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?

Yes, they are lovely.

Gorgeous location and view OP.
Go for it before someone else snaps it up.

Yes, you have. But you must see that what would actually help the local housing situation in that case is the existing owner having to drop the price.
I feel like I'm having a go at you and I don't mean to. I don't think most of us would prefer a situation where people can't move around the country and buy property they want. I am supportive of your right to buy the house if you want it (and also supportive of you having to pay double council tax if you're not going to live there!). But I think what you are looking for here is for people to look at your individual reasons/situation (e.g. the house being unsold for a while) and somehow say you will not be part of the systemic problem of second home owners and the effect they are having on Cornish towns and villages. But the fact is, you will be. That's not to say you're not a nice person and won't bring anything of value to the area at all, or that your neighbours will dislike you personally. We all make our choices within our own means and our own moral compasses.
Looks a lovely house - I like Mawgan Porth very much. Brutal walk back up from the beach though!

Ok thanks. I guess if you are happy paying for this property, being fully aware it is now overpriced, then I suspect you are sort of semi-comited to the plan already.

I'm not sufficiently educated in house prices and the wages of Cornwall folks so I can't begin to form a view on whether there are local folk who could accept a drop in the price, maybe £300- £400k and tolerate the state of it for the time needed for repairs etc. But really if other Cornwall retirees were to buy it, it's pretty similar to what you'd be doing.
Can I ask where you live at present? Sorry if you've said above.

The OP won’t be walking, she’ll get a local serf to carry her 😀

😂

It's fine, I don't feel you are having a go at me. I started this thread asking for honest opinions and that is what I have got.

Of course it would help the local housing situation if the current owner reduced the price, but they aren't likely to shave off £600k or more. I do accept I would be a part of the systemic problem overall, particularly if not living there full time for the first 5-6 years. I haven't tried to shy away from this fact.

I do think locals marketing their houses at ridiculous prices are worse than the people buying them though, ultimately it is down to the seller to choose who they sell their property to.

OK, so

1. it's a 45+ minute drive each way to Treliske on a clean run. Add an hour in summer. Even a blue light run won't be 20mins. The hospital at Newquay only has a minor injuries unit 6 days a week with xray cover 5 days a week.

2. you couldn't easily / safely walk down into Mawgan Porth, you walk out the street onto a road with no verge

3. it's right underneath the airport flight path for the main runway for Newquay airport and RAF St Mawgan - have a look at the noise maps for this. It's a busy little airport these days - especially with the military aircraft we're seeing more and more of round here. Plus the spaceport launches.

You'll be about a mile from the edge of the runway. That's close.

4. why has it been empty for two years? What's the story you've been told?

5. are the adjacent blocks holiday rentals? The old one seemed to be a surf lodge - parties would be my main concern.

6. Newquay will be your go to for everything and Newquay is a pig for driving in tourist season.

I suspect the price is only a small part of why it's been empty so long. There are so many better places in the county to be situated IMO, especially if you're planning for retirement and factoring in mobility in your home / the local area, access to care services / medical services in the longer term.

Not saying you have to be in a tiny bungalow next to a hospital when you hit age 68, but I'm watching my parents become more isolated because they live at the top of a hill in a small town and DM is already having issues with her confidence in driving. They certainly can't manage the hill on foot.

Yes and any local could put a covenant on their property to restrict ownership to people with connections to the local area or usage to full time occupation rather than holiday home. They don’t because they want to get the most money for their property and I don’t blame them for that but they are still part of the problem.

I don't think it's been empty. It's an HMO for local restaurant workers.

I did wonder - I looks like it's part surf lodge part hostel!

This is true. To a greater or lesser extent, we are all complicit in a broken system.
You have started to see the odd covenant on property locally, or people initially marketing to local people though. It's a start...
When we bought our house, some 20 years ago, it had been on the market for over a year and the people selling it had turned down offers from people up-country. (We were moving from upcountry ourselves, but my husband is Cornish and had finally got a job to return home to.)

Fantastic house. If you buy it & decide to rent it out occasionally for holidays during the summer please PM me with details.😀

Wow beautiful positioned house and location OP. It could be styled better . I guess it is the price that is putting people off!

@SecondH - I hope you don't mind me asking but are you involved in selling this house?

I doubt it, she would have provided the link earlier if she was

I just noticed that it has become a popular thread and now people are asking about staying there.

I know Mawgan Porth very well, as I have been holidaying there since I was a small child.

I fully take on board your comments regarding the travel times to the main hospital, I admit I wasn't fully aware of this, so thanks for the info on that. I don't live close a hospital now and if I'm going to be really morbid the chances of getting to a hospital alive in the event of an emergency aren't exactly excellent across most of the country.

I think I have given the impression I'm a lot older than I am. This is probably because I mentioned my DHs intention to retire in 6 years. DH is 10 years older, he intends to take an early retirement at 56. That would mean we could be living in Cornwall for 20 years or more (with any luck) before he started to get really decrepit.

I know Newquay is traffic nightmare and has also got very run down in recent years.

It needs gutting so I can see why it's off putting.

No, We are seriously considering putting an offer in, so I genuinely wanted to get opinions on second home owners.

I'll probably get outbid now 😱

Thank you for your answer - and for lyour attention to questions all the way through the thread. If you are like this I think the neighbourhood would be fortunate to have you. The fact that you have been to stay there since you were a small child is very important to locals, as well. If you love the place you will want it to remain like that.

Great house! Well, if it's good enough for Cate Blanchett.... You would be near neighbours.

DB is doing it as an acting role, it is designed to be monetized in whatever way he (or his agent) can find an angle, how he (they) can be bothered to play the celebrity game for so long is beyond me.

The bond market is going to fix the problem of second home owners as more and more people who would never have even thought of a second home before the super cheap credit boom struggle to pay their main mortgage, ME is kicking off big time and is going to escalate I think.