Surge in getaway lets
INTEREST in buying a holiday hometo-let continues to grow, and not just because staycations are booming – for some it’s the ideal opportunity to embrace a new lifestyle.The chance to run your own business is a dream come true for many including Susan and Nick Hunt, who decided to make the move from Bristol to the Scottish Highlands in 2015 with their two children and Susan’s mother.
The former dental nurse and policeman bought a house and some land in picturesque Roy Bridge, in Inverness-shire, and spent £140,000 building and furnishing a two-bedroom holiday cottage. Now it’s earning them £24,000 a year before tax.
“Taking the leap and ploughing our savings into Spinnyfield was a nail-biting experience but it was a risk that really paid off,” says Susan, 59.
“Holiday letting has changed our lives for the better and has enabled us to take on a new challenge after retirement.”
Spinnyfield is let through Sykes Cottages (sykescottages.co.uk) and Susan says: “Sykes have helped us enormously to navigate this process, offering invaluable local expertise and a personalised experience which has allowed us to hit the ground running with our business.”
Running it is a family affair, with Susan and daughter Amy organising changeovers and welcome packs for guests while Nick does the bookkeeping and maintenance.
“My guests’ enjoyment of the property is very important to me,” says Susan. “I’m always adding new touches to the property to ensure their experience is the best it can be. It’s the simple things that are really appreciated by guests – baking cakes and leaving toiletries, eggs, milk and even wine help visitors feel welcome and provides them with a home away from home.”
Although the Hunts built their holiday-let property themselves, there’s a wide choice of country homes on sale with outhouses or cottages already in the grounds.
NEAR Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire, a summer holiday hotspot, three-bedroom detached Brimaston Manse is for sale with A ONE-bedroom barn-like building in its grounds at £385,000 (01437 762626; westwalesproperties.co.uk).
The main house has quarry tiled and wooden floors, with a farmhouse-style kitchen and two reception rooms, while the annex has an open-plan, kitchen-living room with a loft bedroom. “Currently used as additional family accommodation, the annex would also make an excellent holiday let or Airbnb,” says the estate agent.
For real bargains, though, look further afield to Ireland, where picturesque cottages backed by mountains provide cosy boltholes for people who enjoy hiking, fishing or just being alone.
McCormacks Cottage, in Ballytigue near Newport, in County Mayo, has a stone-built annex in its one-acre plot of mature trees, lawn and flower borders.
Both buildings have one double bedroom, double glazing, central heating and woodburning stoves and the main cottage has a kitchen with a vaulted ceiling and exposed beams, wood-fired range cooker, Belfast sink and wooden worktops plus utility area. For sale at £224,260 (sellmyhouse.ie; primelocation.com), owner Ann Wiggam says: “It’s very rural and a tranquil retreat.
“The white cottage is where we live day-to-day and the stone cottage is where we play music and watch large-screen TV. It’s ideal for Airbnb. In fact the whole site would make an ideal holiday let for two or more couples who like to share holidays but also appreciate some privacy.”
The cottages are five minutes’ walk from Lough Beltra, which has first-class salmon and sea trout fishing, with sandy beaches about 20 minutes’ drive away and Knock airport an hour’s drive for daily UK flights.
“It’s way in the west and the local pubs have lots of music and there’s some proper craic,” says Ann. “It’s a great social scene.”