Second home owners... what are you doing about your property?

[DareIask]

We haven't visited since September due to restrictions.

Becoming a little concerned as we've never left a property over winter and not sure what we'll go back to. There's no heating on, and although pipes freezing is unlikely I just worry about damp etc

Any experience anyone?

I know this is a privileged problem to have and I have no intention of starting a debate on second homes. Just empty ones

Thanks

@inquietant

I also think it is very bad form to ask a local and if someone asked me I would say no.

Pay someone.

Those who own second homes just need to accept some people dislike them and don't want them there. What they are doing is legal but a reasonable chunk of people - including plenty who could afford one - will not consider it a positive thing to do.

Definitely pay someone. Local people probably need work particularly in Winter and during CV19. And pay them well

The most valuable thing of all is good trustworthy neighbours. But to reinforce that I also have:

Hive for the heating, I just set mine to come on at 10C and forget it. When the weather gets better it just never comes on so you don't use any more gas than necessary. But if you are going to visit, you can just dial up the temperature from your phone and turn on the hot water.

Hive also has door/window sensors, I have one on the front door so I can see when the neighbours drop in even if the alarm is off.

And (but a bit more expensive) Hive has lights that you can programme to come on/go off to make the house look lived it. But simple timers can do just as well.

Amazon Blink XT2 webcam in the hall and one in the garden (just discovered we have visiting foxes). The newer 3rd generation Amazon Indoor?Outdoor is a subscription service but the old ones are free cloud service, can be picked up on eBay. But I didn't go for a Ring doorbell.

Alarm system - also connects to the internet. My neighbours have the keys but not the alarm code, so they WhatsApp me, I disable the alarm, they check the house, I see them leave using the Hive door sensor and/or Blink XT, alarm goes back on. If the alarm were to be triggered, the sensors take photographs.

But with everything so "connected" you also need a permanent internet connection and I haven't found a cheap way to do that as you always have to have the phone line too.

Insurance is going to be your biggest issue. They will have a clause which requires the house to be checked over every 30 dats as an absolute minimum and possibly a requirement for someone to sleep there at least once in 30 days. I have never come across a policy which doesn't require either the heating to be on 24/7 at X degrees from Nov - Apr or the entire heating system drained and water off.

In your position I would probably go under the essential maintenance allowance but arrange with someone local to take over the maintenance inspection from this point on. Having a Hive or the like installed is a good way to be able to control heating from afar. I refuse to leave heating on 24/7 at 15 degrees but have heating on for a few hours a day and monitor indoor and outdoor temperature in order to adjust.

Thank you for all your ideas.

As I said upthread we would normally be there for a reason about 40% of the time, not the occasional weekend holiday. Hence this problem is new to us. Covid travel restrictions stopped this as we have been asked to stay in our primary residence (you can't pick, they're owned that way).

I have just come out of retirement to volunteer as a covid vaccinator and may move there to do them which would solve the problem

I assume that would be acceptable.

Good luck op. My friends volunteered to vaccinate too and it's a lovely thing to do for the community.

@filka I typically go with Virgin or BT for broadband without a phone line so it is possible.

Great tips btw, sounds like you’re properly set up! Can the Amazon blink be wall mounted? I’ve been looking for something similar that’s easy to use but also can’t be nicked.

"Second home owners destroy communities and local economies because they swan in for the weekend and then fuck off again" .

Not if they spend lots of money in the cafes, pubs, shops and restaurants and visit the local attractions that local people tend not to do.

Our property is on 5°c standby and has cctv and is as secure as possible. We had a maintenance issue which we had to go and sort as it's been closed to us since the last weekend in October. We literally drove there, did the job and drove back.

Don't get upset - lighthearted...
'You've made me question whether I left enough food out for the cat at La Deuxieme Maison (as we call it)'

I think the only legal and sensible thing to do would be to employ a local agent or even a reliable housekeeper/ clean to check on the house weekly.

@SpaceRaiders - yes the Blink can be wall mounted, it has a really easy fixing, just 2 screws. Has batteries that last up to 2 years and can then be replaced.

I also have BT broadband but couldn't find a way to drop the phone line and cut the cost. We also don't need the TV services, Netflix and free channels are fine for us.

@Zenithbear

"Second home owners destroy communities and local economies because they swan in for the weekend and then fuck off again" .

Not if they spend lots of money in the cafes, pubs, shops and restaurants and visit the local attractions that local people tend not to do.

Our property is on 5°c standby and has cctv and is as secure as possible. We had a maintenance issue which we had to go and sort as it's been closed to us since the last weekend in October. We literally drove there, did the job and drove back.

That is a very naive view

It is unlikely that you contribute as much to the locality as someone who lives there full time. It isnt about flashing the cash for a few trips a year- it is about using local services and contributing all year round.

A thriving economy isn't just about using hospitality- it is using schools, doctors, bus services, the lesiure centre in December etc

The worst are the sods who don't even pay any council tax as they claim business rates relief. So everyone else subsidises them.

I have a second home in France. Have not visited since summer 2019. My nephew went over for long weekend in November 2019. All water is turned off so less likely to have burst pipes. Nothing we can do. It is in rural area with no near neighbours. 3km outside Morlaix. Just hoping we can visit this summer if we have had vaccine by then. I also have a btl empty over pandemic. I bought it with tenant Insitu 4 years ago . Tenant moved into one ofy other btl in March just before pandemic hit. I have had extensive work carried out on house from new double glazing including front door, all new electrics including extra double sockets in every room, ripped out carpets and put down a good quality laminate, ripped off horrible wall paper, had all walls and ceilings skimmed, sorted out mould in bathroom, new tiles and fan fitted, new skirtings in every room, painted all walls and ceilings white, new chrome lights in every room, new toilet and cistern in downstairs cloakroom, now fitting a good quality second hand kitchen but new oak worktops, new Range Master cooker and hood, new Belfast sink. Kitchen is almost finished now. Got new washing machine, dishwasher and tumble dryer and second hand fining room able and leather sofa and coffee table for lounge. Hoping it will be completed by end of February. Letting my adult son move in short term at end of January as he is a key worker and lives at home with us but DH is CEV so it is a constant worry. Will probably let out after Easter once DH has had vaccine.

This makes such frustrating reading. Key worker here in a seaside town with overuse flares house prices due to second homes. We are having to live apart from vulnerable family members and no medium term rentals available so we are renting a tiny holiday home for £350 pet week. And every day we walk past hundreds of empty places and now I see this thread. The world is so fucked up.

*overinflated house prices

Agree the idea that second home owners are at all positive to local economies is laughable.

What they do is of course legal but absolutely crap for communities.

The worst are the sods who don't even pay any council tax as they claim business

I hope that you begrudge every other business which similarly claims BRR. Or is it just property owners that you despise?

My friend lives next door to a 2nd home. She has a key and check on things.

Its called being nice and neighbourly.

@SpaceRaiders

The worst are the sods who don't even pay any council tax as they claim business

I hope that you begrudge every other business which similarly claims BRR. Or is it just property owners that you despise?

I despise everyone who fakes rentals or doe stem minimum possible in rental (or only rents in the Winter) in order to claim business rare relief- and anyone else who is fraudulent as well.

@SpaceRaiders

The worst are the sods who don't even pay any council tax as they claim business

I hope that you begrudge every other business which similarly claims BRR. Or is it just property owners that you despise?

It really isn't the same thing.

Homes will always be viewed differently.

There's no point griping, many people don't agree with second homes, having lived amongst the consequences such as children having to move away due to inflated house prices.

Most businesses contribute to an area, second homes take away.

2nd homes destroy communities

We have a second home. It's in a rural area in mainland Europe. Many houses sit empty as people have moved for work. The remaining local people are really welcoming as they say that second homes owners are what keeps their villages and amenities alive. We shop local, eat local and join in with local events. If people like us weren't there, the house would be empty.

It's not as black and white as you might think.

@dressedupinyou

You might not want a debate about it but you can't control what people comment. Do you not feel shit that you have a property being left empty?

Maybe you should dispose of one of your homes, you don't need two.

Or maybe you could invite someone without one home, let alone two, to move it and keep an eye for you.

You sound like a proper sour puss

@SpaceRaiders

The worst are the sods who don't even pay any council tax as they claim business

I hope that you begrudge every other business which similarly claims BRR. Or is it just property owners that you despise?

And of course if it was a genuine business rather than a tax dodge it wouldn't also be for personal use .

You dont set up a beauticians so that you can have manicures or a cafe so that you can have coffee.

Next door but one is a second home in our village. It's brilliant. Before she bought it we had 4 cars squashed into the tiny area in front of the cottages. Now there's one and it's not there a lot of the time. If she asked me to check it over I absolutely would but she bought the house because her daughter and grandchildren live in the village so I assume they're checking on it. Not all second home owners destroy the community

@FarquarKumquatsmama

This makes such frustrating reading. Key worker here in a seaside town with overuse flares house prices due to second homes. We are having to live apart from vulnerable family members and no medium term rentals available so we are renting a tiny holiday home for £350 pet week. And every day we walk past hundreds of empty places and now I see this thread. The world is so fucked up.

Ditto. I'm sorry it's impacting you too.

Well my French house is not in community, has no near neighbours and before we bought it before Brexit it was empty for over 8 months as previous owner died. We have used all local tradesmen to completely refurbish. They were glad of the work, and I am sure charged us inflated prices, but they did a good job. We usually stay there for 10 days over Easter or May half term, 6 weeks over the summer and I have my sister and her child to stay with us as 7 bedrooms. I let my extended family, my close friends and my cleaner stay there free of charge when they want to as I would rather it was used and enjoyed. I don't let it out. I have family annual passes for local sports centre and swimming pool as hardly more for full year than 6 months and we do go over for a long weekend at end of October most years. We pay full tax d'habitation and tax Fonciere which is based on square meterage so expensive. Local people pay less but we do not complain. In this way we support the local economy. We are quiet neighbours as not there much. We would never dream of going over whilst pandemic is raging.