To think that owning a second home to use as a holiday home is extremely selfish?

[benadrylcucumberpatch]

It would be a different story if there was a surplus of vacant properties . As it stands holiday home owners turn communities into ghost towns, inflate prices in desirable areas (many of which are rural with low wages) and displace people who would live in the property full time.

Aibu to think this is selfish and reprehensible? Why are such people not villified for taking more than they need in such an extreme way?

my reply was directed to the very irate poster..

Yes I know who your post was directed at but the implication of it stands for all doesn't it? Put more energy into working harder or get another job = affluence.

It's offensive to those that work incredibly hard for next to nothing. And those people you think are 'just in the wrong job' are usually the ones we need the most, we should be encouraging them not making them feel worse.

user1491678180

out of curiosity, where do you stand on workers & tax payers who have been lucky enough to benefit from a secure tenancy "at half the price of private let" even if they have "50k in the bank"?

Is it only a certain kind of ""luck" one must be angry about?
Just wondering.

Alsohuman
I am good, but thanks!

Second home owners have destroyed entire communities in Cornwall.

If you book a holiday cottage/airbnb owned by someone outside of the region - you are part of the problem.

Btw, since when were all nurses/teachers/police paid a pittance? confused

In comparison to the actual job they do and those that earn a fortune, they don't earn anywhere near what they deserve to.

IrmaFayLear

Average Nurse salary in London £26,142
Average Nurse salary in San Francisco $120,690 (roughly £97,000)

I agree.

How many jobs are there in the Lake District outside farming and tourism related work?

As I've already said on this thread and on other threads previously; rural areas need the same services (public and private sector) as other areas. Yes, lots of people work in tourism and agriculture but others are health care professionals, teachers, charity workers, council workers the same as anywhere else. I don't work in tourism and most of my friends don't either.

For me this is about community and @mummymeister described it very well. A resident population is required to make communities function and some areas (including my own) are very close to losing that. Not everyone wants to join a committee but some people will and if there are enough permanent residents then most communities tick over and will be sustainable.

The people who look after holiday homes need to live somewhere too. One of our local businesses buses people in from 40 miles away to clean their accommodation as there just aren't enough people here to fill the jobs. It's a crazy situation.

The starting salary for police constables in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is between £19,971 and £23,124, rising to £38,382 at the top of the scale (usually after 10 years service).

Do you honestly think that's a good wage considering the job they do?

No, that’s not the average nurses salary. It’s the median for band 5 nurses. A band 7 goes up to £42k. One wouldn’t expect newly qualified nurses to be raking it in; we all start off at a lower level and progress. A band 9 is over £100k.

I live in a home counties town (fairly expensive to rent/buy). Its not touristy and no one would come here for a holiday, and everyone here complains that yheir kids/grandkids can't afford to buy a house here and its all the fault of Londoners who are moving out and pushing the prices up .we moved from London 14 years ago but got a (relative) bargain do-er upper but now even almost uninhabitable houses are hardly any more affordable than refurbished. We also rent self catering properties when we go on holiday. We eat out most days and certainly don't take a weeks supply of food.
I don't know what the answer is. If all the holiday homes were instantly removed would half the cafes/museums/surf hire/tourist attractions still stay open ....although i understand about things like gps, hospitals, schools etc which can only operate with a minimum number of permenant residents. Would any holiday lets be allowed or will it be hotels and camping only?

Anybody is entitled to buy any house they want whether first, second or third.
It's no more expensive for anyone.
If you can't afford to buy a house, it's not the fault of the person with more than one.

CherryPavlova

Nurse salaries in San Francisco go up to about $150k this is still far higher than what experienced nurses in the UK get. Most salaries in the UK are underpaid.

Struggling That article was 2009.

This is last year:

The top 15 areas of Cornwall with the highest percentage of properties bought as second homes
Postcode Area Percentage of homes bought as second homes
PL28 Padstow, Crugmeer, Porthcothan, St Merryn, Trevone, Treyarnon 67%
PL10 Rame, Millbrook, Kingsand, Freathy, Cremyll 29%
TR26 Saint Ives 24%
TR2 Truro, Gerrans 23%
PL27 Wadebridge, St Eval, St Minver 21%
TR19 St Buryan 19%
PL32 Camelford, Davidstow, Otterham 15%
PL30 Blisland, Lanivet, Luxulyan, Nanstallon, St Kew, St Mabyn, Temple, Withiel 15%
PL17 Callington, Ashton, Bray Shop, Kelly Bray, South Hill 13%
PL13 Looe, Lansallos, Polperro 13%
TR5 St Agnes, Mithian 10%
TR8 Mitchell 9%
TR20 Penzance 8%
TR12 Helston 8%
TR4 Goonhavern, Trispen 8%

Source: Hamptons International Research

Mike We often hire a holiday cottage in a small Devon village. As we come over from Belgium, I might bring a decent knife and chopping board, plus a cafetiere and coffee, but for the rest I shop locally. I buy scotch eggs at a local deli. I get my car serviced nearby as that's where we bought both our cars. I eat breakfast at either the Portuguese cafe in the local very small town, or at a bakery nearby. I go into the local market town and buy from the butchers, the greengrocers, the deli, the cheese shop, the bookshop, the clothes shop, and go to the local market. I eat lunch in the local eateries, and in the evening, if I can't be bothered to cook, then we walk up to the local pub (where I have also stayed for B&B when we are back for a short while), and have dinner and a pint.

Dh always dreads the credit card bills after we go, as I spend a lot when I'm there (I take bacon, cheese and lots of other goodies back to Belgium, plus clothes, which have to do me until the next time I manage to get down there.

As someone who lives abroad, but goes back for home leave, I am conscious that my money is needed there, and I ensure we spend accordingly.

Cherry come off it. There is usually one(!) band 9 nurse in each hospital, fewer than that in smaller hospitals. Most nurses are band 5 throughout their career. Progression to higher bands isn’t automatic. Outside London higher pay band jobs don’t come up frequently.

Well said Paramicha

Well, I rent cottages and self-catering places and don't check if the owner is local . Why would I? I want the best value for money so I can take my family on holiday. But some would rather we don't go if we don't have the funds or don't want to stay in some B&B or guesthouse . Well, fuck 'em. I don't like staying in places like that. It's a free country, people can use Air B&B or Hoseasons or whatever.

I grew up a few miles from Helford 50 years ago. Even then, it was Knightsbridge-on-Sea. But young people left our village in their droves in the 1960s to find work that wasn't fishing, farming or extractive industries. There were holiday homes then too, used in school holidays by mothers and children with dad coming for his fortnight and a couple of long weekends, BUT only a handful. Now 80% of the houses are holiday homes, and most of the residents are very elderly.

Outside the public sector, FT average wages in west Cornwall are still under £20k, and you won't find a cottage, or even an ugly bungalow, for less than 15x that income.

Without tourism, Cornwall's economy would shrivel. Such areas should impose a modest tourist levy per head, as most European countries do, which is collected and spent locally. £1 per night per person, including children; 50% for campers. It would cost a derisory amount per family, but multiplied over millions of visitor nights it would fund community amenities and compensate those who don't profit from tourism for the inconvenience of the over-crowded roads and towns.

@XingMing I agree. A small tourist levy would help with infrastructure improvements and repairs and community projects (maybe even affordable housing) to offset the impact of millions of visitors.

@XingMing

I also agree with a tax, there were 300 cars parked at the St Ives park and ride today alone so I could imagine the income it could generate.

Then the council will no doubt spend it on new ties or something rediculous. They are a massive part of the problem.

I agree. Older folk fret about wastage of things like food and 'stuff', but think nothing of wasting housing space during a housing crisis. Yes it is legal, but it isn't moral.

The elephant in the room on this thread is population growth. The ultimate cause of housing shortages is the continuing high levels of net migration, particularly into London and SE, coupled with the increase in one person households.

Housing shortages push up prices allowing those who got on the property ladder before the increases to realise their gains. It's quite unpleasant living and commuting in overcrowded London these days, unsurprising that those with funds prioritise a rural bolthole.

Dealing with population growth requires Brexit (or the imminent threat of Brexit) plus the political will to decrease net migration.

Once there is less demand for service jobs then up go the salaries. The rise in average weekly earnings is at its highest level since 2008 fueled by the lowest rate of net migration for five years.

Those in rural areas could benefit from the weakening in this demand in particular as many service industry and farming jobs are taken by EU nationals.

I would also increase minimum and living wages and phase out tax credits which have kept earnings back for years.

And introduce much higher stamp duty and council taxes on home ownership for non UK residents.

Mumsnet members do not like people to have money do they?

Yep they hate anyone with money, as far as they are concerned everyone shone equally poor.

Should

Bottom line is that those who inherit money are still entitled to it, someone somewhere back in their family earnt that money, just as people today can earn their own money.

My DH and I didn’t inherit but we’ve worked bloody hard to make a decent life for us and our DC, including owning a second home which will be used to help our DC on the property ladder and to be honest I couldn’t care less if someone thinks thats selfish or ‘morally repugnant’.