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Original poster

Holiday let?

9 replies

JohnnieNOBed · 08/08/2010 14:22

Soooo, We are finally mortgage free.
Have joint income of £60,000 and no debt.
Kids are in state schools.
We are thinking about purchasing a buy to let property in Wales/Lakes.
Would this be a good investment given that we currently do rent property there for holidays and would like to retire there eventually?
We could probably raise around £15,000 for deposit, what sort of mortgage would we be able to afford, (if any?).

OP posts:

Chil1234 · 08/08/2010 14:52

Sounds like a lovely idea and property is relatively cheap at the moment. You'd have to ask an independent broker what the options are for 'buy to let' mortgages. Bear in mind that it may be cheaper to raise the cash by remortgaging your existing property and using that to buy your new property. If the plan is to use it as a holiday let, an agency in the area would be able to tell you what a reasonable income and occupancy rate would be. Good luck

venusonarockbun · 08/08/2010 15:12

Chil - property relatively cheap in the Lakes? Where?

Chil1234 · 08/08/2010 17:57

'Relatively cheap' in that, in a lot of areas of the country, property is either the same or a lower price than it was this time last year. Of course, if you're looking at particularly desirable locations then you'll have to pay the going rate. The Lakes is a big area... some parts more popular than others :)

venusonarockbun · 08/08/2010 22:13

Thought so - but I thought that a £15k depost and a £60K salary would be nowhere near that required to buy anywhere in the lakes.

Chil1234 · 09/08/2010 09:57

If the OP was to remortgage their existing property for £100-140k (don't know what their home is worth but that level of borrowing is quite possible on a £60k salary) and add their cash deposit then there are quite a few nice little properties to be had for £150k. Pop 'Lake District' into a website like RightMove.

Original poster

JohnnieNOBed · 09/08/2010 20:09

Thanks for that Chil and Venus.
We have been looking at the Llyn peninsular too but I think that the Lakes is more of an all round destination.

Our current home is worth around £300,000. Glad you don't think we are totally mad Chil.

OP posts:

Chil1234 · 10/08/2010 18:53

I looked a few years ago at buying a small place in a university town and letting it to students as an investment. Remortgaging main home to raise the funds was one of the options. Given the way the property market has gone since, I'm glad I didn't proceed!!! However, if you're looking at it more as a second/holiday/retirement home rather than principally as an investment then I think it makes a lot of sense right now.

cowboylover · 10/08/2010 22:23

The banks are still wary of buy to let mortgages but this situation is improving all the time.

The last time I checked (a few months ago) needed a minimum for 40% deposit and rent income needs to cover double (I think, but not 100%) the mortgage payments.

I would recommend some free mortgage advise from an independant advisor before you look to much and get plans (or is that just me!!)

Chil1234 · 11/08/2010 07:51

If the OP has £300k equity in their main home then they don't need to take out a buy to let mortgage... which, you're right, are expensive and can have quite a lot of conditional strings attached.

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