If you own a second home how do you get treated by locals?

[Poiul]

Aware of the feelings towards second home owners on mumsnet. Does that contempt translate into real life is my question.

Community and second home don't really go together in my head.

Community and holiday home? Yes.

As a member of a rural community, who lives on a tenant farm and owns a house which is a holiday let in my community which we sometimes stay in (even though it's four miles away but hey a change of scenery) no issue.

As an owner who lives in London, has a property here, employs local people, gardeners, cleaners, advertising etc, absolutely no problem. Owners and guests become part of the community.

If you mean a house to stand empty except for holiday use then yes I would probably momentarily think that's a shame, then move on with my life.

Would I judge, would the community judge face to face? Unlikely because we would assume you were tourists and be welcoming. You wouldn't necessarily become part of the community but only because nobody would know who you were

And the point re the size of the house is correct. No locals could afford a house that size as a starter or second home. So holiday type place expected.

We have one in N Norfolk, most of the town are also holiday lets. Locals were frosty at first, but we don’t actually let ours out, probably should but can’t be bothered, and we do stay a lot, so either side of us have come round. The local pub is a joy, it’s mostly tourists so they are delighted when anyone else comes in.

This is true of where I live in Cornwall.

You don't support the local economy by owning a second home, but you tell yourself that if it helps your conscience

Agreed but they won't get it. I'm also near Newquay by the way x

One of our very very good friends has a second home in Wales. They use it quite a lot especially since retiring and they very kindly let us use it one week a year over summer for half term with our kids.
The neighbours are absolutely lovely; always have a heads up we’re coming and honestly couldn’t do more for us, even bringing the bins back in for us. They’ll stop us for a chat out on walks, once they even saved some leaflets for kids activities on for us so we knew about them when we arrived.
And we’re just add ons 🤣 our friends really rave about them and say it’s a really nice community. They are there an awful lot though; I’d say if they didn’t have grown up kids of their own back home they'd pack up and move there entirely.

@ladygindiva You should wake up and look at the economy stats for Cornwall. Holidays and the economy driven by second homes and their guests is huge. You would all feel the economic winds of change if it disappeared. People go to restaurants, farm shops, attractions, galleries, the Eden Centre etc. It keeps people in employment and they are largely decent jobs. A very famous chef near me struggles to recruit now yet his alumni have been stellar. Not good enough for the locals apparently.

We also use local tradespeople. All our interiors were sourced locally. All our maintenance is sourced locally. You would think 500,000 people in Cornwall could have a bouyant economy. Everyone in business has been helpful. It’s going to be very unfortunate for Cornwall with no EU money and fewer tourists. How anyone thinks these areas will thrive is beyond me unless people are business savvy and want to work at what is available.

Family have a second home in County Kerry. It’s rural Ireland though so the locals would give you the coat off their back if you needed it!

All this tourism can be done without actually owning an entire house in the location.... Have you ever heard of a hotel? Or a caravan park? And please don't lecture me on a place I've lived for over 40 years. Your arrogance is astonishing but also unsurprising.

@ladygindiva 👋 -apparently we should be giving thanks to all the second home owners like @Tizerorfizz as we wouldn't have a functioning society without them.

BTW @Tizerorfizz - very few people in Cornwall don't want tourists to visit. Second home owners are v different to tourists as well you and your faux naivety know.

Absolutely. Generations of Londoners here, in a non wealthy area now priced out. One "trend" I'm seeing is buying a house in Norfolk or Kent to supplement their income so people can pay the rent on their multi generational household and have somewhere to escape to when they can. Huge amounts of W London are empty boarded up or falling in due to second home owners from abroad. Londoners are not evil housing is ridiculous everywhere

We're part of the at least 66% of the Cornish economy not based on tourists.
Most of our friends don't work in tourism - university lecturer, GCHQ, diplomatic service, designers, loads of small business owners eg niche IT, etc most of our teenagers do, including Rick Steins but then if in catering move elsewhere. Who wants to slave away in catering and get shipped in and out from a dormitory in Delabole. That's why they can't recruit in Cornwall, there's no local digs.

A tree has come down and punched a hole in the under occupied second home down the road, within the local school catchment. We're not going to tell them.
They aren't here to help clear up after the floods.
They aren't here to be part of the community.
I'm sure their ring doorbell will sort it out.

As a fully paid up evil Londoner who visits Cornwall @TizerorFizz I think you are being naive and a bit condescending. Of course tourism is a big part of the Cornish economy but there’s a huge difference between visiting somewhere and buying a house which you barely go to but use as a rental income.

I understand why people would wish to do this and I don’t think they deserve to be vilified for it but I think your high handed dismissal of the situation is a part of the reason people in areas like this resent us.

Exactly this.

Families are priced out, and so the school roll falls and teachers lose their jobs. The library isn't supported and local businesses suffer because a once a week tourist isn't getting their MOT at the local garage, are they. Suddenly the gp is only available 3 days a week and you can't get a dentist appointment within 20 miles.

But it's OK, because the second homers will maybe get a meal in the pub once a year and "contribute".

Not to mention new housing being restricted so 2nd home owners can't buy

That’s back to front. Some new housing has a Section 106 on it, which means the buyer needs a local connection. Why? Because local people are struggling to find anywhere to live and on very little money. Prior to restrictions like this, when new houses were advertised at a below market rate to help local families, they were all snapped up as second homes.

Second homes can kill an area. Not enough children resident, so the school closes, along with local shops, pubs, etc etc. Try watching Bait:

https://player.bfi.org.uk/subscription/film/watch-bait-2019-online

Our family had one in Wales for years.

We were treated fine by everyone in the village - the house had someone in it most weekends and all through summer and over christmas. All people who behaved nicely, used the local pub, shop, milk-lady (lady who sold milk from her house), garage etc.

The work we had done on it was done by local trades people, the carpenter who did a lot of work lived opposite and was the village undertaker, coffinmaker and carpenter. In the early years he also had use of most of the garden to grow veggies and that only stopped when he decided he was too old for such a big patch, and he put it back to lawn for us.

Parents sold it at well below market rate to a local family because they could afford to and because it was the right thing to do. SO what had been a fairly rough one bed cottage in dilapidated state with scrubland for garden, ended up being a three bed, more modernised home with nice garden/veg patch.

The cottage next door though was sold to a lady who refused to talk to the locals, put zero money in to the local economy, sold it to other outsiders and it is now an AirBnB.

It is worth keeping in mind... who sells these properties to outsiders for top whack, if not the locals? Few people will sell specifically to a local family/resident for lower than market rate if they can get more selling to someone else!

We do. We love it and have had no negativity from the local community. We do spend at least 3 nights a week there though (we wfh) and we use local shops and facilities, have the windows cleaned and keep the garden nice etc. If we go abroad on holiday our immediate family use it but we don’t rent it out. We have just received the dreaded letter saying our council tax is doubling but we will be staying put.

I live in a small fishing village in Scotland in what is a tourist hot-spot. My next door neighbour lives here for 6 weeks a year max, the rest of the time his house is empty. There are some very tiny (1 up, 1 down) houses on the harbour front which actually make great holiday lets because they are genuinely too small for permanent homes but now and for the next 6 months or so more than 2/3rds of the village is empty apart from around Christmas and Hogmanay

We're lucky because even with this hollowing out of the village we still have a butcher, a general store with a post office counter, a pub, a chemist, a doctor and a couple of other shops. But it is a real shame that most houses get snapped up for holiday homes / holiday let's when they come on the market. Very few get sold to people who will live here year round

Musing again on the title of your thread: whether people are nasty to second home owners depends on the location to an extent and on the individuals. Some people will be friendly and neighbourly, others not.

But either way, in certain areas including where I live in the NW, second homes are destroying the community, unlike visitors staying in caravan parks and hotels. These are different; they support the economy, especially the hospitality industry, and they are welcome. Whereas excessive holiday homes turn village streets of ordinary homes into ghost towns, causing the schools and shops and doctor's surgeries to close. One beautiful village close to me literally has no lights on in the evenings except in the holiday season. Property and public areas are being vandalised because nobody is around to care for them.

If you buy a second home in this kind of area, you are very likely to be harming the locals, however pleasantly they may treat you.

@Poiul I am from a very popular tourist area where there are many holiday cottages and second homes. I understand that tourism is an important part of the local economy, it brings with it some problems but also many positives.

I am not one of these people, or locals, who are against second home owners and do not believe they should be taxed into oblivion or the owners treated badly by other locals but I do think the onus is on those who buy the second homes to make a big effort to not rock the boat with locals.

By that I mean, do not buy a home, then apply for planning permission to change it beyond recognition, add huge terracing, put a hot tub in the garden (you get the idea!). Also do not arrive for your holiday there with a car load of food, make the effort to support local businesses and farmers. Use local places to eat as often as you can so you become recognised. Support local events and causes. All of this puts your money into the local economy.

Finally, when you come for your holiday make sure it is not non-stop parties or comings and goings all the time, especially if in a quiet rural location.

Then buy one of the beautiful wooden chalet style things. They are great to rent out whilst not in use & can't be lived in year round so you aren't affecting local housing stock.

I live in an area where second homes have a huge negative effect on the community. It's absolutely dead in the winter here. I'm interested in people who cite tourism as a plus point- here, there is loads of work available in summer, and for the other 8 months, unemployment is rife and people live in poverty. The second home owners don't see that, though.

It's a vicious circle. Tourism means holiday homes/airbnbs, which drives up prices, which drives out locals, which drives out the workforce that could potentially build a more stable, dependable industry than tourism.

To answer your question, I wouldn't be rude to second home owners, but I do hold them responsible for a lot of the hardship I see in my community, and for the schools that have shut, and for all the empty homes in winter. It is very, very galling to see a Big Issue seller out in November, selling on a street where 12 out of 18 homes are empty for the entire winter.

That is a great compromise. And they can be lovely.

I have one in a very popular touristy area of north Cornwall..but since 2019 , we've lived 50-60% of time here and rest of time in London..so it's very rare for me to be away more than 2 weeks at a time now.
We have always used village amenities, go to village pub, use the shop etc. I joined local swimming group, we go to local events as much as possible and feel very much accepted by the permanent residents. 10 yrs ago it was mostly second homes in our village but now there are more people living here full time or mostly full time like us. There are also younger families as some new houses for local families were built.
All in all it feels a nice place and I don't hear people moaning about the real holiday home owners...I think it can be harmonious if the home owner is prepared to make the effort to integrate