a holiday home

annsixty shall we all only have one car per family, thus saving the environment? One bathroom, one toilet, thus saving water?

"we bought our HH at above the average price for the area, thus not depriving anyone from getting on the housing ladder,"
That makes no sense at all J52. If it was above the average price, then you priced out anyone else who tried to buy it. And since it is your holiday home, no local can live in it. And you're only shopping in the local shops when you are ther, so the rest of the time your holiday home provides no custom to these shops, wheras someone living there full-time would.

Would buying a static caravan be a good compromise do you think re having a BH but not depriving locals of houses to buy? Just thinking -aloud- !!

Thank you because I have found this discussion interesting. Although we already live in Portugal I have been thinking of buying a small apartment in the Algarve for use in the winter when it is warmer there than where we live. I thought it would be useful so that the DCs could use it in the summer time or we could let it out in July and August when it is too hot and too busy for us. You have given me more to think about.

We bought a residential caravan by the sea under an hour away. The site is expensive but we are there at least four days a week April to sept . It works for us! We re retired. Thought maybe family would come more but it hasn't worked out that way. But we love it, feel much more relaxed , and it's near enough to feel on holiday but easy to get home if necessary. Why not try one ?

Get a boat or a caravan - more flexible …

I have a second home in Cumbria but have not visited for over a year. We need to sell but the entire area is being bought and rented out which is making our home less attractive. We were forced to buy the property at a time when DH was changing jobs, sadly no sooner had we moved in when they relocated him again. The second time I refused to move to Glasgow and moved back to our original home in the north east.
There is no reduction on council tax for second homes and we have utility bills and TV licence, insurance is hefty too.
If you can afford the luxury then go for it.

The first time we went to Australia we could have bought a nice little flat quite cheaply and the exchange rate was very much in our favour; however, things happened and we didn't but I do wish we had. We could never afford one now.

These are great posts... thanks for bringing it up and all the responses as we have thought about this ourselves.

We had a holiday home in Cornwall, only a chalet, as conscious of second homes making it harder for locals to buy etc (although some of the quaint cottages would not be feasible for a real home anyway, too small and low ceilings and no outside space etc) however, our site was run by people whose whole retirement was given over to the forbidding of window boxes and morphing into Hitler at every given opportunity. Do be careful and good luck.

We have a seven bedroomed home in Brittany, France last year. Before we bought it we paid about £1500 to rent for a few weeks there each summer. Property is much cheaper there and we bought it outright so no mortgage. It is in good condition. Running cost so far are cheap. We are going for a few days at half term and my BiL is going to fit a new kitchen before we will go for 5 1/2 weeks in the summer. My sister and her daughter will join us for 2 weeks and my daughter and family for a different week. We like that friends and family can join us on holiday for a relaxing break. We have equipped it with kayaks, snorkels and wet-suits, bikes, barbeque and beach stuff. We turned one bedroom into a children's room fully equipped with TV, DVD, games system, board games and children's toys like Lego and Brio train track so toys for children of all ages. The advantages for us are that we can keep equipment, clothing and personal things there so we can travel light. We also have baby cot, highchair, pushchair etc. We will share it with family and friends and will be happy for it to be used. I have a large family with many nephews and nieces who will use it. We still go on holidays to other places and will travel to Cyprus for ten days at Easter. At the moment we both still work but when we retire we expect to spend more time there as peaceful and in nice area 25 minds from gorgeous beaches. Disadvantages we need to improve our French as if we need a tradesman we have to ask at Maire's office and use Babblefish! We are just wondering what will happen when we Brexit.

For our holiday home in France we pay 2 types of tax and will use local tradespeople to maintain it. We pay bills by standing order. There are so many empty properties in Brittany and also so many for sale that I don't believe it is preventing others from living there. It is rural and agricultural and so the work reflects that and so many young people don't want that lifestyle and so move to the cities. The house we bought was on the market for almost 8 months and was very cheap so locals definitely had the chance to purchase it if they wished before we bought it.

Why not get a motorhome instead? Then you could go wherever you want whenever you want.

Jinty44 the locals had the 18 months it was on the market to buy it No one bought it mostly because the vendors wouldn't budge on the price. It had to be gutted, every room had asbestos. 3 months work for the local builders and associated trades.
Some houses stay on the market for years, often empty when the older owners die.

Many of the locals will shop in the Tesco 8 miles away, we never do.

Just to throw another thought into the pot re second homes pricing out locals. It is the locals selling them to outsiders and often at higher prices. They price out their own villagers. Then they get upset when the outsiders sell it on at a higher price. I know this from the area I live in.

Thanks for your responses - I didn't mean to start up a discussion of the morals of owning a second home although that is something to think about.We wouldn't consider buying abroad as we would only want to use it as a second home and not a holiday as such. I'm thinking of a few days a week but many times during the year and having it available for the family. That way we would be contributing to the local economy.

Thanks to J52 for the advice on visiting during different times of the year, I hadn't thought of that - it's easy to just think about the idyllic summer months.

We used to have a static caravan near to the sea. We loved it and went as often as possible, taking our cat with us. It was on a small site with no leisure facilities so appealed to older people and was very quiet. The caravan had full central heating, king sized bed, walk-in wardrobe and fully integrated kitchen. Gas piped in so no canisters to change. Site fees were reasonable and we could use it for 46 weeks per year. The owners lived on site so could sort out any problems for us. Have a look at static caravans before committing to buying a flat although caravans do decrease in value over time.

our site was run by people whose whole retirement was given over to the forbidding of window boxes and morphing into Hitler at every given opportunity
Was he called Basil?

The reason we bought in France was because we accept all the arguments about buying second homes n tourist areas in England.

Our house is within 75 minutes of a channel port and we are certainly not pricing anyone out of a home as local people can still buy a 2/3 bedroomed house/flat in good condition in our (unfashionable) part of Normandy for under E100,000. It is one of the cheapest areas in France. The locals are very grateful for the money we bring into the area and spend in local businesses.

We've got a holiday home, a terraced house near the coast in Dorset. We used it a lot when the children were young, preferring an old-fashioned bucket and spade holiday to an exhausting holiday via a delayed charter flight to some over-hot holiday destination.

We do still go down there ourselves to keep an eye on the house, but it is really our children and grandchildren who use it now.

Initially (30 years ago) we thought that we might retire down there but found that over the years local people have become increasingly unfriendly towards second home owners. Interestingly it tends to be the relative new comers who are the most unfriendly.

If you do buy a second home be careful where you buy. Whilst people are not actually fire-bombing second homes as they did in Wales some time ago, you do need to find a friendly area!

I should add that our house had been on the market for several years before we bought it, was in terrible condition with no central heating, ceilings coming down due to damp and frogs living in the walls. One (friendly) resident told us that nobody local was even remotely interested in taking on the task of renovation.

Static caravans lose their value frighteningly quickly and some sites have restrictions on how you can sell or let out
, as well as stiff rules about such things as window boxes as already mentioned. It's a case of Buyer Beware!
Make sure wherever you go that it's friendly to incomers & like others have said, don't bank on family loving it as much as you or being able to visit at times that suit you both. That being said just do whatever works for you. I'm sure you've worked hard for your savings and deserve a retirement that gives you pleasure and relaxation.

Get a motorhome. Lots of advantages, you don't have to keep going to the same place, it's always available, doesn't take long to pack up and go, they hold their value very well. We use ours several times a month for short trips (2/3 days) and longer trips 3 or 4 times a year.

We live in Sweden and have a holiday home in the Lake District, not in the National Park, but it is lovely, we are there twice a year together, for a few weeks at a time, I usually pop over about five times a year on mu own, to get away so to speak, and to have a lovely time just speaking English and meeting friends, and to see my lovely neighbours. I let it out twice a year to two couples we know, I dont want to let it to strangers, as one never know the state of the place when wanting it ourselves.
I would really recommend this to you Chatty Kathy, the only snag is the Council Tax, I am not fond of that!Good Luck.

This was a big thing in Wales in the 80s when Glynn Dwyer movement torched a few. Remember the Beeb sketch, come home to a real fire, buy a holiday home in Wales.

Thank you for your good wishes Diddy1. I'm going to take my time and do some research. DH has never wanted a caravan or motorhome - he enjoys the creature comforts!
Wilygran you're right; it would be with the proceeds of our hard earned savings.