a holiday home

We live in a holiday home in SWWales 3 mins from the sea. It is a holiday home for the rest of the family, and very welcome they are to.

Thanks for the updates, I started this thread 2 years ago . Things have moved on as we have moved house instead to a new area which we are loving. Still have a yearning for the sea though

We had friends who were keen caravaners but as they got older decided to go for a static caravan on a site. After less than a year they sold it as they had done everying there was to do in the local area and were bored with going to the same place. I would spend the money on short breaks instead.

We bought an apartment off plan about 6 years ago in Lincoln which we had enjoyed planning and saving for in the 9 months it took to be built. It was lovely looking out onto the canal and we enjoyed many weekends there as well as going on our own for days at a time - I was able to work from there too. Eventually we found we weren't using it so often, family live too far away to visit, the stress of never being able to park in our own allotted space and the worry of leaving it empty prompted us to sell but not before we seriously considered moving to the area. The commute was too far for my husband's work.

Last year we started looking at properties back in the seaside town an hour from us where we both grew up and found one which needed a full renovation - we couldn't have afforded one already done. We spent the summer gutting the place, doing most of the work ourselves with the help of my BIL who lives round the corner. As this was a second home we paid more in stamp duty. We spent Christmas there, go there most weekends and I have been several times on my own since I retired. Once my husband finishes work next month we will go for longer periods. We have friends and relatives there and have seen more people in the last 9 months than we have here at home in the last 9 years! We will make the decision whether we move there permanently next year as we can't run two homes indefinitely.

I would say if you are going to do it plan ahead and find the area you want to be in - distance from home is definitely a factor to consider. To face a 4 hour journey on a Friday night is very off putting (we have friends with a cottage in the wilds of Scotland) and no matter how close to airports a place abroad is there is still the hassle of getting there, flight delays and baggage to make it not worthwhile going for a few days (another couple have a place in Madeira). It's all a matter of personal choice at the end of the day.

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I agree with Jalima. Living in Cornwall we see coastal villages which have lost their community spirit as a result of so many second homes and holiday lets. It is quite depressing to walk around some places out of season and village schools have been put in jeopardy through low numbers. If you want a second home look at designated holiday parks. Park homes are quite impressive and you won't be pricing out local families.

Given all the choices available, we love France.

Friend shave a place 40 miles away and it is used nearly every weekend. They wont give it up

We had a holiday home a few years ago when our children were primary school age. It was a flat in a Victorian block on the south coast facing the sea about an hour and a half drive from where we were living. It was idyllic for a few years and we went down most weekends. Unfortunately there began to be disputes with the other occupants about communal repairs/ improvements, which some wanted and others did not agree with leading to a deterioration of the building. As our children became teenagers they had their own lives to lead at the weekends and did not want to come down (understandably). Eventually it became a burden, with two lots of housework. We are now happy to rent a holiday home or comfortable caravan several times a year in different locations around the UK and walk away with no responsibilities at the end of each break.

We've had a home in France for years. We don't let it, but family and friends use it some. Ease of air travel at both ends makes it an easy short break. Our kids and grandchildren love France as much as we do, family memories.

I too agree with lefthanded. We have a two year old four berth touring caravan (the two spare berths are kept in their daytime position of a dining area). It has all mod cons including a proper kitchen - with a worktop, fridge, microwave, a more than adequate cooker and oven, programmable heating, TV, and a good sized bathroom. And loads of storage. A lot of caravaners now leave their 'van on a particular site semi-permanently, taking it away as and when or just spending the weekend in situ.

This year our holiday home will be in Wales, the Lake District and Devon with a few B&B breaks (that means a weekend with pub meals) in between. Much prefer our moveable second home.

(It also doubles as extra accommodation when the family come to stay.)

We have had a villa in Turkey for 25 years. We have had many fab holidays there. We do not rent it out. Have tried this and there is always something wrong. Broken this n that. Stained mattresses. Bedding. Cigarette burns etc. Renewed stuff and don't do that any more. Just let family n friends go for no charge.
Whenever we go now which is only a couple of times a year it seems to be always a working holiday. If we had the time over we wouldn't buy a holiday home so far away. There are so many great holidays to be had for bargain prices it's not worth the work and trouble there is to do every time you go. Maybe a little apartment somewhere closer .....
Caravan ..... ? Maybe not ....

Totally agree with you, lefthanded. Ours has every mod con going and can cope with any temperature as it has aircon as well as heating, also proper shower and toilet. I would recommend hiring one to try, as they are expensive to buy but really cheap for holidays.

You say that your DH likes his creature comforts chattykathy, but can I ask you if you have seen inside a modern motorhome? The level of luxury might surprise you. Full-size beds, underfloor heating, 40in TVs, and almost any other gadget you can think of. It's moved a long way from the idea of "roughing-it".

If you lives near the Midlands, at the end of February is the Caravan & Motorhome Show at the NEC. It could be well worth a day of your time.

I worked with a lady who had a second home, not a holiday home. Her DH worked on the other side of the country and it was half way between so used most weekends and holidays. Although both homes had the same equipment (kitchenware, etc) she found the main problem was remembering what clothes were at which house. Going to the wardrobe for a top/scarf/bag which was at the other house.

We load the boot with provisions before we head North.

There are houses such as cc mentions which require too much work for anyone but the most keen to do up, but not so many now; and lots of property in places like Cornwall has been bought as second homes by rich Londoners etc, pricing the locals out, villages deserted out of season and they come down with boot loads of food purchased before they arrive and don't use local businesses according to local shopkeepers we have chatted to.

So there are downsides and there is some resentment in some areas.

Did you mean Meibion Glyndŵr *Shizam?
Friends of ours had a share in a holiday home in N Wales which no-one wanted, had not been lived in for years, was isolated up a track and they all lovingly restored it in traditional fashion. They were very worried that it could be torched.

Our second home in the Mourne Mountains was specifically built as a holiday home. The deeds specify that it is not to be lived in permanently. It is in a little complex of 9 cottages. So we are not depriving locals of housing!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.