the hot properties will share similar characteristics. They must be within an easy drive of a city. And they must be in locations that have a logical attraction, be it scenic, social, historic or local industry related. The sought-after homes have the scope to entertain house guests and are in reach of city-style attractions such as cafes and cinemas. Prime locations include near coastal towns and country villages close to existing, new or emerging infrastructure and close to existing hubs. 
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