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?

I can't see that happening as it is a very tourist area. I already admitted I wouldn't want to live next to a holiday let myself, so really don't like the idea of renting it out.

Ethically cleaner to invest in an actual holiday-home like a lodge on Gwel an Mor

Well we wouldn't be doing any of that.

Guessing st Agnes then

So you want to live in the Falmouth/ Penryn/ Mylor area or possibly over optimistic about how long it takes from the St Agnes / Perranporth area to get to treliske. You may get away with it in Falmouth depending on the part. The other places you will be hated. Sorry.

Just don't post about your second home on MN, and you'll be fine 😂

You aren't going to get to know your neighbours so does it really matter? You know that you wouldn't like this setup next to you. But nothing can stop you doing it - by the time you move in it might be all second homes or new neighbours anyway so it probably won't even matter if everyone on the street gets annoyed at some point.

😂😂

Yes!!!

I've been a landlord for over 10 years and never had any problems. I keep the rent low and act quickly if anything needs doing. Tenants have always left it spotless. I've never had to deduct so much as a penny from their deposit.

When you are there make sure you give business to the local community- shop in the bakery and farm shop, get the local wine and cider, go to the pub and chippie. Try to get there at least once every couple of months. Go for Christmas as well as out of season (which is no hardship, seafood is at its best in the cold months)

We have a house in France so we shop at the market and the boulangerie and go to restaurants and make sure we spend money at local small businesses. When our friends are over we send them there too - we get a lovely welcome every time we are there

Apparently loads of second homers don't do that, they just turn up with a load of food they've brought with them and hole up in their house all weekend.

Pleased to hear it. You would be surprised.

But eventually you could get unable to drive. The lack of bus routes especially in winter will make getting about harder. Friends from my church moved to the coast when they retired. 6 years later they were back in Gloucestershire because they realised that life really is so much harder when amenities are scarce. I would suggest you try a one month stay during the winter before committing to buying. You will probably change your mind.

People I know bought a house that had been standing empty a long time, so they weren't depriving locals of a home. It needed a lot of work, for which they employed local tradesmen, so they have put money into the local economy.

Except the main local industry is not tourism. Those complaining about the council tax may profit from tourism themselves, but it is only 7.5% of Cornwall's economic output.

If there’s a shortage of affordable homes and property prices are hiked because of second home owners then I think you’ll be made to feel very uncomfortable. If in doubt…….don't invest.

Yes we are aware of this.

We have, in an area where there are a lot of second homes and a lot of emotion from locals.

On balance they hate the ones who only use their houses a few weeks a year more than those who rent out in between - we rent out when we're not using it.

Some locals outright hostile but few. Most are 'ok' with us given we are respectful of the area and we don't keep the house empty. It also helps it's clearly a second home for us and not just a business venture. We visit a lot and get involved in stuff with the community when we're around.

The thing is when we are around in the holidays, all the other second home owners are too so we just have our own parallel community and chat to each other. We even have a pub more of the second home owners go and one the locals prefer. So it sort of waters down any feeling of unwelcome-ness from some locals.

I think you'll only be hated if you go around bragging about it 🤔

Overthinking taken to the 1000,000,000th degree...

Hardly. I haven't said where it is or how much it is for this reason.

Clearly, people care as there has been engagement from people who live near second home owners. I'd still like to hear from second home owners themselves.

If you don't care, why did you comment.

come on @SecondH Would you like to live next to an Air BnB? Have a think…

This post makes you seem pretty hateable - imagine thinking other people will care that much about you? But honestly no-one will give a shit. In my seaside town the second homes are all glaringly obvious, mostly wouldn’t work for people to live in full time (newly renovated for space and light but no storage or postage stamp gardens or no parking for example) and those people blend in with the tourists a lot of the time. Like all people, some of the second homers I know are lovely and friendly, and some are entitled knobs.

Yeah but that's a blended average over a whole massive area. In some places like, say, Rock, huge swathes of the population will be employed in local pubs, restaurants, surf shops, kayak-hire places, gift shops etc etc. It's pretty hard to throw a 7.5% figure at someone who's entire business is selling Cornwall tourist parephenalia

I'm in Cornwall. Where I am there are lots and lots. Personally I hate the ones where they visit for 2 or 3 weeks of the year and it's left empty. It's such a waste and no money going into the local economy. I used to own a holiday cottage before I moved here and now have cottages I rent out in my garden.

I've never heard of anyone being nasty to 2nd home owners although there is a bit of resentment from some people- not many though. Most people accept that the economy needs tourism- but I'm in a VERY touristy place.

If you're worried I would go for a long holiday, go to the pubs locals go to, go to the shops and see what people say. Lots of 2nd home owners join in the daily sea swims here for example.

Oh and my parents live next door to one of these. I’m sure the neighbours think they are lovely, but so far they have asked them to: take parcels in, dogsit their dog all day, and borrow a small appliance (think kettle) when theirs broke. In isolation all this is fine of course, but there’s no reciprocity at all as they are rarely here!