If you own a second home how do you get treated by locals?

I live in a seaside village. So many second home owners especially since covid. If I have to leave my rented home then I would no longer be able to live here. It's devastating to see so many properties occupied infrequently or just by holiday makers.

That is absolutely disgusting. I'm not surprised attitudes have changed.

I agree, I don't know exactly what the answer is but it is frustrating seeing a local company adding to their holiday let portfolio knowing that it is exacerbating the problem. We just don't want to be in a 'Disney' town, like one fairly nearby that is almost all holiday lets/second homes and hardly any residents. It's more like a museum than a living, working town and community.

62% of the covid grants for holiday let's went out of the county.

62%. Nearly £100 million - out of the county to second home owners during covid. Likely that would have been higher as a total percentage had they been registered as holiday let's - many aren't.

Many of whom, I might add, came down & used them during the height of the pandemic during lockdown. Polzeath & Rock (which should have been virtually empty) were full. All the villages round here had ppl arriving in the dead of night to sneak into their second homes. DHLing their belongings in case they were stopped by the police on the way down, so they could claim it was just checking on their property (which was allowed). I shit you not.

Since then, yes, attitudes have changed down here & ppl are far less tolerant.

As noted - I know some of these ppl personally & they were mortified that they were entitled to this cash when the resident population was on its knees due to lockdown & lack of trade. A particular family were disgusted by friends of theirs who put the cash into a new Range Rover.

My family, on the other hand, didn't know how we'd pay our mortgage or feed ourselves.

Many locals sell properties to second home owners or own other properties they rent out as airbnb's - it really isn't as simple as stopping second home owners buying or taxing them.

Plus, it's making housing more unaffordable for locals and rental properties are nigh on impossible to find due to so many airbnb ones. I really wish there could be strict rules around second properties in tourist towns to stop them becoming ghost towns out of season and go keep the local economy strong all year round.

We have no problems- in fact they keep an eye on the place for me. We actually bought it from an active Plaid Cymru supporter.

It is occupied about 60% of the year and we employ a lot of local trades to keep it up to standard for guests. In fact many local people have FHLs of their own and we trade horror stories over the hedge.

There is plenty of affordable housing available to purchase locally. There's a move in ready 2 bed terrace for sale at the moment for £110,000 and several other properties at a similar price. Rental though is another story. The Welsh Govt has seen to that.

@TizerorFizz

"You should wake up and look at the economy stats for Cornwall. Holidays and the economy driven by second homes and their guests is huge. You would all feel the economic winds of change if it disappeared."

Tourism is the second largest sector in the Cornish economy and is 12% of Cornwall's GDP .

By comparison tourism makes up 8% of the UK's GDP.
Tourism in Cornwall will never disappear just as it will never disappear from the UK. However if it were simply at the average UK rate of 8% then sure there would be a tough short term readjustment required but this would be offset by cheaper housing if the number of second homes, holiday lets and Airbnb were also at average UK rates.

We have one of these houses on our street, we live in a popular tourist town. Please don't do this, they're always on holiday and we're not, we have work to go to. We get so many different cars showing up at all hours, they have no interest in being neighbourly and are not very considerate at all. I wish they'd bought a property on a popular holiday site locally instead where they can be on holiday mode without annoying locals who aren't.

@TizerorFizz

"A friend has sold in Wales as he didn’t speak Welsh and felt uncomfortable. It rather marks you out as not a local. "

Imagine if someone had written:
"A friend has sold in Spain as he didn't speak Spanish and felt uncomfortable. It rather marks you out as not a local."

Your friend could have tried to learn Welsh and fit in.

I think like most things it’s more complex. Lots of young people have to move away from their home towns not just because of lack of housing but lack of opportunities and work. An economy just based on the service industry is always going to be limiting. But it’s the same in towns even that aren’t popular, like my own home town, lack of industry and development outside of cities.
I had a friend who moved into a small village and there they complained about people moving in, not second homes, but because those people left and went to work everyday so the local shops only open during the day, failed, as they had no daytime trade in the week.
Apparently they used to complain about people moving there to retire in the past, as they only wanted locals.

DH talked about getting one once but there’s nowhere I would want to go to every weekend. My friends mum did buy one in a seaside town, her and her 3 children and their children all used it. 10 years later they all moved their permanently because they liked it so much.

They really can! Purpose built & high quality, why anyone chooses to use up local housing is beyond me when they are available 🤷🏼‍♀️

Sell it then. I could go on any one of the local fb groups right this second & find multiple families who are DESPERATE to find homes cos their landlords are selling up, raising rent to grotesque levels or Airbnb'ing.

Ppl who have lived here their whole lives, got jobs here, children are at school here. Who really do contribute to the local community & economy.

You, my friend, do not do nearly so much as you think you do for us & your sneering attitude is the issue. I know a few second-home owners (who are distinct from holiday let owners, who I also know) & I like the ones I DO know cos they fully understand & appreciate the issues here. They are kind & respectful.

You, are not.

I have one in a very popular touristy area of north Cornwall..but since 2019 , we've lived 50-60% of time here and rest of time in London..so it's very rare for me to be away more than 2 weeks at a time now.
We have always used village amenities, go to village pub, use the shop etc. I joined local swimming group, we go to local events as much as possible and feel very much accepted by the permanent residents. 10 yrs ago it was mostly second homes in our village but now there are more people living here full time or mostly full time like us. There are also younger families as some new houses for local families were built.
All in all it feels a nice place and I don't hear people moaning about the real holiday home owners...I think it can be harmonious if the home owner is prepared to make the effort to integrate

That is a great compromise. And they can be lovely.

I live in an area where second homes have a huge negative effect on the community. It's absolutely dead in the winter here. I'm interested in people who cite tourism as a plus point- here, there is loads of work available in summer, and for the other 8 months, unemployment is rife and people live in poverty. The second home owners don't see that, though.

It's a vicious circle. Tourism means holiday homes/airbnbs, which drives up prices, which drives out locals, which drives out the workforce that could potentially build a more stable, dependable industry than tourism.

To answer your question, I wouldn't be rude to second home owners, but I do hold them responsible for a lot of the hardship I see in my community, and for the schools that have shut, and for all the empty homes in winter. It is very, very galling to see a Big Issue seller out in November, selling on a street where 12 out of 18 homes are empty for the entire winter.

Then buy one of the beautiful wooden chalet style things. They are great to rent out whilst not in use & can't be lived in year round so you aren't affecting local housing stock.

@Poiul I am from a very popular tourist area where there are many holiday cottages and second homes. I understand that tourism is an important part of the local economy, it brings with it some problems but also many positives.

I am not one of these people, or locals, who are against second home owners and do not believe they should be taxed into oblivion or the owners treated badly by other locals but I do think the onus is on those who buy the second homes to make a big effort to not rock the boat with locals.

By that I mean, do not buy a home, then apply for planning permission to change it beyond recognition, add huge terracing, put a hot tub in the garden (you get the idea!). Also do not arrive for your holiday there with a car load of food, make the effort to support local businesses and farmers. Use local places to eat as often as you can so you become recognised. Support local events and causes. All of this puts your money into the local economy.

Finally, when you come for your holiday make sure it is not non-stop parties or comings and goings all the time, especially if in a quiet rural location.

Musing again on the title of your thread: whether people are nasty to second home owners depends on the location to an extent and on the individuals. Some people will be friendly and neighbourly, others not.

But either way, in certain areas including where I live in the NW, second homes are destroying the community, unlike visitors staying in caravan parks and hotels. These are different; they support the economy, especially the hospitality industry, and they are welcome. Whereas excessive holiday homes turn village streets of ordinary homes into ghost towns, causing the schools and shops and doctor's surgeries to close. One beautiful village close to me literally has no lights on in the evenings except in the holiday season. Property and public areas are being vandalised because nobody is around to care for them.

If you buy a second home in this kind of area, you are very likely to be harming the locals, however pleasantly they may treat you.

I live in a small fishing village in Scotland in what is a tourist hot-spot. My next door neighbour lives here for 6 weeks a year max, the rest of the time his house is empty. There are some very tiny (1 up, 1 down) houses on the harbour front which actually make great holiday lets because they are genuinely too small for permanent homes but now and for the next 6 months or so more than 2/3rds of the village is empty apart from around Christmas and Hogmanay

We're lucky because even with this hollowing out of the village we still have a butcher, a general store with a post office counter, a pub, a chemist, a doctor and a couple of other shops. But it is a real shame that most houses get snapped up for holiday homes / holiday let's when they come on the market. Very few get sold to people who will live here year round

We do. We love it and have had no negativity from the local community. We do spend at least 3 nights a week there though (we wfh) and we use local shops and facilities, have the windows cleaned and keep the garden nice etc. If we go abroad on holiday our immediate family use it but we don’t rent it out. We have just received the dreaded letter saying our council tax is doubling but we will be staying put.

Our family had one in Wales for years.

We were treated fine by everyone in the village - the house had someone in it most weekends and all through summer and over christmas. All people who behaved nicely, used the local pub, shop, milk-lady (lady who sold milk from her house), garage etc.

The work we had done on it was done by local trades people, the carpenter who did a lot of work lived opposite and was the village undertaker, coffinmaker and carpenter. In the early years he also had use of most of the garden to grow veggies and that only stopped when he decided he was too old for such a big patch, and he put it back to lawn for us.

Parents sold it at well below market rate to a local family because they could afford to and because it was the right thing to do. SO what had been a fairly rough one bed cottage in dilapidated state with scrubland for garden, ended up being a three bed, more modernised home with nice garden/veg patch.

The cottage next door though was sold to a lady who refused to talk to the locals, put zero money in to the local economy, sold it to other outsiders and it is now an AirBnB.

It is worth keeping in mind... who sells these properties to outsiders for top whack, if not the locals? Few people will sell specifically to a local family/resident for lower than market rate if they can get more selling to someone else!

Not to mention new housing being restricted so 2nd home owners can't buy

That’s back to front. Some new housing has a Section 106 on it, which means the buyer needs a local connection. Why? Because local people are struggling to find anywhere to live and on very little money. Prior to restrictions like this, when new houses were advertised at a below market rate to help local families, they were all snapped up as second homes.

Second homes can kill an area. Not enough children resident, so the school closes, along with local shops, pubs, etc etc. Try watching Bait:

https://player.bfi.org.uk/subscription/film/watch-bait-2019-online

Exactly this.

Families are priced out, and so the school roll falls and teachers lose their jobs. The library isn't supported and local businesses suffer because a once a week tourist isn't getting their MOT at the local garage, are they. Suddenly the gp is only available 3 days a week and you can't get a dentist appointment within 20 miles.

But it's OK, because the second homers will maybe get a meal in the pub once a year and "contribute".

As a fully paid up evil Londoner who visits Cornwall @TizerorFizz I think you are being naive and a bit condescending. Of course tourism is a big part of the Cornish economy but there’s a huge difference between visiting somewhere and buying a house which you barely go to but use as a rental income.

I understand why people would wish to do this and I don’t think they deserve to be vilified for it but I think your high handed dismissal of the situation is a part of the reason people in areas like this resent us.