Holiday homes, do you own one and how often do you use it?

[Streetrod]

Hi folks, this thread is not meant to be about showing off but just to find out how you use yours or if you are thinking of getting one.

Mrs Streetrod and I have one in a ski resort called Whistler in Canada. Now I love Whistler having snowboarded there on a number of occasions, but one of the big problems we have is that it is a nine hour flight away. Also having just booked our fights for Xmas the cost is not looking good either £3000 for the four of us

We are lucky in that Whistler is a four seasons resort so we rent the place out for most of the year, but to be honest that was the only way we could afford the place in the first place.

I would love to spend more time there but life just gets in the way.

So where is yours and how do you use it, was it a good investment or was that not the point?

[wiffmaster]

We have one on the South Coast - bought it as my Dad likes powerboating and it has its own mooring on the river. It's lovely to get away there now and again as a family, but it is quite a bit of work. We normally go every few months. Each time we go down, we spend about half the time doing various bits and bobs - repairing windows, repainting, cleaning boat, tidying up garden, etc. A lot of stuff is taken care of by the management company, but there's always stuff to do. Of course, if we went down every weekend we could keep more "on top of it" - but that doesn't tend to happen, despite the fact it's only an hour-and-a-half away.

I imagine my folks will probably sell it in the next few years - it's a lovely place and we enjoy it every time we go down, but there's always stuff to do. However, as an investment, it has performed very well. If you look at it as an investment, with the added bonus that it's a holiday home, it has been fantastic.

[Davel]

We had a timber clad chalet near Welshpool for a while - about 60 miles away or 90 minutes in the car.

The problem is that you almost feel under pressure to use it and so we'd be tearing down there on a friday, after school / work etc and then travelling back on a sunday.

Great fun on the bike but a bit of a drag in the car especially in the winter months.

We sold it after about three years.

Great in good weather or snow and ice etc but a bit cramped for two adults and three kids.

[jamoor]

I wouldn't like one, you would feel pressured to use it, every time you went somewhere new and stayed in a hotel, you will feel like you're wasting money.

[Dan_1981]

Dunno if its allowed but if any of the posters responding to this thread have a link to their property if they rent it out - i'd be interested in looking at a few.

Always u for suggestions of new holiday locations!

[Rob K]

Hi there, we have one in near Estepona, Costa Del Sol. We bought it in 2004, which it turns out was probably the worst time to buy. If you have the cash now and can sustain it in the medium-long term then you will probably be able to find a real bargain in previous holidayhome hotspots such as Spain. We don't get to use ours much due to various reasons, but in a few years the plan is to use it much more.

[flyingjase]

I had a cottage in Normandy for nearly 10 years. It was just about doable for a weekend away. You could get the Friday night Ferry and return home Sunday night. For teh first year I went every month, then every few months, then nothing for 6 months so I started to rent it out. Then there was the hassle of key hand overs, cleaning, American tourists breaking things (including the garden wall!), not forgetting more espensive ferry crossings, so in the end I sold it in 2007.

I haven't missed it one bit, although I still have a plot of land in the same village ready to develop one day when time / motivation allows. (anyone want to buy a 1/2 acre plot with an urbanisation certificate??!!!)

Now debating a place in Cornwall which no doubt will repeat the above sequence just in the UK!

[saleen836]

Have a place in Florida bought it off plan in 2003, rent it out most of the year and it does cost me money, this doesn't bother me as the way I see it, it is no different to paying into a pension.

Dan_1981 said:

Dunno if its allowed but if any of the posters responding to this thread have a link to their property if they rent it out - i'd be interested in looking at a few.

Always u for suggestions of new holiday locations!

You can find my place advertised in the classified property section on here or email me via here if you require any information.

[JCW]

We probably use ours three months per year, but its a great bolt hole to escape to when the UK gets too much weather/chav quotient wise. In terms of investment, yes its been very good but then its rented out during the summer months with the income reinvested in the property which, being old, needs a fair amount of renovation to roofs etc.

[B16JUS]

We have a house ( villa ) in Denia in spain usually get out there 4 times a year.

Would love to have a cottage or house on the broads some of them are lovely but i can imagine very pricy.

J

[gtr-gaz]

Will let you know in a year or two having just recently bought one in North Norfolk!

Needs a lot of work, though and it's also Grade 2 listed.

Hope to rent it out during the summer months. Will do a very good discount to PHers

Should be ideal, with detached garage (a good size too), a load of car related books to read in the evenings, 3 bathrooms, including one wet room, 10 mins from Holkam and Wells beach and some great driving roads. What more could you want?!

[rlw]

Got a cottage in Wadebridge in Cornwall. Get down there for about four full weeks per year plus long weekends etc. Also give it to close friends and family from time to time so it sees a bit of use throughout the year. The fact that you can walk into Padstow and eat yourself senseless (and broke) makes Wadebridge a handy place, plus it has proper shops and a friendly atmosphere.

[SJobson]

For years a family member has had places in Salcombe. Sold up a few years ago, but I've been going there since I was 5. I have now stayed in 28 different places in Salcombe, none of them a tent, and can't imagine having my own place because I love trying out different properties (and yes, I do go back to some of them).

However, my next intended purchase is a second home in Ludlow - an hour-ish away from my home and work so easily usable on a weeknight, though if I want the flexibility to go there at will it will damage rental prospects somewhat...

[SJobson]

thegavster said:

You could argue it's not got a garden, which is true, but the beach is 15 metres away so you don't really need one.

And for maintenance reasons, having a garden is as much as burden as a blessing. I can't imagine being obliged to go somewhere at least every couple of weeks to mow the lawn, for instance.

[Stablelad]

We have one on Lake Como. Last year it was used solely for our own use (and Friends too). We decided to see what the market was like for rental in 2009 so spoke to an agent based locally out there. We've been astounded with the response and are looking to almost cover our annual mortgage just from bookings during May to September. The down side is that we haven't been able to go ourselves as there has been barely a night it hasn't been full in all that time.

Next year we'll be more organised with our own bookings!

Shaping up to be a brilliant investment if this is how the market is in a recession!

[Puggit]

House in the Loire near Tours, bought in Nov 2007.

Bought it with the intention of renting out to cover the mortgage, so an investment - so far it isnt' bad, and we've had a repeat booking. Also already rented it out for 3 weeks next year.

Near enough to Le Mans to get a bumper weekend booking once per year!



Happy to house swap with anyone if you're interested - details in my profile.

[Targarama]

Second homes can come in all shapes and sizes and climate zones. We wanted somewhere with great weather when its bad at home, which ruled out Europe. South Eastern US or Caribbean don't appeal (however we do own a timeshare in Hawaii - week 51, Christmas).

I'm typing this from our second home in Muscat, Oman (www.thewavemuscat.com). We've just moved in. Lovely. Oman is so different to the UAE too. 7 hours direct flight from the UK, same as Florida. We can work from here when not travelling (me to US, other half mostly to India/China - much closer). We wouldn't normally be out here in July/August/Sept as its a bit warm (but not too bad - 35deg today similar to Greek Islands/Cyprus). We plan to use the plan every few months for 2 weeks, and let friends use it. No plans to rent it out as a holiday let, too much hassle and the monthly bills are pretty easy (I'm just negotiating the bureaucracy of opening a bank account, getting residents visa etc. which will make it easier still).

We're not in this to make money (but the property market in Oman is not dead/dropping like Dubai - it is slower right now though). We intend to keep it for the long term.

IMO if you need to borrow for a second home then think extra carefully.

[Barreti]

We have a small village house in Andalucia which we bought as a wreck about 5 years ago and have renovated it using local builders.

It takes 5 hours door-to-door which is probably as good as getting to most of the 'nice parts of the country' would take if we stayed in the UK.

We were careful about our choice though, opting not to buy somewhere with land as we wouldn't be there to maintain it. That has turned out to be exactly the right thing to do.
Our village neighbours are wonderful and we couldn't ask for nicer people around us. I knew more of our neighbours in Spain after 2 years than I do in our village in England after 10. Says a lot I think.

We regularly take Thursday and Friday off work and whiz out there and just chill (in the sun!).
We got there about half a dozen weekends last year, with a 10 day trip in there too, and we've got a 10 day holiday there in two weeks.
Having somewhere to scarper off to is brilliant and you don't get bored with the 'same place again' syndrome, quite the contrary. We have no luggage to take as its all there ready waiting for us, and we do the tourist thing to other cities if we are there for more than just a couple of days.

[456mgt]

Used to have a house in Burford (Cotswolds) which was a 1.5-2hr drive away. Despite being easy to get to, we only used it frequently in the first year. Second year the novelty had worn off and we hardly used it at all. I rented it out as a holiday home the 3rd year before I sold it.

Unless you can hardwire it into your lifestyle, don't do it is my advice. What I found was that the kids would have stuff on at the weekends and we wouldn't be able to go; the first day you get there you're mowing the lawn & doing household chores, and you always have worries of pipes freezing etc when it's locked up and you're not there. I found it a considerable PITA and wouldn't do it again unless I was going to live in it, properly live in it, 3-4 months of the year.

[dirty boy]

Targarama said:

Second homes can come in all shapes and sizes and climate zones. We wanted somewhere with great weather when its bad at home, which ruled out Europe. South Eastern US or Caribbean don't appeal (however we do own a timeshare in Hawaii - week 51, Christmas).

I'm typing this from our second home in Muscat, Oman (www.thewavemuscat.com). We've just moved in. Lovely. Oman is so different to the UAE too. 7 hours direct flight from the UK, same as Florida. We can work from here when not travelling (me to US, other half mostly to India/China - much closer). We wouldn't normally be out here in July/August/Sept as its a bit warm (but not too bad - 35deg today similar to Greek Islands/Cyprus). We plan to use the plan every few months for 2 weeks, and let friends use it. No plans to rent it out as a holiday let, too much hassle and the monthly bills are pretty easy (I'm just negotiating the bureaucracy of opening a bank account, getting residents visa etc. which will make it easier still).

We're not in this to make money (but the property market in Oman is not dead/dropping like Dubai - it is slower right now though). We intend to keep it for the long term.

IMO if you need to borrow for a second home then think extra carefully.

I remember seeing those details a good few years ago, looked nice (the CG pictures did anyway) what's it like in reality?

After much faffing around (I wanted a place in Dubai about 7 years ago - ended up moving instead) i've got nothing.

Brother in law has a nice place in Bulgaria, uses once a year, parents have a place in Spain, gets used regularly by them. I've not been there yet.

I'd prefer a bit of woodland and a log cabin in the UK somewhere.