Second home truths

By Melissa Jackson
BBC News Magazine

A bit of what we all fancy: A cottage in the country

At a time when some people are struggling to get just one foot on the property ladder, how do second home owners answer charges of selfishness?

They are the bête noire of homelessness activists and many a countryside rights campaigner, but the trend for owning a second home shows no sign of tailing off.

The fluctuating fortunes of the stock market coupled with low interest rates are driving people down the road of investing in something more concrete - property.

Second home ownership in the UK jumped 15% last year according to government figures, although difficulties in surveying people mean these are hard to confirm. Nevertheless, more than a million English households are registered as owning a second home, the vast majority of which are in England itself.

But not everyone is sitting pretty. Second home owners are often criticised for driving up property values, pricing locals out of their communities and, in leaving properties empty for days on end, attracting crime and eroding community life.

But how do second home owners themselves answer these charges?

Duty to contribute

Siobhan Duffy, 38, lives in a family home in inner London from Monday to Friday, but escapes to The Witterings in West Sussex, three weekends out of four.

SECOND HOME OWNERSHIP 1.053m English households have a second home Of which 496,000 are bought to let 356,000 are used as holiday/weekend homes Of which 175,000 are in England itself Figures: ODPM 2002/3 Call for more tax on 2nd homes

She bought her seaside retreat two years ago so her two young children could benefit from some country air and a more relaxed environment.

"Our main priority is to use it as a home," she says. "And I think you have a duty to contribute as much as you can to the local community as a second home owner.

"Being part of the community is not just about going to the shops, but dropping in on elderly neighbours and that's what we do."

Does she feel guilty about being a second homer?

No, because her aim is to decamp there permanently one day, so she has a long-term commitment to the area. This is not a passing phase to make a fast buck out of property investment, she says.

It is a similar story for one 49-year-old city solicitor, who bought a property in the Chilterns 10 years ago. The solicitor, who wishes only to be known as Clive, feels he is contributing to the community and the local economy.

It is pure self-interest, it's an investment, not a social exercise Steve Braidford

"I spend a lot of money in the local pub, especially when friends of mine come and stay in the village, and that brings money into the village.

"I always use local tradesmen to do work on my property and I attend village fetes and money-raising events they hold."

He has never come across hostility from neighbours. On the contrary, they have been more than welcoming, says Clive.

"They are pleased that someone with money has come into the village in the context of a village which is not over-populated with outsiders."

Clive spends roughly two weekends out of three in his country residence and plans to retire there one day.

Do these "second homers" worry about security while they're in London during the week?

Buying to let

"I don't have any worries because I have people who keep an eye on it when I'm away," says Clive. Ms Duffy does something similar, trusting in an effective local Neighbourhood Watch scheme.

Second homes come with their own worries

But not all second homes are bought as weekend getaways. The house price boom of recent years has spawned a thriving "buy-to-let" market, driven by mini-property magnates who see bricks and mortar purely as investment.

Three years ago, independent financial adviser Steve Braidford, 38, splashed out on two properties "in his own back yard" in Cleveley, Lancashire, which he now rents out.

"I bought them simply as investments," he confides. "They are part of my pension planning."

Mr Braidford has caught the property bug and is planning to buy yet another home in the Lake District, partly for family holiday use, but more seriously as a business renting it to holiday makers.

He is aware of possible local hostility, but has marshalled his arguments.

"It would bring money into the local economy by bringing tourists in, but I realise it fuels house price rises. It is pure self-interest, it's an investment, not a social exercise," he freely admits.

Rural estate agents have done well out of the boom

And some locals would not argue. In a quiet corner of rural Norfolk, the village of Burnham Market has attracted so many wealthy Londoners it has been dubbed "Chelsea-on-Sea".

Matthew Owsley-Brown, owner of the upmarket restaurant Fishes, where a three-course dinner will set you back £32.50, relies on the weekend crowd to keep his earnings up.

"There wouldn't be enough trade here without the second homers, even though the most important people to us are the locals," says Mr Owsley-Brown.

"But where we can, we try to employ local people. We welcome second homers, not just for their money, but because many Londoners know a lot about food and we are passionate about food."

Originally an out-of-towner himself, he admits though that life can be tough out of season.

"Our two boys have no-one to play with in the village during the week," he ventures, "because of the number of second home owners."

Add your comments to this story using the form below:

Second homers have jumped on the property bandwagon and priced small homes way out of the reach of those who need them most. That's right, NEED them, as opposed to having a vacant property as a weekend/weekday bolthole. A small flat fetches in excess of £110k in my home town because many are bought by commuters who stay in them four nights a week and leave them empty during weekends.
Paul, Colchester, UK

As someone who had to move away from my childhood home in Devon to find a home I could afford because of all the outsiders snapping up "holiday" homes, driving up prices, I think second homers should be taxed. My mother still lives in my childhood village and all she sees are empty houses and fewer and fewer people as all the younger generation have had to leave, and the holiday mob are never there.
Jo, UK

I am bang in the camp of those who believe second home ownership destroys local communities and forces up property prices. Then again, as a non-property owner who's watched the market go insane over the last four years, I'd be bound to think that wouldn't I?
James, UK

I don't begrudge anyone owning second properties but it's kind of sad that I now can't afford to buy a house in the village in which I was born, where I grew up and where I now work partly because of second home owners.
Mark, UK

My partner and I would have liked to have stayed in Devon with family and friends but to buy a house in Devon on a local salary is impossible. I now work from home living in Cumbria, where a three-bed house with gardens costs a lot less than a top-floor apartment in Devon!
Tony, England

So, first we get told off for getting into debt and not providing for our future when there is going to be a pensions crisis, and now we're getting told off for having the money to invest for our future in something other than pensions. We just can't win!
Marianne, Scotland

If certain people are able to afford second homes then they are obviously earning money and are in well-paid jobs. They deserve every success and should not be begrudged the purchase of second homes. They have worked for the lifestyle they adopt and good luck to them.
T, UK

I have no guilt about owning my second home in the Lake District. The main industry of the region is tourism and my house is rented out most weeks of the year. I help to keep a rental agency, local tradesmen, a gardener, a cleaner and all the local pubs and restaurants in business. The region would be much poorer if second homes were not available to bring in the tourists.
Mike Mace, UK

When I could not find work near my family home, I was forced to buy or rent in an area where I could find work. I did buy, not for investment or leisure, but through necessity. I use my one-bed flat during the week and travel home to my family at week-ends - not an easy life! If forced to pay full or double council tax, I demand the vote in the second home area so that I can vote out the high spending Labour Council.
John Downey, UK

It isn't the so-called second homers that are the problem, it's the people who own more than one property purely for the purposes of renting out their surplus properties. There will no doubt be responses claiming that the rental market provides a much needed service which there may be 'some' justification for. However there motives are not altruistic. It is being done in order to make a profit.
Darren, England

When our daughter went to University in Sheffield on a five-year course we were investigated the local housing market. With shared-house rentals costing upwards of £60 per week, it made sense for us to use the equity in our own home to buy a small flat for her to live in. The increase in our monthly mortgage payment is around the same as the rental would be. We're not expecting to make a mint out of the increase in prices, but at least we've paid the 'rent' into our own pockets instead of someone elses.
Chris Day, UK

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