We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum... Read More »
PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING: Hello Forumites! In order to help keep the Forum a useful, safe and friendly place for our users, discussions around non-MoneySaving matters are not permitted per the Forum rules. While we understand that mentioning house prices may sometimes be relevant to a user's specific MoneySaving situation, we ask that you please avoid veering into broad, general debates about the market, the economy and politics, as these can unfortunately lead to abusive or hateful behaviour. Threads that are found to have derailed into wider discussions may be removed. Users who repeatedly disregard this may have their Forum account banned. Please also avoid posting personally identifiable information, including links to your own online property listing which may reveal your address. Thank you for your understanding.
We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. See the Community Noticeboard for more info. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
How to finance a holiday home against our currently-owned flat?
Options
Comments
-
Just a note of caution. If £21,000 is the best you can earn in London, what income (if any) are you expecting in a holiday region of Wales? In the meantime you are relying on an irregular rental income. There seems to be a lot of danger in your plan which could result in high debts and a diminishing asset that could be hard to sell. Not telling you not to do it, just saying it is a high risk strategy given your current secure circumstances.Been away for a while.0
-
- The sheer costs of such a project are underestimated, I estimate about £2.5K on the basic costs, if you are going to pay a caretaker and an agency much more. Expectations of holiday renters are pretty high, you will need to provide a very good standard of furniture and equipment, broadband is a must also a tidy garden and a sparklingly clean house. All this is not cheap, plus you need to factor in weekly cleaning and key holding.
.
It is not an easy business.
Not wanting to go in to the details, but I own a holiday home and have made ca 5k per annum income each year for the past five years.
It has been by most accounts been a successful holiday rental business. But I have spent thousands of pounds on refurbishments that do not add anything to the value of the flat, and a lot of money and annual leave on travel purely related to the management of this business.
My own business has been dependent on a friend looking after the property and doing the cleaning for a decent rate, being able to step in if there are any problems.
It is a difficult business to succeed in, and if you don't live in the area and manage it yourself, the best you can hope for is to break even.
On balance I am quitting next year, I don't like the stress out of renting it to strangers, so it will just be my own holiday home and for my friends0 - The sheer costs of such a project are underestimated, I estimate about £2.5K on the basic costs, if you are going to pay a caretaker and an agency much more. Expectations of holiday renters are pretty high, you will need to provide a very good standard of furniture and equipment, broadband is a must also a tidy garden and a sparklingly clean house. All this is not cheap, plus you need to factor in weekly cleaning and key holding.
-
Running_Horse wrote: »If £21,000 is the best you can earn in London, what income (if any) are you expecting in a holiday region of Wales?
You forget that they'll be able to rent out that London council property on a London private market scale. They probably wouldn't even need to work in Wales but if they worked minimum wage they'd probably be better off with that London rent included.Mortgage (Nov 15): £79,950 | Mortgage (May 19): £71,754 | Mortgage (Sep 22): £0
Cashback sites: £900 | £30k in 2016: £30,300 (101%)0 -
It looks to me as if you need to think through the logistics really carefully. If the holiday property is used only by you, it would be classed as a second home. In my area, that attracts full Council Tax. If you are going to rent it out, as others have pointed out, you need to register it for Business Rates, and you may also have to pay for rubbish collection as it does not always fall under the council household rubbish collection scheme.
You will need to arrange and pay for business insurance, and adhere to any conditions they attach, such as turning off the water if the property is empty and leaving heating on low in very cold weather. You will also need someone utterly reliable who can carry out basic maintenance and be available for paying visitors all the time they are there. You need someone available and willing to do your changeovers, which might mean every Saturday during the summer for example. You need either a laundry service or to pay someone to wash all bedding and you will need plenty of spares in case something is damaged.
I am not trying to put you off, more trying to act as a reality check. We have a holiday cottage attached to our house, so could not be much nearer. Every year we have some lovely people staying, some OK people, and some who seem to want hand-holding through everything. Our hamlet is in a rural area and our property has farmland on 2 sides. Guests seem not to appreciate that tractors will be going past the door from daybreak to sunset during harvest. They come here wanting peace & quiet, then moan that we don't have superfast broadband and a mobile phone signal. We encourage them to ask us if they have any problems or need to know anything and whilst most are fine, you get people who *mention* as they leave that the drains are blocked, meaning we have less than 6 hours to sort the issue before the next ones arrive.
I suggest talking to the Tourist Information Centres in your chosen locations as they know the level of trade and can give you accurate information on prices and the likelihood of you being able to rent out for particular times. Try visiting some of your potential competitors to see what is on offer as this may give you an indication of how busy they are.0 -
I can't say that I'm very happy with discounts for Council tenants then apparently enabling them to purchase holiday rental property.
/\ /\ /\ Me times ten. I know how steeped in self interest most humans are but still find it shocking somehow.
And NO I would not do the same myself in the same situation, too aware that I'd be depriving desperate families of a home., forever.0 -
Now we'd like to buy a holiday cottage in Wales. Although we want to move there really, we can only stay there occasionally until I find work there. <snip> The aim being to move to Wales as soon as possible.
Thanks to the other posters for their informative responses. There is a lot to think about.0 -
I can't say that I'm very happy with discounts for Council tenants then apparently enabling them to purchase holiday rental property.
To be fair, you would have to live in a council flat for a certain period and live in it for at least 5 years before you get any economical benefit. Probably not many can buy their council flat on benefits in any case.
Living in Council flats in rough areas isn't pleasant, I remember getting burgled twice and going past drug dealers quite often. It's not a nice life and your pretty much buying a dump as well."It is prudent when shopping for something important, not to limit yourself to Pound land/Estate Agents"
G_M/ Bowlhead99 RIP0 -
You forget that they'll be able to rent out that London council property on a London private market scale. They probably wouldn't even need to work in Wales but if they worked minimum wage they'd probably be better off with that London rent included.Been away for a while.0
-
Running_Horse wrote: »Where are they going to live while renting out their holiday home and council flat?0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 350.9K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 453.5K Spending & Discounts
- 243.9K Work, Benefits & Business
- 598.8K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 176.9K Life & Family
- 257.2K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.6K Read-Only Boards