Looking for a holiday home for less than £100,000? Think you have to go to
rural France or Spain or even Bulgaria? Think again. Despite soaring
property prices across Britain over the past few years, you can still pick
up a budget bolt hole by the sea or near the coast for under a hundred
grand.
Let’s be realistic: you are not going to get the house of your dreams for that
kind of money — unless you have very modest dreams — but you could still end
up with a little hideaway that can provide you with a change of scenery
within easy reach of home — without the hassle of having to get on an
aeroplane.
So what can you actually get for your money? Your money will go furthest in
Wales and Scotland. In Gwent, the average property cost just £36,000 in
2001, but even after 145.5% growth, it is still (just) below £100,000, and
you can enjoy the mountains and rushing streams of Snowdonia all holiday
long.
The Scottish borders are also worth considering. Alnwick and Berwick-
upon-Tweed have already been discovered, but the historic town of Coldingham
has a sandy beach and is only a few miles from the main London-Edinburgh
road. Or consider a Highlands hideaway. One with loch views is typically
less than half the price of a house of similar size in the southwest.
It all depends on where you want to buy, of course. If you have your heart set
on Devon or Cornwall — which have seen spectacular rises in property prices
over the past few years — then lower your expectations: the chances are that
your modest budget will stretch only as far as a holiday lodge.
But don’t dismiss the idea out of hand: holiday developments don’t always
equate to caravan parks. There is a growing number of upmarket sites around
these days which can give you a foothold in areas that would otherwise be
well out of financial reach.
Take Torridge, a popular tourist spot near the north Devon coast. The average
property price in the area is more than £200,000, but for just £95,000 you
could buy one of five two-bedroom holiday lodges set in wooded countryside
on the outskirts of Great Torrington. These properties cannot be classified
as your primary residence, however, and can only be used from February to
December.
If you are prepared to move eastwards, then your choice expands to include
more conventional properties. Prices in super-trendy Brighton have rocketed
in recent years, which means £100,000 will barely buy you a dingy basement
studio. But take a look at some of the other East Sussex towns: it is still
possible to buy a one-bedroom flat near the seafront in the equally elegant
seaside towns of Hastings and St Leonards for less than £100,000.
Or cross the Kent border and head for increasingly fashionable Ramsgate, where
£80,000-odd will get you a decent one-bedroom flat in a period property.
Prices are even lower in its brash neighbour, Margate, stomping ground of
artist Tracey Emin. According to the website Findaproperty.com, the average
asking price for a one-bedroom flat in the town is £99,988 — giving you £12
change; you could even pick up one in need of modernisation for £50,000. The
two towns’ proximity to the capital means they make ideal bolt holes for
Londoners. There is also the prospect of tidy capital gains: improvements in
rail links to the capital look set to benefit the Kent coast.
Looking for something a little quieter? Don’t confine your search to the
mainland. The Isle of Wight has always been a popular holiday destination,
but leave the DFLs (Down from London-ers) to their play on the east coast
and head west to the pretty coastal areas around Yarmouth and Freshwater.
Norfolk and Suffolk are also worth a look. The fashionable north coast, long
the preserve of Boden-clad Sloanes, is not going to be within your budget,
but look inland to towns such as Downham Market, and you will find flatland
tranquillity.
Head further away from London, and your money begins to stretch much further.
Traditionalists should look at the grand old seaside towns of the northeast.
Average property prices in the solidly Victorian resort of Scarborough are
about the £160,000 mark, but you can still enjoy the sea air for less than
£100,000, even though you will have to go outside for a sea view.
If lakes are more your thing, then head east to Beatrix Potter land, in
Cumbria. A Hill Top Farm of your own would set you back at least £230,000,
but for £75,000 you can buy a lock-up-and-leave property in a pleasant
holiday marina development.
Choose well, and a budget bolt hole will not only provide quality time away, it could also work for you financially by providing rental income. The tax
treatment is also more favourable than with conventional buy-to-lets if you
convince HM Revenue and Customs that you are running the place as a business
— which essentially means making sure it is available for at least 140 days
a year and is rented out on short-term lets for at least seven months. Not
only can you offset your mortgage interest and other expenses against rental
income, but your capital-gains tax bill should be lower when you sell, and
you are exempt completely if you invest the proceeds in another investment
property.
Whatever your reasons for buying, and however much you’re prepared to pay, if
you’re going to do it, then get a move on. In 2005, insurers Direct Line
reported that almost 330,000 people owned holiday retreats in Britain and
the company estimates that by 2015, the figure will reach 3.3m.
For a few dollars more
Got more than £100,000 to spend? Loosen the purse strings, and the
possibilities start to open up,writes Rhiannon James.
If you want somewhere in a town, then search hard enough and you should be
able to pick up a place in the Cotswolds. You can buy a one-bed flat in
Cirencester for £125,000 through Cain & Fuller (01285 640 604,
www.cainandfuller.co.uk), or, for £150,000, you can invest in the Regency
splendour of Bath, where The Apartment Company (01225 471 144,
www.theapartmentcompany.co.uk) is selling a one-bed, top-floor flat in a
Georgian townhouse. Add another £50,000, and in Oakhill, a village in the
Mendips, you can buy a two-bed, 17th-century cottage with original features
(Cluttons, 01225 469 511, www.cluttons.com).
Down in the popular southwest, going up to £150,000 allows you to make a
splash in some of the more fashionable resorts on the coast. It can get you
an extra bedroom or two in Bude in north Cornwall, or you can double your
budget to £200,000 to get a one-bedder in Marazion, with sea views over
Mount’s Bay and St Michael’s Mount. Contact Marshall’s (01736 360 203,
www.marshalls-estate-agents.co.uk). Forget Rock, though: you won’t get much
for less than £250,000.
Prices on the East Anglian coast are more affordable, but if you want more
space, go inland. Lavender Cottage, a Grade II-listed cottage in the pretty
medieval town of Lavenham, Suffolk, is for sale with Sworders (01787 247123,
www.rightmove.co.uk) for £200,000.
As a rule of thumb, the further north you go, the more space you can get. Near
Troutbeck in the Lakes, Hackney & Leigh (015394 32800,
www.hackney-leigh.co.uk) is selling a detached, three-bed timber lodge on a
47-year licence for £135,000. You won’t get much of a garden, but you will
get more room in the Peak District national park. Rose Cottage in
Crowdecote, eight miles from Buxton, is for sale with Bury & Hilton
(01298 27524, www.buryandhilton.co.uk) for £199,995.
Further north, Smiths Gore (01434 632 001, www.smithsgore.co.uk) has a two-bed
terraced house in Alnwick for £145,000; for £149,950 you can buy a fourbed,
Grade II-listed townhouse in the centre of Berwick-upon-Tweed, on the
northeast coast, within walking distance of the East Coast mainline railway.
Contact Edwin Thompson, 01289 304 432, www.edwin-thompson.co.uk.
In Wales, you can afford a detached house, even one with a garden. RG Jones
(01341 422 334) is selling a three-bed cottage beside the River Dyfi on the
edge of Snowdonia national park, near Machynlleth, for £195,000.
Finally, if you want solitude, a three-bed farmhouse, 30 miles from Aberdeen,
is for sale for £195,000 with Savills (01356 628 600, www.savills.co.uk). It
needs some work, but has an outbuilding and 2.1 acres.
Evanton, Ross-shire
Offers in excess of £85,000
Period two-bed charm in the Highlands. Twenty-five minutes from Inverness
and shooting, stalking and fishing galore. CKD Galbraith, 01463 224 343,
www.ckdgalbraith.co.uk
White Cross Bay, Windermere, Cumbria, £75,000
It’s not quite Hill Top Farm, but the Lakes make a great holiday
destination. This three-bed, purpose-built chalet on the shores of Lake
Windermere has everything you need for lock-up-and-leave. Hackney &
Leigh, 01539 432 800, www.hackney-leigh.co.uk
Tanygrisiau, Gwynedd, £75,000
A period two-bed cottage in the craggy mountains of Snowdonia – just as
long as you don’t mind the rain … Sanderson, 01341 423 689,
www.sandersonestateagents.co.uk
Press Castle, Coldingham, £73,950
A two-bed, ground-floor flat in an early 19th century battlemented house.
It needs a lot of work, but the Scottish borders are high on the list of
desirability, and beautiful to boot. Buccleuch John Sale, 01573 224 244,
www.johnsale.co.uk
Bude, Cornwall, £68,500
A two-bed holiday chalet near the beach and some of the finest surfing in
England. Colwills, 01288 355 828, www.colwills.co.uk
Torrington, Devon, £94,950
A two-bed holiday lodge in a small and peaceful development. Webbers,
01805 624 334, www.webbers.co.uk
Scarborough, North Yorkshire, £95,000
A short walk from the town’s less touristy North Beach, this two-bed,
first-floor flat would make an excellent weekend bolt hole. Colin Ellis,
01723 363 565, www.colinellis.co.uk
Downham Market, Norfolk, £97,500
North Norfolk prices have rocketed, but this one-bed end of terrace
property is in a great location and has the potential for extension.
Keystone, 01366 385 588, www.rightmove.co.uk
St Leonards, East Sussex, £99,950
A one-bed flat in a period property near the seafront in the town that has
the potential to be the new Hove.Rush Witt & Wilson, 01424 442 443,
www.rushwittwilson.co.uk
Totland, Isle of Wight, £82,500
A one-bed flat on the pretty west coast. Nearby Yarmouth is a haven for
yachties, and has great ice cream. The Wright Estate Agency, 01983 754 455,
www.wright-iw.co.uk
