First Time Buyer and AirBnB

MTM26

Hi all,

Looking for some advice as we try to plan our next steps - we are both in our late 20s/early 30s.

I live with my partner, who owns a 2-bed new build in the UK (bought with Help to Buy, fixed mortgage ends next year). I have a LISA with £21k, which will be £26k by March. I earn £38k/year and we’re hoping to eventually buy a small Airbnb property in Europe that brings in revenue all year round.

We’re thinking about using equity from my partner’s house for a deposit abroad. I’d then buy my first home here in the UK (we’d live in mine, and my partner would take out a foreign mortgage).

Our options:

• Buy a new build home using the First Homes Scheme and key worker discount – can these be used together?

• Would that allow me to afford slightly more space than a standard 2-bed on my salary?

• Or would it make more sense for me to buy my partner’s current house, which we already live in? (Identical one next door sold for £200k.) Can the First Homes Scheme apply here, even though the property was originally bought under Help to Buy?

Any insights or similar experiences would be really helpful - thank you!

Albermarle

My first thought why make things more complicated by buying an Airbnb in another country with a foreign mortgage?
What is wrong with buying one in the UK?

ReadySteadyPop

Good point, also, why not just invest in the stock market, much less hassle?

MTM26

Albermarle said:

My first thought why make things more complicated by buying an Airbnb in another country with a foreign mortgage?
What is wrong with buying one in the UK?

Thanks for your reply.

From our research, it looks as though we can make more from an Airbnb in the region we are looking at, than renting in the UK. We also would like to use the airbnb for a few weeks of the year, as it is a region we visit at least once a year currently. Furthermore, we are hoping that we could potentially use this in the future as a retirement property. 

daveyjp

I'd avoid any property with perpetual discount or limited buyer clauses.

poseidon1

MTM26 said:

Albermarle said:

My first thought why make things more complicated by buying an Airbnb in another country with a foreign mortgage?
What is wrong with buying one in the UK?

Thanks for your reply.

From our research, it looks as though we can make more from an Airbnb in the region we are looking at, than renting in the UK. We also would like to use the airbnb for a few weeks of the year, as it is a region we visit at least once a year currently. Furthermore, we are hoping that we could potentially use this in the future as a retirement property. 

Depending on the country, and their own problems housing their indigenous populations you could well face either outright eventual banning of Airbnb, and/or the introduction of expensive local licensing and burdensome income tax compliance.

 What is happening in Spain should be an object lesson to all , as to what can eventually happen when a country finally wakes up to the distortions introduced by Airbnb  ( and their competitors) to certain housing markets.