Do you have a holiday home in the UK? Tell me about it. :)
Discussion
DonkeyApple said:
Just realised that you're shadowninja! Hello. 
There are a few things I have learned both from my parent's and my own experiences:
I've always lived in London. As a child my mother had a cottage in North Yorkshire and my father kept a boat on the south coast. All our childhood holidays and most weekends were spent between them. As a child it was absolutely awesome. The bustle of the city during the week and then weekends playing about on the water or weeks up on the moors. It was idillic. We also had friends to play with whether it was other London kids on the next mooring or local kids in the village. But from my parents perspective it was hard work. My father would spend much of the weekend maintaining the boat and the house would be very cold and damp when we arrived and my mother would spend a lot of time cleaning and sorting it out.
So, after all that long winded waffle my advice from personal experience is:
Only buy something that is geneuinely flexible. It has to be easy to get to by more than one means. It has to be flexible to cope with your life changes whether that is needing more space for children or enough space to be commercially viable. It has to be able to work well as a business even if you don't plan to use it as such. The Cotswolds has tourism all year round and is sandwiched between the two big English cities. You have to buy somewhere with a warm community. You need shops. You need pubs. You need restaurants and you need nice neighbours. It has to work both as a an easy to reach weekend bolt hole and also a long term holiday retreat. And above all, you have to really want to be there. I have to have the countryside in my life even though I am addicted to London.
You have to make sure that it adds to your quality of life not just today but has the flexibility to continue to do so as your life evolves. And you also have to accept that it is a cost. You can offset some of the costs but never all so it has to be something that you know you need in your life.
If it doesn't fit those core criteria then you are infinitely better off to rent someone else's loss making second home they bought by mistake than to join them on the wrong side of the party.
Thanks for the massive reply.There are a few things I have learned both from my parent's and my own experiences:
I've always lived in London. As a child my mother had a cottage in North Yorkshire and my father kept a boat on the south coast. All our childhood holidays and most weekends were spent between them. As a child it was absolutely awesome. The bustle of the city during the week and then weekends playing about on the water or weeks up on the moors. It was idillic. We also had friends to play with whether it was other London kids on the next mooring or local kids in the village. But from my parents perspective it was hard work. My father would spend much of the weekend maintaining the boat and the house would be very cold and damp when we arrived and my mother would spend a lot of time cleaning and sorting it out.
So, after all that long winded waffle my advice from personal experience is:
Only buy something that is geneuinely flexible. It has to be easy to get to by more than one means. It has to be flexible to cope with your life changes whether that is needing more space for children or enough space to be commercially viable. It has to be able to work well as a business even if you don't plan to use it as such. The Cotswolds has tourism all year round and is sandwiched between the two big English cities. You have to buy somewhere with a warm community. You need shops. You need pubs. You need restaurants and you need nice neighbours. It has to work both as a an easy to reach weekend bolt hole and also a long term holiday retreat. And above all, you have to really want to be there. I have to have the countryside in my life even though I am addicted to London.
You have to make sure that it adds to your quality of life not just today but has the flexibility to continue to do so as your life evolves. And you also have to accept that it is a cost. You can offset some of the costs but never all so it has to be something that you know you need in your life.
If it doesn't fit those core criteria then you are infinitely better off to rent someone else's loss making second home they bought by mistake than to join them on the wrong side of the party.
Yes, it is I, LeClerc! <raises spectacles>
"As a child my mother had a cottage in North Yorkshire and my father kept a boat on the south coast. All our childhood holidays and most weekends were spent between them."
I tried to read your post in the style of Dr Evil.
I am guessing you didn't have your scrotum shaved as a teenager.
https://youtu.be/lTJj4wbmAhk?t=30s
Shame the Cotswolds is about 2 hours away from me (SW London). I'm looking around Sussex and it's mainly out of my budget. I've missed the boat, I think, unless I go down the route of a flat.
Hoofy said:
Thanks for the massive reply.
Yes, it is I, LeClerc! <raises spectacles>
"As a child my mother had a cottage in North Yorkshire and my father kept a boat on the south coast. All our childhood holidays and most weekends were spent between them."
I tried to read your post in the style of Dr Evil.
I am guessing you didn't have your scrotum shaved as a teenager.
https://youtu.be/lTJj4wbmAhk?t=30s
Shame the Cotswolds is about 2 hours away from me (SW London). I'm looking around Sussex and it's mainly out of my budget. I've missed the boat, I think, unless I go down the route of a flat.
Ah, summers in Rangoon. Strange how 20 years on many viewers wouldn't see why a remark about a shaved scrotum would have once been amusing!!Yes, it is I, LeClerc! <raises spectacles>
"As a child my mother had a cottage in North Yorkshire and my father kept a boat on the south coast. All our childhood holidays and most weekends were spent between them."
I tried to read your post in the style of Dr Evil.
I am guessing you didn't have your scrotum shaved as a teenager.
https://youtu.be/lTJj4wbmAhk?t=30s
Shame the Cotswolds is about 2 hours away from me (SW London). I'm looking around Sussex and it's mainly out of my budget. I've missed the boat, I think, unless I go down the route of a flat.
Re Sussex, Brexit will half empty it and a prolonged cold snap will dispatch the other half.
A really good thing about second homes now is that it is so easy to test the waters to see if it is what you want, given the number of holiday homes now available to rent. Much less of a gamble than it used to be.
I would say that location is very much best selected by your fastest/easiest route out of London. I've often fancied somewhere around Southwold etc but spending a Friday afternoon/evening sitting on the M25 is best left to the lunatics.
Re the cost, I remember a lads weekend in Normandy where we noticed that property was very cheap and we all decided it would be intelligent to buy second homes. That was until it was pointed out that they were cheap because no one wanted to live there and we'd be smart to realise that before we bought one rather than after.
I'd echo the point about flexibility.
Our place was about 2.5 hours away and when the kids were young we would go whenever it suited. Then we got a bit restricted by school, but we were still there on a very regular basis.
Then as they got older they started having their own commitments - sports things/friend's parties etc etc
It just became more and more difficult to spend time there
Our youngest is now 14 but when she is a couple of years older and more independent we will definitely be looking.
Our place was about 2.5 hours away and when the kids were young we would go whenever it suited. Then we got a bit restricted by school, but we were still there on a very regular basis.
Then as they got older they started having their own commitments - sports things/friend's parties etc etc
It just became more and more difficult to spend time there
Our youngest is now 14 but when she is a couple of years older and more independent we will definitely be looking.
DonkeyApple said:
Ah, summers in Rangoon. Strange how 20 years on many viewers wouldn't see why a remark about a shaved scrotum would have once been amusing!!
Re Sussex, Brexit will half empty it and a prolonged cold snap will dispatch the other half.
A really good thing about second homes now is that it is so easy to test the waters to see if it is what you want, given the number of holiday homes now available to rent. Much less of a gamble than it used to be.
I would say that location is very much best selected by your fastest/easiest route out of London. I've often fancied somewhere around Southwold etc but spending a Friday afternoon/evening sitting on the M25 is best left to the lunatics.
Re the cost, I remember a lads weekend in Normandy where we noticed that property was very cheap and we all decided it would be intelligent to buy second homes. That was until it was pointed out that they were cheap because no one wanted to live there and we'd be smart to realise that before we bought one rather than after.
Hm. So I'll be buying a dive in Crawley then. Re Sussex, Brexit will half empty it and a prolonged cold snap will dispatch the other half.
A really good thing about second homes now is that it is so easy to test the waters to see if it is what you want, given the number of holiday homes now available to rent. Much less of a gamble than it used to be.
I would say that location is very much best selected by your fastest/easiest route out of London. I've often fancied somewhere around Southwold etc but spending a Friday afternoon/evening sitting on the M25 is best left to the lunatics.
Re the cost, I remember a lads weekend in Normandy where we noticed that property was very cheap and we all decided it would be intelligent to buy second homes. That was until it was pointed out that they were cheap because no one wanted to live there and we'd be smart to realise that before we bought one rather than after.
Well, if Normandy is nice and you have spare cash, who cares whether it's somewhere anyone lives or not.
I guess I'm mainly doing it for somewhere to get away to (live in SW London) and not really that bothered about renting out. The AirBnB thing was just an idea.
Hoofy said:
Hm. So I'll be buying a dive in Crawley then.
Well, if Normandy is nice and you have spare cash, who cares whether it's somewhere anyone lives or not.
I guess I'm mainly doing it for somewhere to get away to (live in SW London) and not really that bothered about renting out. The AirBnB thing was just an idea.
I think the point was that if you bought one you'd soon find out why no one else was willing. Those remote houses can be a nightmare to get workers to, no tourist would make the journey and once you get there you spend most of your time driving to the nearest town to get provisions. So for weekend destinations or earning any yield they were pretty crap. Well, if Normandy is nice and you have spare cash, who cares whether it's somewhere anyone lives or not.
I guess I'm mainly doing it for somewhere to get away to (live in SW London) and not really that bothered about renting out. The AirBnB thing was just an idea.
I think it's always worth paying for convenience. Unless you're Bear Grills and into fermenting squeezed rabbit's ball bags and whittling your dining set out of a badgers jaw bone that you slaughtered with your bare hands then being within a modest drive of a DIY store and a supermarket is remarkably beneficial.
Countryside Light. All the superficial benefits of the countryside with none of the animal bum sex, webbed digits and needing to learn basic Neanderthal conversational etiquette.
It's why Cornwall is best left to the Chelsea set as they are similarly inbred, unable to function in proper society, hold down a job or speak the Queen's English.
Edited by DonkeyApple on Tuesday 14th November 17:56
DonkeyApple said:
Hoofy said:
Hm. So I'll be buying a dive in Crawley then.
Well, if Normandy is nice and you have spare cash, who cares whether it's somewhere anyone lives or not.
I guess I'm mainly doing it for somewhere to get away to (live in SW London) and not really that bothered about renting out. The AirBnB thing was just an idea.
I think the point was that if you bought one you'd soon find out why no one else was willing. Those remote houses can be a nightmare to get workers to, no tourist would make the journey and once you get there you spend most of your time driving to the nearest town to get provisions. So for weekend destinations or earning any yield they were pretty crap. Well, if Normandy is nice and you have spare cash, who cares whether it's somewhere anyone lives or not.
I guess I'm mainly doing it for somewhere to get away to (live in SW London) and not really that bothered about renting out. The AirBnB thing was just an idea.
I think it's always worth paying for convenience. Unless you're Bear Grills and into fermenting squeezed rabbit's ball bags and whittling your dining set out of a badgers jaw bone that you slaughtered with your bare hands then being within a modest drive of a DIY store and a supermarket is remarkably beneficial.
Countryside Light. All the superficial benefits of the countryside with none of the animal bum sex, webbed digits and needing to learn basic Neanderthal conversational etiquette.
It's why Cornwall is best left to the Chelsea set as they are similarly inbred, unable to function in proper society, hold down a job or speak the Queen's English.
Edited by DonkeyApple on Tuesday 14th November 17:56
As someone who has rented cottages in the middle of nowhere, I don't mind. I am driving there by car so I pick up stuff at the local supermarket or even at home the night before I leave. That said, they weren't "remote", just no corner shops nearby.
Yup but as you're renting it's not your responsibility to maintain the property. It's amazing how many times you need a tool or domestic product.
It's easy to rent wherever you want but if buying you need to be able to run the maintenance side as easily as possible.
Of course it depends as well on the property type. I suspect a modern apartment requires less attention than a Victorian cottage.
It's easy to rent wherever you want but if buying you need to be able to run the maintenance side as easily as possible.
Of course it depends as well on the property type. I suspect a modern apartment requires less attention than a Victorian cottage.
DonkeyApple said:
Yup but as you're renting it's not your responsibility to maintain the property. It's amazing how many times you need a tool or domestic product.
It's easy to rent wherever you want but if buying you need to be able to run the maintenance side as easily as possible.
Of course it depends as well on the property type. I suspect a modern apartment requires less attention than a Victorian cottage.
Yeah, also I think that it's less likely to be broken into than a separate building with your front door to the outside world?It's easy to rent wherever you want but if buying you need to be able to run the maintenance side as easily as possible.
Of course it depends as well on the property type. I suspect a modern apartment requires less attention than a Victorian cottage.
DonkeyApple said:
Yup but as you're renting it's not your responsibility to maintain the property. It's amazing how many times you need a tool or domestic product.
It's easy to rent wherever you want but if buying you need to be able to run the maintenance side as easily as possible.
Of course it depends as well on the property type. I suspect a modern apartment requires less attention than a Victorian cottage.
Indeed. I've had one used for hol lets for 7 years now. One of the first things I did was set up a duplicate tool box. Staying there yourself is the only way to find what you're missing re domestics, or what doesn't work the way you'd expected. It's easy to rent wherever you want but if buying you need to be able to run the maintenance side as easily as possible.
Of course it depends as well on the property type. I suspect a modern apartment requires less attention than a Victorian cottage.
Getting trades people in to do things between lettings, or at short notice is a pain. And if a fridge dies, for example, it doesn't really matter how good the warranty is, you need a new one asap.
My first, very experienced agent, told me that there's an ideal price/size level for hol lets too. Too cheap and it's not respected, damage etc. But a 5 bed @ £2k+ a week, say, will attract groups who may also cause damage 'what the hell, we've paid to be here' attitude.
So my 2 bed is cheap enough for 2, big enough for 4. I get couples, pairs of couples, families, two friends. Timetex is about right with the overheads, so margins aren't what you'd think from looking at the gross weekly rental.
But it's rewarding when someone comes all the way from Australia to my modest place. When they come back the next year, more so.
I'm the opposite of most people on here. Currently live in an isolated country property, nearest neighbour is 2 miles away, nearest town/pub/ shop about 12 miles.
I'm looking for a small flat in Edinburgh or Newcastle as my holiday home, just need somewhere so that we can have the occasional night out or shopping trip without having to think about getting home again.
I'm looking for a small flat in Edinburgh or Newcastle as my holiday home, just need somewhere so that we can have the occasional night out or shopping trip without having to think about getting home again.
brrapp said:
I'm the opposite of most people on here. Currently live in an isolated country property, nearest neighbour is 2 miles away, nearest town/pub/ shop about 12 miles.
I'm looking for a small flat in Edinburgh or Newcastle as my holiday home, just need somewhere so that we can have the occasional night out or shopping trip without having to think about getting home again.
Sounds idyllic (your current place). You're not GetCarter are you? I'm looking for a small flat in Edinburgh or Newcastle as my holiday home, just need somewhere so that we can have the occasional night out or shopping trip without having to think about getting home again.
Hoofy said:
brrapp said:
I'm the opposite of most people on here. Currently live in an isolated country property, nearest neighbour is 2 miles away, nearest town/pub/ shop about 12 miles.
I'm looking for a small flat in Edinburgh or Newcastle as my holiday home, just need somewhere so that we can have the occasional night out or shopping trip without having to think about getting home again.
Sounds idyllic (your current place). You're not GetCarter are you? I'm looking for a small flat in Edinburgh or Newcastle as my holiday home, just need somewhere so that we can have the occasional night out or shopping trip without having to think about getting home again.
Yes, I love living where I do, but its nice to do something different for a break. Noisy pubs and busy shopping centres can become quite exciting in short bursts, I even enjoy the experience of a traffic jam or two on holiday.
Hoofy said:
brrapp said:
I'm the opposite of most people on here. Currently live in an isolated country property, nearest neighbour is 2 miles away, nearest town/pub/ shop about 12 miles.
I'm looking for a small flat in Edinburgh or Newcastle as my holiday home, just need somewhere so that we can have the occasional night out or shopping trip without having to think about getting home again.
Sounds idyllic (your current place). You're not GetCarter are you? I'm looking for a small flat in Edinburgh or Newcastle as my holiday home, just need somewhere so that we can have the occasional night out or shopping trip without having to think about getting home again.
On topic.. my gaff was a holiday home, but I liked it so much here, I decided to stay.
Hoofy said:
TheJimi said:
Hoof, what's yer budget, and how far / or for how long are you willing to travel to get to the bolthole?
Good question. Maybe 1.5 hours, budget under £200k, I guess. Not planning on getting a mortgage. I mean, who on PH really has a mortgage. How uncouth.Was gonna suggest somewhere in Scotland. Shame really, coz your money would go a heck of a lot further (location dependant) in Scotland.
DKL said:
brrapp said:
I even enjoy the experience of a traffic jam or two on holiday.
You're just odd! I suppose a change is as good as a rest.
– and that’s coming from someone who rarely experiences proper traffic jams and lives semi-rural!Edit: to answer the question, I don’t have a holiday home as such, but I do have a small shack / cabin up in the wilds that we use. *VERY* basic, but very fun
Hoping to build something a bit bigger & sophisticated at some point.
Edited by TheJimi on Wednesday 15th November 14:35
TheJimi said:
Hoofy said:
TheJimi said:
Hoof, what's yer budget, and how far / or for how long are you willing to travel to get to the bolthole?
Good question. Maybe 1.5 hours, budget under £200k, I guess. Not planning on getting a mortgage. I mean, who on PH really has a mortgage. How uncouth.Was gonna suggest somewhere in Scotland. Shame really, coz your money would go a heck of a lot further (location dependant) in Scotland.
It might just make more sense to hire out a cottage suitable for 4 people every now and then even though it's just two of us. Hired an executive suite for a short break the other day just because I can (normally I go economy mode and get the cheapest room), and the extra space was handy!
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