Second home in Scotland

[Frizzyspider]

I'd be grateful for some guidance & recommendation.
We live overseas, and would like to have our second home in Scotland.
Having a tiny budget, we're looking for a 2-bed flat (not a house).
We do homeschooling with our son, so the local schools are not important.
What would be important:
a/ definitely the seaside
b/ vibrant community (to make friends & contribute to the local initiatives)
c/ an inspiring place regarding history, local landmarks, art, museums, libraries, etc.
d/ easy train/bus access to the Edinburgh/Glasgow airports.

We'd love to buy sth near Edinburgh, but the east coast seems to be too pricey. That is why we consider Rothesay on the Isle of Bute or generally the west coast.

Any recommendations would be much appreciated. Thank you!

You probably would get a flat in places like Rothesay and Campbeltown BUT they are not easily accessible to the central belt and as someone else has already said you'd then struggle to rent out on AirBnB. Not necessarily impossible during peak season but depends if renting out only over 6 weeks in July/August would work for you...

One thing to be aware of though is that even in more remote/challenging locations that is a very small budget for a 2bed flat and it's perfectly possible that some of those properties are unsuitable for living in right now. Have you actually spoken to any of the local estate agencies? Or do you have specific properties you're considering?

Rightmove even

Serves me right!

This is a recurring discussion that adult teen and I have all the time when he starts moaning that we've ruined his future for getting on the housing ladder.

When i was his age I earned about 6k and the price of a 1 bed flat in edinburgh was about 18-20k (gorgie/leith etc). Where we are now, a job in a contact centre pays over £20k and he could get a flat for £60-70k, so pretty much exactly the same. I said what he is talking about is correct but only in some places e.g. London, edinburgh etc etc. Then he says but what if I wanted to live in London, I couldn't afford that...so I said well i've been working since I was 17 and I can't either, so who ruined it for me?

Oh to be full of ideals and no life experience!

@NuniaBeeswax

You could maybe get something half decent in Inverclyde with that kind of budget. Half an hour from Glasgow, and easy to get to Rothesay for the day if you wanted to visit Bute (I wouldn't want to live there though).

And not a place where people are likely to AirB&B. Just what the place needs, another fucking second home owner who AirB&Bs.

@StarryEyeSurprise

I don't think any property goes for £60k these days, surely that's 90s prices.. * away to do a whole Scotland search 0n Rightmost

Houses in my village go for less than 60K. Ex council house in a former mining village. We’re near Ayr so reasonably close to the beach BUT definitely NOT suitable for a “second home” or air b&b!

Alloa has flats under £50 but probably best to leave them for local youngsters.

You’s all be quite surprised about Burntisland now, it’s got a number of quite fancy wee shops now, a coffee roasting company, excellent fruit and veg merchants, a stand up paddle-board/wild swimming group - it really is changing in many ways.. But yes, the funfair is still there all summer and yes, there was an attempted murder in the links car park the other weekend....but still, it is a lot nicer than it used to be.

(I don’t live there btw, but nearby)

The Burntisland funfair is ace!

Ferguslie Park

[quote WaxOnFeckOff]This is not on a beach but is by the water and there is a lovely pub in Culross and a castle etc:

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/87492235#/[/quote]
Newmills is hardly a hive of culture, the beach there is mudflats and the sealine in Culross is just stones and a pier overlooking an oil distillery!

I would not recommend living in Rothesay with a home schooled child.
It does not have an arty laid community feel.
It does have activities particularly if you are retired but for dc it really doesn't.
There is a boat and then a train that take you to Glasgow reasonably easily, but it is quite expensive and finishes quite early meaning that you would often have to stay over on the mainland if you wanted to do anything cultural in the evening.
Geography, archaeology and wildlife are good on Bute, but the local bus services are patchy so you would want a car to get around really.
Other than a tiny museum (which is very nice) there really is no culture on Bute.
You have to live there for three generations to be considered a Brandane which gives you an idea of how much incomers are welcomed behind in their backs if not always to their faces.

Static caravan at Dunoon? Hunter's Quay isn't it?

@IncludeWomenInTheSequel

Static caravan at Dunoon? Hunter's Quay isn't it?

The site fees are staggering and you'd be lucky to get anything long-term for that price - it's a swizz and they make you upgrade the vans and all sorts of swizzes.

Although I agree about site fees being "staggering" at static caravan sites and its a "swizz" if you want something rentalable on ABnB something like.
this might be better for you.
It sort of ticks some of your boxes (I suspect you'll have to compromise with that budget), its by the sea, in that area there's an annual book festival, jazz festival and Kirkcudbright is a "artist' town. But its a tidy step to Glasgow lots of culture. Many of the buses have a surprisingly goods service to Dumfries then a train to Glasgow but still a significant journey or at least 2 hours in the car. With regard to a vibrant community there's nothing there in out of season but it is very beautiful.

have a surprisingly goods service = have a surprisingly good bus service

Aberdour would be ideal but not getting a flat there for £60k!

A few points:

1. offers overs ads mean they want 10-20% above the o/o amount

2. if you want arts/culture you will have to travel into Glasgow or Edinburgh- any towns remotely artsy would need a £200k + budget

3. to find out more about the areas look at the SIMD website -this tells you how deprived small areas are

4. lots of coastal towns have severe socio economic problems- some places were tourism hives pre overseas travel- eg Rothesay, Saltcoats, Dunoon, Largs, Ayr, Brodick, Burntisland, Kinghorn but are now run down to varying extents. Unemployment and crimes rates are high.

5. the sub £50k flats in the towns that do have decent fronts/amenities (eg Largs) are up closes notorious for injecting drugs/ neds hanging out with their Buckie. These closes can be unfactored or have temp flats/absent private landlords who don’t maintain them (eg the security door). Only the desperate would expose their kids to these kind of environments.

6. these very cheap flats will need money spent on modernisations eg not all have mains gas or central heating or double glazing or a fitted kitchen or decent bathroom.

7. dont forget to add factor costs -these are usually £40-60pcm for normal maintenance. If the roof needs done you can be hit with a £10k bill. (And even more of a problem if it’s leaking into your house and the other flat owners refuse to pay!)

8. if I were you I’d focus on Largs/Prestwick/Ayr on the west coast or between Dunfermline and Leven in Fife. Just be very careful with the street by observing the neighbours etc when you visit.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/42520440#/

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/51423256#/

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/86005846#/

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/98697308#/

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/66574545#/

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/88138784#/

Also try auctions for doer uppers.

Everyone wants a second home by the sea which they can air bnb.
Why not look to the countryside, but even there the quaint cottage type of places have gone for more money than you can afford. And this has been the case for years.
If somewhere is v cheap there is a reason.

Just pointing out (you are probably aware but in case not) that you will also need to factor in the 3% stamp duty on second homes to your budget.

@endlesssnow

I would not recommend living in Rothesay with a home schooled child. It does not have an arty laid community feel. It does have activities particularly if you are retired but for dc it really doesn't. There is a boat and then a train that take you to Glasgow reasonably easily, but it is quite expensive and finishes quite early meaning that you would often have to stay over on the mainland if you wanted to do anything cultural in the evening. Geography, archaeology and wildlife are good on Bute, but the local bus services are patchy so you would want a car to get around really. Other than a tiny museum (which is very nice) there really is no culture on Bute. You have to live there for three generations to be considered a Brandane which gives you an idea of how much incomers are welcomed behind in their backs if not always to their faces.

Thank you very much for your comment. The last sentence is most worrying. I haven't had such an impression while discussing on several Bute groups, but the online world is sth different the the offline reality...

Ah, so you're familiar with Edinburgh. If you're looking for that sort of level of culture, museums, libraries etc then I think you'll be hard pushed to find it in the places that are being mentioned. As has been suggested, there's a reason why you can buy a 2bed flat for £70k in some places and it isn't because they're tourist hotspots!
Portobello on the outskirts of Edinburgh would suit you perfectly - Sandy beach and promenade, great community and arty feel, short bus ride into the city centre.......but you'd need another £200k on your budget.

Dundee is full of life these days but you can only get a one-bed out of town on your budget.

Thank you very much to all of you who were so kind to answer directly to the questions I had actually asked in my first post.

I asked for opinions about the places, nothing more.

I wish I had not written anything about the budget, as it "inspired" many patronizing, and simply rude comments, unrelated to my questions.

Certainly rudeness isn't my intention but I think a solid dose of honesty about the possibilities is fair.