What is the reality of owning a holiday home?

[pongyprude]

We are thinking of buying a holiday home. Nothing extravagant. It’s a four bedroom unit with a small pool. We would try and rent it out to cover some of our costs but otherwise we would let my parents stay there as they also love the area.

Everyone who we know who owns a holiday home says it’s a millstone. Costs more than you think and then you feel stuck having to visit. Prices in the area we are looking seem really reasonable so may be scope for growth.

Our careers aren’t there yet for us to wfh for weeks on end, but in a few years this is likely. What is the reality like of owning a holiday home?

I've owned a holiday home for 20 years. I would say things that have worked well are having family ties to the area (I have relatives who can keep an eye on things or help out or recommend workmen for jobs), having a choice of transport links (we can fly to 3 different airports to get to the house), having someone/company who can do turnaround service (we pay for someone to clean and do bedding etc before and after we arrive).
Downsides is that you feel obliged to go! So sometimes it feels less exciting than going somewhere new. It isn't cheap, even though the property itself was v cheap, the taxes/maintenance/cleaning etc does add up. It's cheaper than renting an equivalent size school holiday house though. Property itself wasn't a particularly good investment in our case ie it's not worth much more than we paid for it.
But all in all, I love it

My DPs have had a holiday home for years and the reality for them is that a) it stands empty for most of the year, b) it costs them a lot of money, and c) it's always a worry, because of (a). In the winter they worry about burst pipes and mice and year-round they worry about security. They've had several break-ins over the years as word gets round which properties are standing empty.

They rented it out to friends and family for a while, but the wear and tear upset them - other people just don't take very good care of things - so they were constantly having to replace things and they ended up with a load of mis-matched glassware and crockery and that wasn't what they wanted - they wanted to keep it nice.

IMO it is an absolute millstone. They never go anywhere else, which is fine if you don't ever WANT to go anywhere else, but owning property means you really don't go anywhere else, so it's worth pricing up whether x weeks per year of renting somewhere equivalent to what you'd buy in that place is more/less what you'd pay to own somewhere and whether that responsibility is something you are happy to take on.

I’m just looking at the furniture and would need to be able to lock a couple of drawers together to keep basic things such as toiletries. What would people suggest? I can only think of a bicycle lock. Dh and I are not handy DiYers!

Depends a lot on the house. My parents own a home in my mum's home country - caveat that it is a very large one, but heating costs are high because it is a country that's very cold in winter. Also it is old and subject to heritage laws so making changes is onerous, although in that country work is fairly reasonable.

We have one - it was my parents and when it became too much for them we bought it to keep it in the family.
there’s usually someone there but we don’t let it out. Various siblings, nieces and nephews go with pals (it’s in a fairly cool surfy place)
siblings will take my parents or their pals - we go with our friends - our kids hate it but I think will like it when they are older maybe? Because ‘our family’ has been there years we know our neighbours and they keep an eye out.
i would retire there but it’s not really suitable for old age. So we’ll see what happens when my parents are gone and if the siblings want to share it or we’ll get rid and get somewhere hotter for our use. It’s ’made money’ but needs money spent on it - and I’m not sure we are ready to do that.

Get a handyman to fix one on- need something on the frame and the drawer to put a padlock through. Do make sure you’re not reducing storage space for paying guests too much though. I’m staying in an Airbnb at the moment where half the kitchen cupboards are for the owner’s use and it’s a PITA as now not enough space for my stuff.

Thank you. I think there is still space as I’ve put all my stuff away and there is ample space left over.

Everyone who we know who owns a holiday home says it’s a millstone. Costs more than you think and then you feel stuck having to visit.

Having ended up with a second home after MIL died I agree with the above. She lived in a lovely part of the country in an area where a lot of people holiday. The hassle of owning a second home that needed continuous upkeep was a PITA. Then we had lockdown and couldn't visit for several months, and when we could visit we kept finding things that needed repairing.

TBH, it is much easier and cheaper to just book a different holiday each time we go away.

A millstone is a good description of owning a second home.

We’ve just sold ours after 20 years ownership in a fabulous part of the UK. We didn’t rent it out and have had some lovely times there, but it has become very costly. You are paying double council tax, extra utilities, another broadband, more insurances, another TV licence and that before any maintenance costs. We have not added the costs over the years and the CG tax, but I expect we’ve not made much profit from the sale.
Renting someone else’s holiday home appeals to me know.

I inherited a house in France. Was tempted to keep it until I found out how much it used to cost my parents just to keep it going. We sold it which was hard as we’d had some brilliant times there.

A few years later, I bought an apartment in Spain. We rented it out and although we had an agency doing the bookings and a local person who was key holder and cleaner, it still took up a lot of our time and money. Holiday makers break stuff and complain about stuff you can’t do anything about (eg the people staying next door made too much noise).

Plus getting your head around local rules and taxes etc when you don’t speak the language can be difficult.

I’m very very glad not to have a holiday home now and to have that money in my savings instead.

I think if you aren’t renting it out, you need to be pretty wealthy. And if you do rent it out, accept that it is going to take up a fair bit of your time, even with someone managing it.

Some friends of ours rented a house for a year in their proposed holiday home location, as a test run to see how much they’d use it, what issues came up in terms of maintenance/security, and generally how much of a hassle it was. (Of course a rented house is less hassle than an owned one but it gives an idea).

I think this is a really good idea if you can find an appropriate place.

Did they decide to buy afterwards?

Yes they did!

Although they bought something very close to family so that helped with a lot of the potential pitfalls.

Normally, if travelling with an EU citizen spouse the 90 days thing doesn't apply. You have to travel with him though...You might be depriving yourself unnecessarily.

We have one - within three hours driving distance with a friend looking after it for us doing changeovers etc (paid of course). It is a millstone, I am at this point actually avoiding going there as it just means spending my time there deep cleaning, touching up paint and running round getting things to replace broken stuff (very scenic remote location). We do rent it out quite a bit so it pays for itself but I would caution anyone to not do it unless it is for only their own use (plus friends and family) and they are able to actually live in the place for a significant amount of time each and every year.
Also, no matter how beautiful a place is, there comes a time where you want to be able to go to other places as well - I still love it there but also have been incredibly resentful at times.
if it is somewhere you need to fly to or where you do no speak the language /have backup don’t even think about it. For the money you spend you can have amazing holidays that are not 90% housework.

I live surrounded by second homes that are let out too. They dont generally make profits but it helps towards costs. Costs are high - fully furnished, cleaners and laundry - and dont forget holiday makers using all the water and electric they feel like. You need someone local to be able to jump when a lightbulb breaks.

One friend - who looked after her own place - once popped around to repair an issue to assume they werent out after all as the shower had been left running. Turned out they had gone out! I mean, who does that.

If I had one, Id only let it on the top.priced weeks and only winter letting would be Christmas and New Year. But id probably lose out council tax and tax wise

We are just hoping we break even tbh. We are primarily buying because we know it and DCs are moving nearby in next year or so. In 2/3 years we won’t be renting as if they have a family we went to be able to have a base within a hour rather than being a long drive away….

Yes. The costs are huge. As an owner of a let holiday home (in the UK), you pay the council tax and all the utility bills. If holidaymakers put the heating on in July and leave all the windows open, you pay. You have to pay for turnaround cleaning every week the house is let. In a remote area, cleaners have you "over a barrel" because they're thin on the ground and can charge you £100-120+ which doesn't include a charge for laundry every time (another £30+). If you let your property through a holiday cottage agency, they will take 20-25% commission, but they won't fix things for you: you find the plumber, you find the electrician. Breakages will cost you too, from a table lamp to a new oven or new dishwasher, stained carpets all over the place. People I know with large houses have had them trashed by stag parties.

You need to be willing to fit your holidays (in your own home) into February half term, May half term (if you're lucky), possibly a week in summer, October half term, New Year.

You most likely wouldn't break even unless you're buying with cash, no loans. But on the other hand, OP, you may have enough money that none the things I've said matter. Some people actually do have the money to keep quite large holiday homes for generations, with no worries at all about outgoings.

A second home is wonderful when your children are toddlers to teens. It's so lovely, that feeling of going to that same familiar place. Again, OP, you may have the kind of income that gives you freedom to take wonderful holidays all over the world. But if you don't, you would have to take on board that your holiday home is your holiday, every time.

We have one. Owned it for 10 years, let it out as a holiday let for the last 5 years. It was great when the dc were small, but there came a time when they found it boring, had other commitments at weekends and holidays and we just weren’t using it. Hence I decided to let it out. It’s worked out well, and anything we make we reinvest in the house and it covers its costs. But I do find it hard to relax there. Any time we go I am doing maintenance or cleaning, and I have to make a concerted effort to go and do enjoyable things. Also, other posters are right - paying guest often just don’t look after a place well, and it can be heartbreaking to see your gorgeous home mistreated.

I’m sitting in mine right now. An agent lets it. As usual, the complement of wine glasses is short, my large pasta pan is missing, two beds have no mattress covers on them, there’s no end in the curtain pole to fix the curtain in position so it just pulls across the window, the casserole dish has disappeared, half the unbreakable glasses are missing and my flower vase too. Add to that a king size bed has lost its mattress protector and both single beds too! It’s disheartening. Plus the patio wasn’t spring cleaned and the front of the house was green - another cleaning issue. I’d be disappointed if I was renting it!

If I’m honest, I’m sick of it. We let it out and I’ve never felt anyone checks what’s going on. It makes me want to cry because it’s a beautiful house with fantastic views. I don’t need to let it out but council tax is now very high. I am probably going to sell at a loss after 16 years of ownership.

this thread does not reflect my reality of owning our lovely holiday howl and the experience of my friends who own theirs . Maybe as our house is in Ireland with no
council tax it’s easier ?

@Carriemac We are in Cornwall and we are seen as the enemy! Happy to sell
my house to a local. Around here restaurants are closing and it’s quiet. People have got the message that Cornwall doesn’t like visitors. We discount the house to get people in but the other big issue is highly inflated prices from trades. We feel ripped off by and large. I’d rather use the money for future holidays elsewhere.

Not the feeling in Ireland @MeetMeOnTheCorner in fact locals have bought some of the homes on our estate as permanent homes . Feel welcome and also they like us to rent out our homes if we’re not there to hung business to pubs shops etc

That would be my question too.

DH for a while had a small place in Cyprus. He inherited it from his parents. he loved the idea at first, but it was far away, he felt it limited his travel choices and he felt it ended up being more trouble than it was worth.

HOWEVER- now 20 years later he wishes with all his heart he had kept it as now we are in our retirement years we would have sold our UK house and moved there!!!!!

My parents always had holiday homes when I was growing up first in Wales then in Spain and Portugal and I think the main thing I took from that was that you can never have a relaxing holiday there because there's always some issue of maintenance to deal with.

So as kids we never really had the kind of holidays where you've got focused on and did fun things. We just kind of got left to get on with things whilst my parents did all the maintenance things.

Plus of course you always have to go back to the same place and you've kind of exhausted it pretty quickly and it's not really like a holiday then, it's just like living normal life somewhere else.

So for me I like going somewhere different every time exploring it and having a proper relaxing holiday.