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?

A number of nurses turn into CEOs.

I actually have a flat in Cornwall I am trying to sell but haven’t been able to. It’s not in a seaside town and in an area of poverty but you can be at the beach in 10 minutes. I bought it 7 years ago and lived there for that time but of all the interest we had, only one of those was local and was an elderly man who sadly couldn’t manage the stairs. The others were all buy to let. We only had one offer which we accepted until they pulled out In the end I took it off the market and will try again at a later date but I was sad no other locals were interested, even when I dropped the price.

I do think a lot of younger locals are not willing to lower their standards. My flat is well kept but the area has a bad reputation.
I will try to sell again but I fear that I may end up selling it as a buy to let and they are not usually locals. My point is that if you need to sell sometimes you have no choice to sell to a buyer who isn’t local and by local I mean within the county not in the same town.

It's true that we need nurses, but I have no idea why anyone is willing to be one given their pay. It's almost verging on altruism - WHY?

Because not everybody is motivated by money - sometimes vocational roles are attractive to people who want to ‘give’ to society. (But it’s a choice, of course). What is wrong is that society does not appreciate the efforts of people who keep us safe and productive - teachers, nurses, police, prison officers to name a few. Any of these people fail in their roles we are all in deep shit! Often the best paid workers are in profit making jobs - with salaries and bonuses not available to public servants and sadly government shows utter contempt for public servants!
A public servant - teacher, nurse etc will change your life - or save your life. A bonus driven worker won’t!
Society values the wrong things - but we all have a choice where we work.

Hollow laugh about poster saying their db was priced out of the Isle of Wight. Apart from a few tiny pockets, the house prices are minuscule Plenty on offer for under £80k (proper houses, not holiday chalets).

It's like saying, Boo hoo, I can't buy in London - and then saying you're only considering the best parts of Kensington.

@scaryteacher, yup, at the Tamar end but I name-changed last year after the big MN hack. You kindly offered some excellent advice on schools a while back.

Skinnychip OK. Take a hospital....is the porters who work the hardest, or is it the A&E consultants, or the Neuro surgeons, or the theatre nurses? It is not just about hours worked, it's about the responsibility you have for others and the mental load. A PA might work hard, but if her boss is the CEO of the company, responsible for keeping a business afloat for staff and shareholders, who works hardest?

As to support for decent grades, that support is there in schools and always has been. It was there in the 80s when I did my O levels and A levels in the state system, and it was there when I taught in the state system as well. As to end of term gifts...you are paid for doing your job. I did get a couple of fresh trout once during term time from one of my more recalcitrant students after he'd been fishing, just because I'd take the time to smile at him and have a chat when I saw him. They were lovely!!

The guy in the car factory had opportunities. My Dad joined the RN at 16 in 1957 as a junior rating with 4 O Levels. By the time he was 39 in 1980 he was a Lt-Cdr, so had gained a Commission and was a mid ranking Officer. Dh's godfather joined at 14 as a boy sailor. He was a Rear Admiral when he retired. My brother joined at 18 with A levels,as he didn't want to go to uni. He is now a Commander. The RN paid for him to do his MSc and his training means he will walk into a well paying job when he retires. None had initial degrees, and indeed, my brother still doesn't have a Bachelor's.

Transform Let's hope the yard gets more work, especially with the submarines going North, and Pompey mopping up lots of other stuff. Dh had a choice between a job at Babcock or the one he is in now...we moved abroad.

@XingMing Didn't we bump into each other at the greengrocers in Tavistock once? We are moving back for good in mid October...am very excited about coming home. Hope all is well with you.

@EndoplasmicReticulum - huge price fluctuations on IOW (Ryde, Newport v cheap but Cowes, Bembridge are daft) but it is all commutable for any local which wants to stay on the island. The big issue for IOW is the poor provision of decent state high education and healthcare....this is the biggest block to social mobility there which deters a lot of people from either staying to have their family or from coming over in the first place. The ferry cost doesn't help either.
Places like Seaview have been destroyed by tourism I agree.

We did! The greengrocer's retired sadly and the shop is now one of those pretty places that doesn't sell anything you'd really want or need. Look forward to your return and hope the move is easy.

So many excuses on this thread, at the end of the day people have to realise that it's no-one's right to own a house. Yes there are people who will never be able to afford to buy, even if the house price is £50k, and that's ok.

My parents came to England in their 20s as immigrants shared a 3 bed flat with 7 or 8 of their friends and worked in McDonalds or as cab drivers to save up while they studied. Now they own 6 houses worldwide (Only one in the UK which I rent from them). Landlords are necessary for people who are just starting out in their careers or working in low paid jobs, or saving for a deposit. Stopping people owning second homes hurts these people directly and doesn't provide a solution.

Wrt ghost towns, government just needs to put legislation in place that ensures a certain percentage of houses in an area must be 'primary residence' and/or add a tourist levy for secondary residences. Problem solved, and you don't need to hate the rich people anymore .

Alaskan: It's true that we need nurses, but I have no idea why anyone is willing to be one given their pay. It's almost verging on altruism - WHY?

No one is going to be a nurse if they don't want to care for people but there are quite well paid nursing jobs for those who want to get on, I know some who earn really good salaries in senior roles. There is also the fact that a trained nurse can always find a job somewhere, part time if they want, and not everyone has such marketable skills.

It's true that we need nurses, but I have no idea why anyone is willing to be one given their pay. It's almost verging on altruism - WHY?

Because in the poorer areas of the country, nursing wages are actually quite good compared to the alternatives. I fully agree that their wages are crap in expensive areas. Careers like nursing and teaching virtually guarantee you a job anywhere in the country, so maximum flexibility if you have to relocate for family reasons. And, of course, better pensions that most bog standard private sector jobs. The actual wage itself isn't the only factor - you have to look at the big picture.

Yes I agree it's wrong and immoral. Not sure how it can be solved though - there will always be special pleading... inherited house etc. At the very least second homes should pay enormous council tax so at least a little money trickles into the local area.

Why should you only be allowed to buy a home in a lovely area if you were born there?
Exactly - funny how it’s only ever people who live in a desirable area who say it!

Grew up in a sink council estate. Through sheer hard work and study and sacrificing a lot of what people had in their 20s and 30s I live in a very desirable area.
I don’t have or want a second home - but I do travel the world a lot. Guess that isn’t allowed either - spending my own money in foreign lands.

I had to move countless times to get what I wanted, where I wanted it. I suggest those who believe ‘I can’t afford a house where I live because of second home owners’ move to a cheaper area and get your family to never sell their house to anybody but you.

I think an additional annual property tax for unoccupied homes that could go to the local area could maybe work, maybe with some exceptions for personal circumstance (so 1 empty property is OK but 2+ empty properties is stopped so people stop using property as a vehicle to park money) . Perhaps set it at 2-3% of the house value per annum, so if the house is £400,000 that could be up to £12,000 per year owed or £1000 per month. It would then make sense to make sure that the home is occupied.

it's wrong and immoral

Hope you are a vocal Republican. They have many castles and mansions with thousands of rooms in each one and thousands of spare acres to build all the homes you need - all in desirable areas. And guess what - all paid for by taxpayers who have no chance of inheriting any of it. I’d pop a letter off about the immorality of it all pdq.

@Dorsetdays Not where I live (Central London) but I could possibly afford something, yes. I don't see why that's relevant, though. I earn about £70k pa.

Impossible. Money does trickle into the local area, both via the council tax that already gets paid on secondary residences and also in the money that is spent in local businesses etc which is generally more than someone who lives there would spend.

Someone on holiday is far more likely to visit tourist attractions, eat out regularly and frequent the local pub etc.

Someone on holiday is far more likely to visit tourist attractions, eat out regularly and frequent the local pub etc.

True but if it's not the high season for holidays what happens to the community?

This is obviously one of those threads where hard working people who do normal things like move to and work in cities are demonised for having the temerity to then do normal things with their money, such as going on holiday or having second homes.

Meanwhile, those who expect someone else to provide things for them or who simply wants an easier but calmer life "doesn't think its fair" when the workers (who pay more tax anyway) want to have a bit of enjoyment.

People who have all the time in the world to write on social media (and i'm on holiday this week) like to vilify those who work and earn well, while virtually giving sainthoods to whatever "woke" charity case interests them this week. A lot of people in full time job don't even have access to social media or don't have time, and if they did, I suspect we would get quite a different set of opinions.

Of all the things to get yourself all bitter and twisted about, people spending their hard earned, highly taxed, own money on a 3 bedroom run down bungalow in Portwrinkle or Megavissey isn't really up there with running fraudulent companies and winding them up, leaving people out of pocket, or whatever genuinely harmful behaviour you want to pick.

Its almost approaching a type of bullying.

You just know if the same normal, tax paying people then went on holiday abroad instead, they would get vilified for flying and their consequent carbon footprint, or for not spending money holidaying in the UK. If they holidayed in a caravan, someone would blame them for not spending money on local b&bs or hotels. Its just a stick to beat people you're jealous of.

True but if it's not the high season for holidays what happens to the community?

Same as happens in all other holiday resorts.

IncandescentShadow

This thread seems to have touched a nerve with you, judging by the increasingly hysterical tone if your posts. If you feel so secure in your beliefs why have you been on this thread for days being unpleasant to anyone who disagrees with you?

It really isn't 'bullying' to dissaprove of the way someone spends their money when it does impact on others. Stop being so pathetically fragile.

Also I do work full time and when I'm not work on side projects to increase my future eating potential. So you can fuck right off with your caricatures of useless people moaning while doing nothing.

Also I am in no way jealous of people with second homes. It is something I do not aspire to.

Stoatof. A decent business will maximise their income during their busiest periods. However, you know that people don’t just go on holiday, even in the UK, just in July and August?

Even if a property is only rented out for half the year that’s still potentially a minimum of c50 visits to the local pub or restaurant (assuming twice per week and most people on holiday would go far more than that). It’s also generally far more than the average local person would go.

Most pubs and restaurants would struggle to survive without tourists and holiday makers, unless you’re in central London or a major city.

I own a holiday in France in Brittany. There are loads of empty houses and property cost a lot less in France. I share the house with family and friend and even the cleaner has a week. Nothing to stop local people buying in rural location bit actually they mostly want to live in town as very limited work in countryside. You sound like sour grapes.