Financing holiday let

[BaryMerry]

I've spotted a house near us which I think would be very well suited for holiday letting and I have a (not so secret) dream to do so. I've done some basic research on how to finance such a thing and I think I'm coming to the conclusion it will have to remain a dream for now, as it seems you need a significant amount of capital to do it. (That sounds a bit stupid - 'you need money to buy a house' - obviously!)

But is there a way to finance a holiday let without vast amounts of spare cash? People set up businesses all the time with loans - can you do the same with a holiday let?

Presumably at the very least you would need a sizeable deposit for a suitable mortgage and the solicitors fees etc. associated with buying a property. Is it mad to even consider this? Feel free to just say Yes - I think I need the reality check!

I really want to do this too, despite all the negatives...

For a BTL property I think all lenders require a 25% deposit. Then you'll have legal fees, furnishing costs ect

I have also done some research to buying a holiday let . I came to the conclusion that unless you do have a lot of cash , to buy out right . It would be have difficult to make money let along break even.
You have to factor in the costs of bringing a house up to spec . People that holiday in the uk expect really high standards , top of the range bathrooms and kitchens and good quality furniture .
Then there are the electricity / gas costs / internet which you have to pay every month even if don't have customers every week .
The cost of cleaners and laundry .
It's a lovely idea , but even the best holiday lets only rent out about 20 weeks of the year .
Some of the larger agencies such as hose seasons and cottages 4 you charge you up to £50 a booking . I would love to have a holiday let , but I don't think you would ever make much of a profit for a lot of hassle .

From what I can see BTL is a bit different from holiday let, and it seems you need to be sure to get the right mortgage product - but perhaps deposit levels are about the same anyway?

It's frustrating - I hate to see a good opportunity wasted! But I suspect we just don't have the resources it would take to do this

X post firefly and I think I'm coming to the same conclusion as you. Even if we could manage to buy the property I guess we'd have to pay the mortgage for a good few weeks/months until it was prepared for letting and if I had enough to pay off a second mortgage every month I wouldn't be asking these questions!