Second Homes

It's not just pretty rural areas that are hit by this situation - at the weekend the news reported on a number of empty mansions in Bishops Avenue in Hampstead that have been left to effectively rot over decades... something should be done about it. It seems the wealthy can have as many empty homes as they want but the poor can't have a spare bedroom!

I can't understand why people buy houses to use as holiday homes. Have they stopped to work out how many weeks in a nice, ready-cleaned-for-you, bed-made-up, holiday cottage you could have for that price? And you can go to different locations.

My thoughts too, jings

I agree with every ones comments about this situation, what annoys me is the people who buy in this area always outbid any local who may want to buy, they cannot possibly compete pricewise

It's a problem isn't it? Do you remember the Welsh 'activists' who used to threaten [and sometimes did do it] to burn holiday homes?It's all market driven of course,sometimes locals don't want or can't afford to buy so unless somebody does, the homes would be empty, and the householder in a real mess if he has to move and can't sell up.

I think that local councils should try and do something about this. The sort of prices well off second home or Holiday lets owners can afford are way above what most people in those nice rural areas can afford.

The locals cannot afford to live there, as their picturesque rural jobs tend to be very poorly paid and seasonal. They cannot afford to live in the area they need to be in to work at all.

I have a feeling the North Yorkshire Moors national Park has tried to do something to secure a %tage of housing for locals only.

Perhaps local councils should get some legal rights to commandeer property that has been empty for a set amount of time and make it available to housing associations for use as affordable housing, or make the property owners do the same or forfeit that property completely.
We have a national housing shortage so ration property. Bang up council tax on empty property even further and ring fence the profits for new housing.

As a second home owner - in France, where rural dereliction has made British homeowners very welcome. Prices are low there compared with the UK and there is a great tradition in France of second home. In one or two small coastal resorts near us nearly 90% of the houses are holiday homes and no one seems particularly bothered.

In the UK it is different and I would feel uneasy buying a second home, especially in a holiday hot spot like, South west, Cotswolds, Lake District etc. We have a shortage of housing, very little building and in hot spots prices are being driven up by people who do not intend to make the home they buy a permanent home.

Mind you retired people moving to these places from other parts of the UK also drive prices up because they are cash buyers and if they have come from the south east are capital rich cash buyers.

FlicketyB I have heard that in rural France houses are often left almost to rot, as families cannot agree about anything once the relative [the owner has died.] Is it a problem there?

it was a problem but inheritance laws have changed and families are smaller so this happens much less frequently.

What I do think sometimes happens now is that adult children move to cities and away from their rural roots and when the surviving parent dies, if the house is small and run down and probably difficult to sell, the family just turn their back on it and forget it. I think this happens quite a lot in the more remote parts of France where large areas have been steadily depopulated over 60 or 70 years and there are no buyers available.

However recently there has been a return to the country and a lot of run down farms locally have been gentrified by the French themselves.

I agree with jings (!)
I know people with second homes and it looks like a kind of tyranny to me - you must spend your holidays there (so you don't get the variety of holidays), you have to do gardening, property maintenance etc when you get there. And all the housework and cooking. You'd have to really, really love a location to want one.
One of the couples have had a horrendous boundary dispute which has cost them a fortune and ended in them being bullied out of a big chunk of garden.
Another person has a much loved second home - but only one of her daughters really likes going there. I foresee a disagreement about it after her days.
Not envious.
In regard the original post - difficult to know how it can be controlled isn't it, unless the local council bought the homes and put council tenants in them.

This was already a problem when we moved to Cornwall 40 years ago. We had Cornish friends who were living in caravans because they couldn't afford to buy houses. Not only were the houses being bought as holiday homes, but the owners would arrive with their cars packed full of supplies for the holiday so they were contributing very little to the local community. Their contributions tended to be complaining about their neighbour's cockerel or the local farmer muck spreading.

Sorry I have to take an opposite view here. I appreciate some places are ghost towns in winter as a result of holiday homes (Salcombe suffers from the affliction) but 1) People are entitled to spend their money as they wish and 2) Is it not locals who sell to them in the first place?
If planners are that concerned then a covenant could be placed on a home as is sometimes the case with agricultural tennant dwellings but I would imagine the owners would object as it would devalue their property. It is certainly a thorny issue but one which is man made and perhaps whether we care to admit it or not borne through greed.
As for the Bishops Avenue example that is somewhat different as derelict or not those properties can afford to remain empty, fall into disrepair and still be worth tens and hundreds of millions.

Newist, if I was ever lucky enough to own a property in the Hebrides it would be my first and only home! I wouldn't want to leave.

Dragonfly it is a magical place to live, but it has been a bit damp lately

Newist first of all, love and hugs. The cottage we stay in and have for the past 13 years does belong to a family who do own it as their second home. They bought it as a run down and previously neglected place which was used as an animal 'sanctuary'. I do agree that there are many who buy and only visit once a year or so. Our friends go over as often as they can and this is several times a year. They do intend to live there permanently when they retire and they also buy locally (building materials) and give much work to local businesses such as builder, plumber, gardener and fencing people.

The owner you mention seems to me to be a very selfish person and probably comes over with a car load of produce to live on for when he stays for a week or two.

I agree with Dragonfly that if we ever had bought a house in the Hebrides it would also be our only home.

Just a thought, when we were on the island a couple of years ago the main complaint amongst the islanders was the fact that there were so many camper vans and they are becoming more and more each year. Trundling over crofts, leaving gates open and they tend to load up with foodstuffs on the mainland for a fortnight and do not use the local shops for produce.

I feel that it is only fair for those coming to the islands should help the local economy by shopping locally and enjoying the landscape and with consideration and respect for those who live there permanently. I love the islanders and respect their way of life. My DH has given wildlife talks to raise funds for the local wildlife group and his records are utilised when appropriate. We also use the local library for the three weeks we are usually there.

I WANT TO LIVE IN THE HEBRIDES

Oh and not forgetting the so called birders. There are an awful lot of twitchers who feel it their right to tramp over moorland etc to get a 'tick', I even know of a couple men who walked within a few yards of a nesting Golden Eagle and took photos. This is illegal and punishable. A certain camper van pulls up overlooking a nesting site for a Harrier and points out the nest to birders. The nest was only a few feet from the road. He was spoken to by the local RSPB but took no notice.

The Holiday cottage that we go to on Barra is owned by the surviving daughter of the family who lived there. We had to book last year for this year as the cottage is usually fully booked. The owner and her friends use it in the odd week when there is a vacancy. So that particular property is occupied all year round. It can sleep 9 which means there is a good input to the local economy, probably spending more in the shops, cafes, pubs and attractions than the family of four who used to live there permanently. It also gives employment to a woman who does the weekly changeovers (who told us that she usually gets more in tips than in wages -hint! hint!) The visitors also use the ferries and airport, keeping them viable for islanders and provide 'rent a crowd' for fundraising events.

If, however, a house is only occupied sporadically, there is no benefit to the local community/economy. I agree with Nellie that Council Tax should rise steeply for properties left vacant for long periods.

Competitive birdwatching. Amazing isn't it. Enough to make you want to set up border control and confiscate scopes and binoculars over a certain size.

To be fair Flowerofthewest- Brits are famous for going on holiday to France and Switzerland/nearby Europe with everything but the kitchen skink and buy absolutely nothing locally. My neighbour is a senior customs officer at the border crossing on the short-cut to the Alps- and told me the other day they have cottoned on to this and are raking it in. You can only bring 500gr of meat per person, and 3.5kg of cured meats (sausages, ham, etc) and poultry. Many Brits going skiing bring a lot more in the plug in coolbox- they are catching lots of them and then can charge 20CHF per kg tax plus 40CHF per kilo fine = 60CHF (about £40 per kilo)- which makes the 'cheap uk meat' in fact quite expensive.

But I totally agree with you- people going on holiday should contribute to the local economy (via shops, cafés, etc).

Who is selling the houses that become second homes? Is it better if the house is used as a holiday let? What if it's used for most of the time by family and friends? What about inherited property? More complex than it first seems!

Where I live, it is a cul de sac with 16 houses and 2 flats in NW London. About half of the houses are privately rented and the other side of the coin is that rarely do these people wash a window, mow a lawn or do any weeding. My neighbour's guttering has leaked badly for a couple of years and the landlord has done little about it. He may have a clean up in between tenants but the present family have been there for 3 years so he has done zilch. The last time I saw the landlord I told him that his house was a thorn between 2 roses as I and my friends the other side, maintain our houses. He just laughed. This lowers the value of our houses I think.

That's an interesting point Charleygirl. Our area has always been primarily privately owned, with a cluster of housing association cottages, and various small built apartments for elderly folks, and another for people in need of social support. The problems with the housing market mean we have an increased number of houses that are rented. You are so right, the lack of care makes them stand out.

It's not just the competitiveness Jess it's the disturbance to the birds that is the problem. We love to see all species but not to the detriment of the nesting birds.