It’s time once again for our holiday home news round-up, here’s what’s been happening: What to consider when buying a UK holiday home, is the ash cloud uninsurable? why choose a Euro mortgage, ten tips for holiday rental success and weekend flights cost more.
What to consider when buying a UK holiday home
Ash clouds and fluctuating exchange rates are expected to result in more and more of us holidaying at home or investing in a holiday let.
Bookings aren’t easy to come by, so consider these six golden rules before investing:
LOCATION – who is your market, is it seasonal? A holiday home by the sea in Devon or Cornwall may attract business throughout spring and summer, but winter trade may falter, while a holiday home in the Lake District can attract year-round demand.
Ideally, local attractions such as pubs, restaurants, shops and transport should be close by.
APPEARANCE – Choose a property that has kerb-appeal. Potential guests will scan your website photos and decide if your home appeals to them rather than read your feature rich description. A great view can be a unique selling point
PARKING – Holiday destinations become gridlocked in peak times. Guests will appreciate private parking so they don’t have to lug shopping and luggage around.
LOW MAINTENANCE – Make the upkeep simple. Small, well kept outside spaces are favoured by guests, but try to avoid lawns or fancy gardens that require intensive work.
EQUIPMENT – Again, will your holiday let have facilities for your market. Drying rooms for walkers, space for bicycles or surfboards.
COST – White goods and furniture will get heavy use and will need replacing regularly. Buy good quality, but not so expensive that you can’t afford to update. Buy cheap – buy twice.
Consider other associated running costs, such as insurance, health & safety legislation and tax.
Ash cloud: uninsurable?
The Civil Aviation Authority has warned that ash cloud disruptions to flights will continue “for the foreseeable future”. Further disruptions could effect thousands of holidaymakers who are staying in holiday rentals, especially as insurers are claiming volcanic ash disruption is uninsurable.
Many insurers have warned holidaymakers that holidays and policies bought since the first eruption on April 14 will not cover the cost of travel disruption. However, those who booked their holidays and bought insurance before April 15 might be covered. Check with your insurer.
As a holiday rental owner, you should advise guests to take out travel insurance to cover cancellation costs, but if insurance doesn’t cover ash cloud cancellations what should holiday rental owners do about refunds?
With airlines still to realise the full effect of the volcano disruptions, it’s also a good idea to ensure your travel insurance policy has airline failure cover!
Why choose a Euro mortgage when buying overseas property
If you are looking to buy a property abroad, then opting for a euro mortgage could be a wise decision. The consensus among financial experts is that sterling is undervalued and should rise as the UK’s economy strengthens.
During the boom years, investors in overseas properties would often raise funds by remortgaging their homes in the UK and using sterling to buy. Now cautious buyers are taking out euro mortgages due to low interest rates.
Even if you’re lucky enough to be a cash buyer, it may be worth taking out a euro mortgage until the exchange rate improves, at which point you can pay it back and ultimately reduce the price you pay for the property.
Top 10 tips for renting out your holiday home
Whether you are a holiday letting expert or new to the market, increasing taxes and more competition means getting those bookings has never been so important.
Here are ten tips for holiday rental success:
Do buy the right property – the old adage “location, location, location” is everything – define your market. Although seaside holidays are the most popular, seaside resorts can ’shut down’ in winter, meaning the bookings dry up. The Lake District however, is a year round destination. Try an area during different seasons before you buy.
What about local transport? are there shops, pubs and attractions nearby? what’s the weather like?
Make it look nice – but keep it neutral, our personal taste may not be others.
Clear out your knick-knacks – people don’t want to feel like they are staying in someone else’s house so your wedding photo by the bed is a no-no. But don’t lock away items you use at your holiday home, as guests will appreciate these. Leave toys, DVDs, books, games, beach gear and ‘rainy day’ items.
Spend your money wisely – buy quality furniture that will be hardwearing, but bear in mind items will need replacing regularly. Don’t buy state of the art technical items that are expensive to replace. Mid range is best.
Price it right – pricing is probably the hardest decision you will have to make in your first year. Too high and you’ll have empty weeks, too low and your profitability will suffer. Check out the local competition and price accordingly — don’t be afraid to experiment. Add something ‘extra’ that makes you stand out and allows you to charge a high rate.
Put the word out – invest in marketing. Use a mixture of online ads and a property agent. Once you have the bookings coming in you can drop the underperforming strategies. Encourage repeat bookings with discounts or special offers.
Take good photographs – people don’t read, they scan. Your photos will sell your property and the holiday experience. If you can afford it, hire a professional photographer.
Make it legal – do you need a licence to holiday let, inform your mortgage lender that you are letting and conform with health & safety legislation.
Get the money right – consider the tax implications of earning income from your holiday home and that you may make a loss.
Make changeover day smooth – if you are not on site then your changeover staff are invaluable – look after them as they are your eyes and ears.
Bonus tip: Get insured – ensure you have holiday let insurance to protect you and your guests.
Holiday lets tax changes to be drawn up – yorkshirepost.co.uk
A DAMAGING “tax on tourism” which could have threatened thousands of jobs is set to be consigned to the dustbin by the new coalition Government. George Osborne is expected to kill it off altogether by unveiling an alternative plan when he presents his first Budget.
Among the possible solutions treasury officials will consider, are better targeting of the tax breaks to benefit those who rent accommodation out for more of the year.
Weekend flights cost more
If you own an overseas holiday home that you holiday let, then deciding on which day your changeover is could impact your bookings.
It has been revealed that airline passengers could pay five times more if they want to fly at weekends rather than mid-week. This means that a Saturday changeover could make the cost of renting your home more expensive due to the increased cost of flights, compared to say a Thursday changeover.
Bear in mind though that flying at the weekend often means not having to book extra time off work, so it’s a trade off.
Similar Posts:
- Ash cloud: travel advice, updates and your rights
- Wear and tear at your holiday rental
- How to encourage repeat bookings
- Do open windows invalidate holiday cottage insurance?
- Seo & PPC advice for holiday rental websites
