Holiday let advice

tiernsee

Not sure if I am posting in the right forum? I would welcome some advice re purchasing and running a property as a holiday let. We've decided that we would like to buy a second property and when we are not using it ourselves then let it out. Making money is not the priority for the purchase, we would like some return but see the long term property as the main investment.

Are there any other costs or issues we should think about? We are looking at a 2-bed property in either South Cornwall or South Devon. Can any experienced MSErs advise on likely housekeeping costs (cleaning, laundry, key holding) as we will be around 2 hours drive away so will not be able to do the weekly changeovers. We didn't want to be too far away that getting there for the occasional break would be a drag so have limited to a 2 hour drive.

Look forward to any advice, suggestions, information that you can give. Many thanks in advance.

Eliza_2

Lots of advice here, http://www.laymyhat.com/forum/. I work for a small hol cottage company and find the lay my hat forum invaluable. There's another good site too but cant remember what it is. Also several of the management companies provide free advice on their websites too.

Don't know about your area but we are seriously busy throughout the year and have bookings into 2016. You need to research what people visiting your area are expecting to find, no point in providing an olde worlde cottagey property if what people really want is state of the art surround sound high spec modernity. Read some reviews from others in your part of the world to get a feel for what matters to your guests.

One huge bit of advice is to changeover on Fridays(to Fridays) or Mondays (to Mondays). This means that you can offer people weekend only bookings too or short cheap breaks midweek which are both really popular, if you only changeover on Saturdays you lose a weekend booking at either end of the week. Does that make sense?

Hope it works for you, it can be a good business if you get it right. And you need to decide whether it is a business or your home that you let strangers stay in, you could get upset by other peoples behaviour if you're not clear about that. By the way, why not put this question on the holidays thread too as I know there are a few cottage owners on there.

tiernsee

Thanks - brilliant advice and have registered for the site. Had a quick browse and looks full of useful information. Good point re changeover day, hadn't thought of that but makes good sense, particularly as where we are looking is near a main trainline so people may like a short break.

Interesting point re what people are looking for in the area - will do some research, at this stage I've gone for what I look for (have done loads of cottage holidays) - location, kerb appeal, parking, charm, facilities

Your advice is really appreciated - thanks

Werdnal

I would 2nd the Lay My Hat forum, very useful for advice and welcoming members who have been there, done that!

I have a flat which I have let residentially since 2000, but this year converted to holiday letting. Some initial points you may not be aware of:

You need to convert to business rates rather than Council Tax, as holiday letting is a commercial activity.

You need to ensure all electrical items are annually PAT tested.

You need specific holiday letting insurance, including public liability.

I wouldn't necessarily make your changeover day any other than Saturday, as you can still offer "short-breaks" even if your specified day is different. We offer SBs throughout the year, but obviously if you need to employ someone for changeovers, you need to ensure they are available midweek or whenever. I had a call one Tuesday morning asking if guests could arrive that afternoon! As I live 15 miles from my property, it was tight, but I did manage it. You also need to have a local "caretaker" to deal with day-to-day issues as guests may not be familiar with the layout of the property, appliances etc, and you always have the unforeseen like electrical problems, leaks etc. We had a leak on our shower on the 2nd letting booking, followed by a problem with the TV!

It is not easy money by any means - remember you have to pick up the tab for utilities, business rates, cleaning, laundry, changeovers, repairs, redecoration, bedding, towels etc. It cost me £3K to furnish and set it up and I will be lucky to make half that back this year by the time I take out my costs and expenses! If you are looking long term it can work well, but you need to budget to cover costs even when the money is not coming in quite as regularly as you would hope.

You also need to declare the income for tax!

shamac

Totally agree with the Lay Your Hat advice, we have a holiday let and it is great for help/advice/letting off steam!

It is NOT easy money by any means, very hard work if you are doing it yourselves and it is VERY hard to find trustworthy cleaners/gardeners/window cleaners etc etc, if you find someone great hold onto them!

However, our HL is our pension, we make a profit of approx 1.5k a month which will be very handy in our old age! :j