Renting out house as a holiday home?

linzeloo

I've just bought my first house but everything is a bit tight and am looking at some options to ease things up a bit. I've got a 2 year fixed 85%mortgage but at the moment I only seem to have £200 spare every month after bills etc and I can't see this changing at all in the next 2 years. I want to be able to save a little for the end of the 2 years to be able to buy out a bigger percentage as there will hopefully be some better deals out there at that time. I would also like to update the property too and know I can't do this on my measly £200 per month. My work is a very demanding 9 - 5 and I'm reluctant to get an evening job - been there, done that and it really doesnt appeal at my age anymore.

I'm thinking of maybe renting out my house as a holiday house to generate some extra income. I'm not too sentimental about it and am willing to move into a house share just to be able to keep the house. I really don't want to sell as I've worked too hard for too long to get the deposit for this place.

This may be a complete hair-brain scheme and I am open to any other ideas. Am just sending this out there to get your valuable opinion and suggestions.

Many thanks.

PasturesNew

A holiday home might only have people in it a few weeks of the year, as these are peak holiday periods, think about camping locally yourself for those few weeks, rather than tying yourself into a houseshare and end up paying for two houses.

I know somebody who has put his house with an agent since the beginning of the year. So far it's been let for just one week.

PasturesNew

Do you live somewhere significant/near a station so you could rent out your parking/driveway?

How many beds is it? Could you move into the small room and get a Monday-Friday lodger (professionals working away from home that want to be a lodger rather than in a B&B) Check out http://www.mondaytofriday.com , although there are other sites too.

maria6259

I have also had 2 jobs when I needed it! Not for the mortgage but to support my son when he went to university.

There's also a lot more to life than working your butt off in two jobs just to pay for home improvements. If working two jobs doesnt appeal perhaps a (short) term lodger?

If you have a spare £200 every month you're doing okay, and I must admit I'd be tempted to save for a lovely holiday instead of spending it on a house.

Writing out a budget, and sticking to it might help you cut down on expenses if you really feel you should save more.

Good luck!

shamac

It depends if it is in an area that people want to holiday in. Mine is on the Northumberland coast and we took 15k last year-cost us 14k to run however as we have a big mortgage on it! Have a look at this forum https://www.laymyhat.com which is a great forum for holiday letters. Good luck.

maria6259

linzeloo wrote: »

I've just bought my first house but everything is a bit tight ......................................
I really don't want to sell as I've worked too hard for too long to get the deposit for this place.


Many thanks.

As you only just bought this house, why would you be thinking of selling it already?

GDB2222

You'll get a lot more money from a lodger as that will be steady income. Holiday lets are going to be a tad difficult unless this house has something special to offer. Most seaside towns only have a 3 months season, and then you'll have a lot of costs to deduct from the rent, such as the letting agents and cleaning. Letting agents charge a high proportion for weekly lettings.

I'm not saying that only special houses can be let out for holidays, but if your house is on an estate rather than a bijou cottage it's not going to be first choice. So, you may have quite a lot of voids, or you'll have to be cheaper than the cottages.

linzeloo

Thanks for all your feedback - all very helpful as always.

My house is only 1 bedroom townhouse which rules out renting out a room to a lodger, although I will look into that 'mondaytofriday' site which sounds interesting.

I don't think I would have too many problems renting it out as a holiday property as I'm in Cornwall and all the beaches and town are walking distance, plus there doesn't seem to be many one bedroom places to rent out and what there is gets booked up fairly far in advance (or so the holiday websites show me).

I do know of someone who had a beautiful cottage and she'd move out into a summer house at the end of her garden for the summer every year so she could rent out the house - not too many outgoings and all on her own terms which sounds ideal.

Quote:
......................................
I really don't want to sell as I've worked too hard for too long to get the deposit for this place.

As you only just bought this house, why would you be thinking of selling it already?

I was trying to avoid any answers asking why I bought in the first place when I have no money left

I don't have a lot of personal items to move out so was thinking about maybe experimenting with this for a few weeks at peak time just to see how it goes. I have some friends who are more than willing to let me stay with them during this period.

Is it really as straight forward as this or are there obvious points I've missed? I know I'd need public liability insurance, are there minimum fire and safety standards I need to meet? Also, would my mortgage company see this as 'buy to let' and come down on me like a ton of bricks?

Again, many thanks for all your assistance.

Fire_Fox

If you cannot easily increase your income, then perhaps decrease your outgoings. Few bills are fixed, if you complete one of these in full and post here or on the DFW board you will get ideas on where to make cutbacks:
http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

You will definitely need the consent of your lender, to inform your buildings and contents insurers, yes the house will need to be safe, local council should be able to advise you on rules surrounding holiday lets or try Google.

Have you read the 'Up Your Income' board and 'Gambling Loopholes' board to see if there are ways to increase your income without working outside the home?

AbbieCadabra

bit of a different perspective, but we were (still are, but a bit further in the future now) looking to buy a place in Cornwall to let out for the main holiday weeks & use ourselves at other times. a 1 bed was a complete no-no as it normally means you're limiting your perspective bookings to couples only & it's the family market that's most lucrative, so i'm surprised you're finding 1 beds booked far in advance.

i still keep an eye on the area we're interested in & the only consistently booked properties i see are the ones that are 20-25% less than the going rate for similar properties.

there was another thread on letting out for holidays recently, which might prove useful - will try & find it for you...here you go, it's more from the angle of buying in the 1st place, but running costs etc. are talked about too.

do you mind saying where your house is? do you know that the rental market is good there already & not perhaps reaching saturation point?

Zelie

Although you say your friends are willing to let you stay over would they still be willing if this was a yearly thing?

Other posters have mentioned reducing outgoings instead/as well. Have you checked out the 4k Challenge thread for tips on reducing spending? Do you have things you can sell to raise cash? Or any particular talents or hobbies which you can turn into something moneymaking?