Daydream thread... without the rose-tinted specs

lostinrates

1500 a week sounds great...is great....but that's the head line, take of the costs, which unless you have the cash upfront or cheap lending, and the labour, unless you are putting in the day to day work yourself, and the upkeep, and then,..the killer for us...the tax...and suddenly, its a helluva lot less great for a lot of work. A more tax savvy and less time draining investment, especially with so much invested in a primary property like a daydream doesn't seem foolish to us.

If one one the lottery maybe....

But to be honest....if I one the big lottery wins I don't think I'd be too greedy for that much more. .

rhiwfield

Still catching up with posts

CTC, the ty bach would originally, I guess, had a plank of wood with a hole for carping thru, and a bucket underneath to catch the waste.

When full or overripe it would be someones job to dig a hole and bury the waste, I'd guess that even when new built it would be considered antisocial to chuck it in the stream

Night soil used to be an important fertiliser source so maybe a composting toilet out there in due course?

choille

Exactly LIR, but even the holidoid house lets are slowly falling as the mega Vans descend. The German invasion of the white freezer on wheels.

There was a convoy of 24 of them last Wednesday - on these roads!

ukmaggie45

Oh Dave, so sorry to hear about Daisy. Lovely photo of her, what a nice looking cat.

The Trinity House flagship, Patricia, has been anchored across the bay this morning, and seems to have just got under way. You can cruise on her, but for a hefty price! But for those with the readies it must be interesting to cruise on a working boat. Whoever is on her at present really lucked out - glorious sunshine and wonderful scenery to look at round here.

Itismehonest

Holiday lets? :rotfl: My specialist subject. :wall:

Well, there are a number of choices. The larger ones (sleep more people) make more money per week but for a much shorter season. Smaller ones (up to 4 maximum but particularly those for couples only) have almost all year round trade but, of course, won't bring in so much per week. However, over a year they tend to be worth more.
Ours used to average around 38 weeks let per year - some of ours got over 40 - but then we're in exactly the right area for the year round trade.
However, costs are high. Business Rates are worked out on what a place is worth if rented out. D'uh' ...... So self-catering always pays a higher percentage of income as BR than the serviced sector as the self-catering income is predominantly if not totally based on rental. Hotels, inns etc. have income which includes money from sales of drinks & food.

Pensions...
DH, of course, has his pensions which he's been drawing since he reached retirement age about 10 years ago. What looked like a healthy amount while one is working always ends up being less. Inflation & general cost of living increases ensure that.
Me, meanwhile, can expect very little, if anything, as I won't have the 30 years of NI paid.
The property was meant to be our pension - ha bl**dy ha. So I'd advise anyone thinking that bricks & mortar are a sure bet as far as pensions go to think again. It's far from guaranteed.
Other than that I have savings which have earned b*gger all in interest for years now.
Eventually, if we're stuck here permanently, the savings will disappear, too, which is why I'm getting close to the decision to just letting the place fall down around us.

Itismehonest

In view of the fact that many here are dreaming of the country idyll in one form or another I thought they may be interested in the realities.

Lots of you probably know Lynton & Lynmouth from your holidays. They're the jewel in Exmoor's crown. Not many people who visit the area fail to find their way there. It was always the area that was looked on with envy by the rest of the moor as the honeypot for visitor's money.
However, living & working there is vastly different from visiting on holiday.
The link is to an open letter sent to the PM. I wish the twin towns well in their fight but I wouldn't be holding my breath for any leeway from the local or central authorities. They all pass the buck to one another.

http://www.everythingexmoor.org.uk/news_detail.php?NEWSid=124

rhiwfield

Itsme, the Mayor sounds a bit desperate. I guess that towns that depend on tourism without much other industry are going to be in trouble, perhaps made worse by second home owners buying property in those towns.

As the expert on holiday lets I think you've made some real cautionary points and driven home the need for an exit strategy when the dream comes to an end.

At one stage we toyed with the idea of running holiday lets, possibly French gites, but it seemed very hard work and the need to be nice to guests was the final no-no :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Itismehonest

rhiwfield wrote: »

Itsme, the Mayor sounds a bit desperate. I guess that towns that depend on tourism without much other industry are going to be in trouble, perhaps made worse by second home owners buying property in those towns.

As the expert on holiday lets I think you've made some real cautionary points and driven home the need for an exit strategy when the dream comes to an end.

At one stage we toyed with the idea of running holiday lets, possibly French gites, but it seemed very hard work and the need to be nice to guests was the final no-no :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

:rotfl: It definitely doesn't always come easy. I could tell you some tales of some right numpties & rogues.

According to 2011 figures... of the 983 dwellings on the CT register (in Lynton, Lynmouth, Countisbury & Brendon) 135 were 2nd homes - so not as many as for some similar places, I guess; 37 were long term empty & 36 exempt (half of which seem to have been on the empty for 6 months relief).

The bigger problem, as the Dep Mayor said, is employment. Youngsters leave the countryside in droves to head for towns & cities where they can find jobs which aren't seasonal &, hopefully, pay more than NMW. Then the area starts to die. Once the kids used to be able to drive to & from work but petrol prices mean that's really not possible to the same degree.
It becomes a real problem to man fire stations (they're almost all retained around here, alfie), lifeboats etc.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

Ok ITSME b.a.l.l.s to it, turn your place into a cannabis farm...and if you get caught, tell them it was either that or a brothel, the council drove you to it:D:rotfl:

Itismehonest

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »

Ok ITSME b.a.l.l.s to it, turn your place into a cannabis farm...and if you get caught, tell them it was either that or a brothel, the council drove you to it:D:rotfl:

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Bright lights or red lights, eh?
I could do a Brenda Blethyn in "Saving Grace" & have all the locals lined up on deck-chairs with a pint waiting for the nightly big switch on.
(Just after 1 minute in on trailer) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n8rHwtoEwo

Actually, I was pointing out the pitfalls in general. I don't even live in L & L