How hated will we be?

[SecondH]

DH and I are looking at buying a second home by the coast. I would love to hear from other second home owners and people who live in areas where there are lots of second home owners. How hated by the locals would we be? Do neighbours ignore you etc?

Thank you! Yes, OH took him for the open day last month and they both loved it! They camped at a local campsite and had a brilliant time!

Thank you for saying this - that’s the truth of it. One reason why my parents usually have nothing to do with second home owners is that typically they are adamant that they are a huge asset to the area and no harm is being done. We all understand people wanting to live or spend time in a gorgeous place but there is a cost to that place and it’s a cost that families feel deeply, often because it’s causes people to have to move away. Second home owners who acknowledge that it’s not great for the area sound like the kind of people we could get on with - especially if like you say you’re trying to keep your house full. It reflects a good sense of self-awareness/giving a crap about the area!

One of my parents’ neighbours died and the people who bought the place promised to move down soon after initially having it as a second home. Now it’s empty around 48 weeks a year, and in a place with just a few homes one permanently empty and dark does make a difference.

What a particularly apt subject to have chosen - he will stand in a tradition going back 4,000 years and will be very welcome.

There is no answer to this. I used to live in a touristy village on a Greek island and it was the same there.

The fact is that in my touristy village in Cornwall most people are on minimum wage or just above and work in the tourist industry. Or they are builders/plumbers/shop owners/artists. Housing is not priced for people to buy on a minimum wage job anywhere in the country I wouldn't think.

If my village was suddenly populated by 'local families' most of them would have lost their jobs because the restaurants, cafes and shops would be shut, there would be no cleaning work or maintenance work, nobody would be able to afford to go to to the pub so they'd close down. Most people would be living in tiny two up two down fisherman's cottages with damp problems that they couldn't afford to fix.

It's a balance. The balance has gone the wrong way. Too many holiday properties and second homes, not enough rentals. You really do have Thatcher to thank for the housing crisis in this country. However, you can still buy a three bedroom ex council house with a garden for £150k. That house should still be a council property with affordable rent but no, they all got sold off.

Having read more of the comments, the general consensus, particularly from those who live in Cornwall, is that we would be very much hated, which was my suspicion all along.

It appears the more acceptable thing to do is wait to buy until we were to actually live in it, though some comments suggest there would still be a frosty reception either way. To my surprise, I didn't realise quite how unpopular tourists appear to be too! I had always felt the Cornish were fairly friendly when holidaying there but this has definitely given me food for thought (or second thoughts, I'm sure some of you will be pleased to know)

Whilst I fully accept second home owners have contributed to rising house prices and ghost towns, I saw one PP had mentioned there have been issues going back 40 years before the second home ownership boom. I do think locals who sell to outsiders because they want more money for themselves are a big part of the problem, so the blame falls firmly at their feet too.

The house we are looking at is never going to be bought by a local, but it would seem some would rather it remain entirely unoccupied rather than being bought by an outsider.

Can I ask how you can predict that no local would ever be able to afford this place?.

Is it unimaginable that, when the price ultimately drops, then a couple, ie a childless couple with no desire for immediate perfection, might be able to afford it and then gradually get it done up as they wish? Perhaps people who could stay in a caravan or with family short -term while the kitchen and utilities are put in? My friend has just moved into a very shabby bungalow ( in a village about ten miles away where she grew up), with damp on the walls, admittedly she isn't stoney broke, but they are expecting to live in the some fashion in the garden for a few months while the builder sets to work updating the kitchen, toilets and bedrooms.

I don't see how you can know you wouldn't be taking this out of the supply chain for locals.

I live in a very touristy town and there's some anti-tourist sentiment from some people, but most of it is just moaning about parking/litter/busy beaches etc rather than actual hatred. Most people recognise that tourism brings both benefits and inconveniences as do, for example, students, who are also a much-talked about group where we live.
The fact the house you're interested in is 'never going to be bought by a local' is part of the systemic problem. The fact that that situation exists in the first place is indicative of a wider housing/affordability crisis, not a sign that you would somehow be helping out by buying it.
As with everything, it's nuanced, and we all have to balance our own individual actions between our personal happiness and the wider societal good where those two things are in conflict, as they clearly are with second homes. Second-home-owners fall too far down the 'personal happiness' side of the spectrum for me, but that doesn't mean I hate them. We all make our choices.

As an aside, there are plenty of locals who can afford big houses.
My in-laws (who were born and lived most of their lives here and worked as doctors until their retirement) live in a large coastal property that I imagine is worth a couple of million. Several other family members of their generation locally have considerable property wealth - one has just bought a (second) expensive home on the north coast. I have local friends in their early fifties who are currently looking for a new project at the top end of the market. (I'm not saying any of this is without issue, or also part of the problem of housing inequality - it clearly is; I'm simply making the point that assuming all locals can't afford expensive property and you're somehow doing the Cornish economy a favour by buying it up is erroneous.)

The second home boom really got going in the early 90s from what I remember. Possibly a bit before?Before that there were a handful of celebs. But I think in the 90s recession a lot of people lost their homes and property was comparatively cheap plus barn conversions really became a “thing”.

It’s an absolute mess and PP is right that things like right to buy have messed up a lot of areas too.

I think if OP has the attitude that everyone will hate her that’s not realistic, but many people won’t want to be her friend particularly. But then if you had a neighbour who only appeared on your street at Christmas and for a fortnight in the summer would they likely be your closest companion?

I don’t know anyone at home who hates tourists. Many people find the sheer volume of massive cars on the road (ie on tiny lanes) a complete pain though and so would you if your travel time to school/work/doctor’s appts suddenly quaadrupled every summer. I think it’s understandable to feel annoyed by the impact and that isn’t the same as disliking the (often v nice) people. I worked for years in touristy places and honestly could have happily made friends with half the visitors.

Yes @falmouthdoglover and the other wrong assumption is that everyone in touristy places depends on tourists coming to the area. I read it all the time on here and it paints the locals as if they are ignorant peasants who should be doing a lot more doffing the cap to their kind patrons. Yes lots of jobs depend on tourists but it’s a real place with real jobs that couldn’t give a stuff about tourism too. Just off the top of my head friends still living locally are electricians, teachers, midwives, psychologists, farmers, students, web developers and solicitors.

'I'm simply making the point that assuming all locals can't afford expensive property and you're somehow doing the Cornish economy a favour by buying it up is erroneous.'

I haven't suggested ALL locals can't afford expensive houses, of course some can, it's the same across the country. I said this specific property has sat unoccupied for 2 years, it requires quite a bit of work and is frankly way overpriced for what it is, so I can't see locals being interested in it or able to afford it considering the price and the money that needs throwing at it. I think it would have been snapped up by now if that were the case.

I'm also not suggesting I'm doing the Cornish a favour, I can see we would be an unwelcome guest to most. I've been quite clear in my comments on how second homeowners have been detrimental to an area in many cases.

I raised the point about this house sitting unoccupied because it think it is relevant. My thought process is, paying 100% council tax on it and having it occupied at intervals throughout the year is surely better than nothing going on with it at all, though that may not be the case judging from some of the opinions expressed.

I can't know for certain that no local would ever be able to afford it, but it's quite unlikely. I'm going by average wages in the area and the fact this property is over priced for what it is and needs money spending on it. The fact it has been on the market for 2 years already kind of supports my theory.

If the owner has a change of heart and cares to allow an average local family the chance to buy, they'd realistically have to drop it by £600k. But who is going to do that?

OP - I do think you sound as if you think you are doing Cornwall a favour by buying this house and retiring to the county. Even if that is not your intention. I have just retired but like many here I had a professional job and have a good sized house, we have friends with big houses and also know people who struggle to buy because wages are so low and house prices high. That house is either overpriced or the renovation too big to attract a buyer - its not because everyone is too poor to take it on.

Totally agree @WitcheryDivine there is so much talk on these kind of threads of 'the locals' as if they are a different species entirely and actually they are just people going about ordinary lives. Hardly anyone I know works in the tourism economy (other than my teenagers and their friends, who find it easily to get hospitality work than their up-country cousins).
@SecondH Fair enough. I take your point about the house being unoccupied on a case-by-case basis (though of course it's the individual cases that make up the systemic problem).
FWIW, I think there's a huge difference between what people think and feel in the abstract (i.e. second homers = bad) and real-life, on-the-ground experience ('I disapprove of second homes but Sally who owns number 13 is very friendly'). I don't think you're going to get people approving of the decision to buy a second home, but neither do I think you're going to be met with hostility by your neighbours.

Please can we have a link to the property

My intention is to live in a beautiful part of the country, not to grace the locals with my presence as though they're a bunch of plebians who should be grateful I used the bakery. So I won't accept accusations of me thinking I'm 'doing locals a favour.'

I've covered the fact it is overpriced and needs renovation, as other reasons it hasn't attracted interest, in my previous comments.

Come on - wages are irrelevant at the top of the housing market (in Cornwall and elsewhere). The people who can afford higher-priced property are the ones with family money or existing property equity or both. And there are plenty of them in Cornwall as well as all the average wage earners. You would obviously be right to say that you buying this property probably isn't going to stop a local couple who work as a nurse and a plumber (or other similarly useful local jobs) from buying it on their wages, but the assumption that no one in the local economy can afford it because of average wages here is clearly incorrect.

I've addressed the reasons why I think it hasn't sold in quite a few of my comments now.

Why should they have to?
OP if you like it and that is your plan, to hell with what anyone else thinks.

I just want one like this https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/89571501

Even the locals could afford that

Exactly

Most councils don't allow overnight stays in beach huts, so you can't actaully live in them unfortunately.

I know that, it’s just a shed with a view but I want one!

The ones near me are going for £300k 😯

It has a bedroom though.

It wasn't my intention to share the link as it could be potentially outing, but I can always name change like I did for this thread. It's also not something we have discussed with friends and family yet, so I suppose nobody would be any the wiser if they came across this post.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/151277174#/?channel=RES_BUY