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?

Herocomplex

what privilege would that be? Apart from being healthy, I can't see any.

What tax is there on selling a property @swingofthings? There’s no tax on selling a main residence, stamp duty’s paid when you buy.

There's CGT on a property you've not lived in throughout your period of ownership and the exemptions/reliefs are being reduced/removed for where you let it out to rent or have two properties concurrently. So more and more people who have a second home, whether lived in or rented out, will be paying more CGT than ever when they come to sell in the coming years.

All this talk about owning multiple homes being available to anyone is such ludicrous shit, when there are a lot of people who will never be able to afford one home.

Someone who spends their whole working life on minimum wage with no money inherited etc would not be able to save for a deposit , as there simply would not be enough after rent bills etc. The numbers just do not add up. These low wage jobs are vital to the economy and society. The people you deny the existence of are this who serve you in the shops, deliver your parcels, care for you in your old age for a few examples. Not everyone climbs the career ladder, some people work hard their whole lives for very meagre financial reward. And we do need these jobs done to keep society functioning.

Also to the posters suggesting this thread is about not liking outsiders. That is not the case so please stop with your flagrant misinterpretation.

The issue I specifically have is with people who purchase houses which sit empty for large amounts of time. Where I live I can think of multiple properties owned by people who rock up a few times a year. Some of these are quite large houses that could be occupied full time by people, either locals or people wanting to move to and actually live in the area.

I think with additional properties there should be rules about minimum occupancy times and leaving a habitable dwelling empty should be penalised

bendadryl - I agree with you. I love it when new people move into our village and its hard not to swoop on them as soon they arrive to get them to join in with stuff.

We both then did menial low paid jobs whilst doing evening classes to get better O and A levels
Evening classes no longer exist in some areas- where I live adult education has been cut to the bone so it is no longer possible to do this.

We both attained our professional qualifications in our mid-late twenties and finally got decent careers,
See above re: adult education provision. Also surely you have not missed the memo that you can be very qualified and still struggle to make any headway. I am 28 and of all my friends who are the same age no one has been in the position to buy a house apart from one friend who was loaned the deposit by her parents.

Evening classes no longer exist in some areas
that's ok, you can do correspondence courses instead.

Some people will always find excuses, others just get on with it.

I quick Google of a level from home brings up £63 per month which would likely be in affordable for someone on minimum wage

Some people will always find excuses, others just get on with it.

I feel like people should be a bit more sympathetic. There are people out there who do all the right things, they get educated, go in to debt for it and still struggle to get a job that pays well enough to handle all the costs. It's certainly much easier for the kid who gets a deposit for a flat from mum and dad with a low mortgage payment, then the kid who has to pay 60%+ of their monthly income on rent.

onefacepalm
I assume you were joking when I said some people are blind to their privilege and you said you couldn’t see it.
It’s just lazy to respond that because you did something so why can’t everyone else. It lacks insight into how society works, reducing everything to effort or the lack of it. Using your own experience is not an example of how society works, it shows how it’s worked for you. It’s the ‘I’m alright Jack’ approach.

gingerbreadsprinkle
of course it's easier if you are wealthy to start with.

But it's also easier if you are realistic, and understand that you won't be able to save for a deposit if you decide to rent a 3 bed with garden, go on multiple holidays etc.

There's a point when people say that they can't afford something and it becomes true. But they are the ones who chose to over spend in the first place!

There's also a point in your job when you know you will never get more and go up. What you do at that point is a choice, you don't complain that life is unfair.

I agree with you Op, I went to a little village near my town, short boat ride across the sea to quaint little place busy with mainly tourists but also locals, what saddened me was how many of the cottages had holiday let signs in the windows and how many looked empty. estate agent prices show to buy is very expensive and it is situated in a quiet area with not many jobs in an easy commute so quite a few young people working in the 5 pubs there. Doubt they will be able to afford a property there on minimum wage. It is ridiculously quiet in winter.

I can understand the annoyance of the locals in the holiday areas being fed up with the situation but short of banning holiday homes, what can the government do ?

My sister and her husband have a holiday home. She’s a nurse 😱. It’s not always about how much money you earn but about how much you keep . I’ve never been a high earner but I have considerable savings . It’s about priorities.

At 28 I was renting a room in a shared house ( while my boyfriend of 2 years still lived with his parents ) to save for my future, are you doing the same op? I do agree that those who work hard aren’t always fairly compensated but they will have made their choices in life just the same as the rest of us .

Why would anyone need to pay for an A level when they can sit them for free as an 17/18 year old . You get a free chance to do them , if you balls that up then it’s on you .

I would never blame the poor for not trying hard enough . My dad has never had a lot of money but is the hardest working person I know . He’s still working full time and then some at 76 years old .
There’s a difference between working hard and working smart . The smart people employ someone to do the work for them and then reap the rewards .They’re not working any harder , in fact some would argue that they’re working at all.
And so the rich will continue to get richer . That’s not going to change anytime soon .

There's the issue of owning more than one home. Maybe selfish.

Then there's the separate issue of pushing locals out - more difficult. Surely young people leaving a place are pushing someone else out of their god-given-right-to-live-in town? Do I have a right to lay claim to a house in outer London where I grew up? Even where I live now (much farther out) the nicest houses are bought by escaping Londoners.

Then there's the separate issue of pushing locals out - more difficult.

To be fair, this seems to always have been the case. Humans have historically constantly migrated. Are there really that many families who have stayed in the same location for hundreds of years? I'm sure it's happened but I assume most British people are a mix of families that come from different areas of the country.

I think the issue is that capitalism has begun it's path to deteriorate because the divide between the haves and have nots has become so vast. Even the middle classes probably feel the squeeze as we're all expected to do more with less.

I own a second home. I use local tradesman, local shops, businesses and restaurants. I pay council tax in the area. I pay water rates in the area. I take part in local events and donate to local charities. We worked really hard to afford it and we love it. I do not feel guilty. I also could not afford a property in the area I grew up in when I left university, I had to move away and work hard to afford a home and then even harder to move to better, larger homes and then to afford a second property. Nobody gave us the money, we earned it. I did not have a right to live in the area I grew up in, I had to work hard to afford it. Should I not have bought it because other people made different choices or because they are not as fortunate? That is a strange way to view the world. I can not have it so nobody else should have it either.

If you grow up in a crap area are you supposed to stay there forever ? Damn right those people are going to move to the nice places when and if they can afford to. You don’t own them / have the right to live there just by virtue of birth .

Purpletigers well said.

OP what do you feel abut people who live in larger houses then they need ? or smaller houses then they would like?...that's all down to supply and demand and affordability too ?

I don't know what size / value house you live in , but if we were to make all things equal , what if you had to move to a house half the size because its a fairer system?

You cant look at things in isolation , if you are looking at the 'fairness' of life you need to look at everything

To be honest, if someone is earning NMW their entire life then they won’t be able to afford a property full stop, me or anyone else owning more than one house doesn’t change that I’m afraid.

We’re not the cause of the problem and taking our hard earned property from us isn’t the answer.

For people to afford their own home they need a decent education, available jobs and a good living wage combined with affordable housing. If you start with the first one it can often lead to the others, many people have to move away to find a decent job or to live in an area that is within their price bracket. That’s life, no one owes you anything and whinging about how ‘lucky’ or ‘selfish’ those are who have what you want won’t change a thing for you.

I always think there are two types, those who look at the boss and think “what an arse, I hope they get what’s coming and they lose the lot, that'll teach them’ and those who look at the boss and think ‘I want to be like that, how can I achieve it’....

Very good post, makingmyway.

Dorsetdays 'those who look at the boss and think.....' and those who think 'I want to be like that how can I achieve it...'

I could not agree more. I was lucky and was privileged in my home and education but my Father always taught us nobody owes you anything. If you want to live a good lifestyle and want nice things you must go out and work hard to afford them. See what successful people do and be inspired. Be kind and treat people well and work really hard.

OP what do you feel abut people who live in larger houses then they need ? or smaller houses then they would like?...that's all down to supply and demand...too

I am not the OP but I do think there need to be carrots to encourage people to live in properties suitable for their circumstances. My near neighbours are both single ladies living in three bedroom houses. Maybe there should be incentives to encourage people to move into smaller properties. Nothing by force, but making it worth peoples' while if they do decide to move eg into a 2 bed bungalow from a 4 bed house. Some would say they need the room for the annual visit by the grandchildren but wouldn't it be better for them to stay in a hotel and you can have a smaller and cheaper property and enjoy some money? A few months ago Kirstie said on an episode of Location Location Location that the extra bedroom for the very occasional visit from NZ was going to cost £70,000!

I don't think we should be building new (poor quality) houses on green field sites when the current housing stock is not efficiently managed.

I think you have your answer benadryl, selfishness is fine if you work hard and do well. If you work hard and don’t do well, then that’s probably not fair but there’s nothing to be done, life’s just unfair I guess. And if you haven’t done a stroke of work your whole life and are doing very well, that’s great! Well done you!