a holiday home

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Get a boat or a caravan - more flexible …

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 ?

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.

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- !!

"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.

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

I don't actually own two homes. When my DH was alive, we helped our DD buy a house after the break up of her marriage and so I have a small interest in that. I am, at present, living there with her, which has worked out well thus far. I am, however, aware that things could change and it would not be feasible for the arrangement to continue. At which point decisions must be made re the flat.

Things won't change while the people who can afford second homes are in power. Sorry to bring politics into the discussion but that is the fact

To slightly address the criticisms, we bought our HH at above the average price for the area, thus not depriving anyone from getting on the housing ladder, we only use local builders etc. only shop in the local shops, have joined societies etc. that benefit the local environment and charities, we also pay Council Tax.

I totally agree hulahoop. Second homes lying empty most of the year while local people cannot afford a first home is wrong. Many of these destinations have a shortage of accommodation overall (e.g. can't build new homes in a National Park) and the low/seasonal wages in these areas means they cannot compete when the few houses come up to buy. And rents are scandalously high these days. Plus the knock-on effects of fewer permanent families means fewer school pupils, small schools close; fewer customers for the local shops means they can't keep going either. Having a second home is not just a financial decision, it is also a moral one.

Ah! the holiday/second home debate. People lucky enough to have spare money buying up rural properties as holiday/second homes in areas of natural beauty. The money brought into into these places by "outsiders" does nothing to really help the local economy. These people have enough spare money to buy and renovate these properties which the locals cannot afford to do.
This pushes up house prices way beyond what the local residents can afford. The locals who work in the rural economies are generally poorly paid and local public transport is poor.

These rural workers do the sort of jobs which help keep the landscape looking nice and rural for the enjoyment of the richer people in these second/holiday homes. There is often very little well paid employment opportunities in these areas which are often very isolated transport wise.
I consider this is very unfair on these rural workers .

This information is about the Whitby area but many more part of the country suffer from this. I wish the authorities would take some radical action to stop this second/holiday home situation. In areas like Whitby it is seriously damaging the local communities.

www.coliseumcentre.org/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2014/06/WADT-Affordable-Housing-Paper-June-2014.pdf

*Foreword
Holiday/second homes in Whitby and the surrounding areas of the North York Moors National Park (the Northern Area of Scarborough Borough Council) now represent over 20% of the domestic housing stock. This is having a severe impact on the availability and affordability of housing to meet the current and future housing needs of local residents.

Four out of five of the net additional dwellings created in the Northern Area between 2001 and 2011 have no full time resident. This significant and continuing loss of potential homes to meet local housing needs has not been taken into account in the
Strategic Housing Market Assessment, which underpins the Draft Local Plan 2014/2030
As my post suggests I find this grossly unfair.

I can absolutely see the attraction of having a holiday home. But I do think we will have to, at some point, acknowledge that those who can afford to have 2 houses will have to pay a lot of extra tax for the privilege. A generation that has benefited enormously from full employment,good pensions, housing profits, free university etc can't keep on denying their good fortune, and refuse to accept that there needs to be some redistribution of wealth. And no, that doesn't mean giving it all to your own kids and grandkids, lovely though that is!