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dazco

iolanthe07 wrote: »

Market it as a smoking property

DON'T market it as a smoking rental! We owned a house we let out for holidays in the 90's and it was more trouble than it was worth. Smokers were the worst! They would burn holes in the carpet/upholstery and always seemed to leave more mess than non-smokers (though I accept that is my subjective opinion), and the stink after they left wasn't fair to the non-smoking majority. We packed it in - it is very depressing to enter the property on a Saturday morning and have to spend two hours trying to clean the oven for the next visitors, and though we were in a very popular part of East Devon, we still had loads of void weeks. Our mistake was not putting it with a decent agent - if you do go ahead put it with an agent you can trust.

But times are different. There would have been many smoking properties available at that time. Now they are few and far between.

The house can be furnished with smokers in mind, laminate flooring and leather sofas and maybe blinds instead of curtains.

I assume the OP wants to rent the property for as many weeks a year as they can not spend all day smelling it.

I just spent £100 a day on an aprtment in Glasgow because you could smoke and I am sure I am not alone.

brixham

Actually I quite like the smoking idea. I too paid more to stay in a guest house in Portsmouth because they allowed smoking when I could of gone somewhere cheaper.
As a side thought, I went down to Salcombe in the South Hams in Devon the other day(beautiful town) and due to the large amount of second homes and holiday homes the town is a ghost town in winter, no soul or sense of community and the locals are priced out of the market.........SHAME !
Not clever enough to post a link but try having a look at some places in Salcombe on Rightmove and you will see what I mean about the prices.

hermanmunster_3

I have had a holiday house and the bookings were hard to get outside the main holiday periods despite it being in a busy holiday area. The income barely covered expenditure, however it was great for our hols (until we got bored of going to the same place evry hols) and the bonus was the capital growth I got when I sold it. I'm afraid you ar e unlikely to get such growth over the next few years.

Doozergirl

iolanthe07 wrote: »

Our mistake was not putting it with a decent agent - if you do go ahead put it with an agent you can trust.

I'd be interested to know of any decent agents - also, what sort of commission do they take?

Interestingly, after reading pennywise's comments, I'm a bit surprised. We have a house with all the desired qualities - totally immaculate, characterful, 40 mins drive of Stratford Upon Avon, Cotswolds, Malverns & Birmingham and within 5 minutes of a motorway junction. Plenty of bedrooms, bathrooms and flexible spaces and several foodie pubs within walking distance. I was just recently considering using it as a holiday let for a while for a bit of extra income but was worried it wasn't really the right area - maybe it's not bad after all.

I just wouldn't know where to begin advertising it though for a successful summer.

SingleSue

Also try not to be too greedy over hire prices....we have always had our holidays in this country but this year it is looking nigh on impossible due to cost.

2 weeks in a caravan in Great Britain in the summer holidays is NOT affordable for the average family at circa £1,200 especially as money is becoming ever tighter.

If you purchase a caravan on a holiday site and arrange for them to find guests for your caravan, be prepared to lose a fair whack of your income, think the site where my parents van is charge 30% of the takings...this is on top of your site fees (my parents pay nearly £2k a year for site fees), electric, gas, water, insurance, drain down, gas checks etc.

If you private rent it out, be prepared to arrange cleaners or be close by to do the cleaning yourself. Take a damage deposit in advance which is only returnable on inspection but be prepared for damage.

Things to have in a caravan for guests - A bigger style TV, 14 inch are ok but not really that good, a combi TV is even better, freeview if possible, microwave, enough bedding for all the beds plus put you ups, full compliment of kitchen utensils, pots, pans and oven ware.

Desirable but not essential items include table and chairs for sitting out on a nice summers evening, games for the children and a BBQ.

LittleTinker

The industry I just got out of and would never go back to again!

chrisandanne

I have a static caravan on the East coast.

It costs c £3k a year for site fees and all other costs. I earn about £1,700 from letting after the site have taken commision and cleaning costs. We have about 13 weeks for ourselves between March and October.

The problem is that some people who rent it damage it and we are responsible for making it good again. Every time I go there is something ruined, sometimes it's small things like chipped cups and broken glasses but one family burnt the carpet quite badly. Also I provided some toys some of which were nicked immediately.

The worst thing is they depreciate like cars so the resale value is very poor.

Did the OP mean a caravan or a house ?

Ax

treliac

chrisandanne wrote: »

The problem is that some people who rent it damage it and we are responsible for making it good again. Every time I go there is something ruined, sometimes it's small things like chipped cups and broken glasses but one family burnt the carpet quite badly. Also I provided some toys some of which were nicked immediately.
Ax

People can be disgusting.

neverdespairgirl

SingleSue wrote: »

2 weeks in a caravan in Great Britain in the summer holidays is NOT affordable for the average family at circa £1,200 especially as money is becoming ever tighter.

That is seriously pricey.

chrisandanne

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

That is seriously pricey.

Mine costs about £1,000 for a fortnight in August but it sleeps eight.

Not a very cheap holiday when you've paid for food and days out... but it is right on the beach and there is a heated outdoor pool so if the weathers good (big if the last two years) you can get away with not spending too much.

I bought it so my Dad could have holidays and weekends away and I've kept it because my grandaughter loves it.

It's not something I'd do again though unless I could afford to keep it without renting it out which I can't.

A x