Page 36WHEN Alan Roberts retired, he
withdrew a 25 pc tax-free lump
sum from his pension to buy a
holiday cottage in Lelant, near St
Ives, Cornwall, with his wife,
Julie (pictured inset), to boost
their retirement income.
The former civil servant
says: ‘Julie’s family are from
Cornwall, so we always went
there on holiday. It has a
spectacular coastline, beau-
tiful beaches and lots of her-
itage, so we thought setting
up a business near St Ives
would be a great idea and we
could have free holidays.’
The two-bedroom, semi-
detached cottage was already a
holiday let when Alan, 72, and
Julie, 66, from Malmesbury, Wilt-
shire, bought it in June 2011. The
furnishings were included in the
sale, so it didn’t take long for them
to get it up and running.
Alan and Julie, a retired adminis-
trator, use property agent Aspects
Holidays to market Grebe Cottage.villages such as Padstow and St
Ives. The couple charge between
£420 and £1,100 a week depending
on the time of year, and make
around £6,000 profit a year.
Alan says: ‘We love having the
cottage. It’s done very well since
we bought it. The money goes
towards our daily living and helps
with the luxuries, too. And we
enjoy staying there for our own hol-
idays. In August we are having a
big gathering in Cornwall with Jul-
ie’s family. There will be about 14
of us and some of our nieces and
nephews will stay at the cottage.’36 MoneyMail
We used our
pension to
buy a cottage
in Cornwall
Our HOME is now a holiday
let — we hope to make £20K
JEANNIE and Ross Aldridge
(pictured inset below) turned
their six-bedroom detached
house in the Cotswolds into a
holiday let in May last year.
The couple had lived in the
£3 million house for 25 years,
but after retiring they found
that it was costing an enor-
mous amount to maintain —
cash that they would rather
spend on holidays.
They debated investing in a
buy-to-let property and using
the income to top up their
travel budget.
But they were put off by the
volatility of the housing mar-
ket, fearing prices may fall
and mortgage rates rise.
Jeannie, 68, and Ross, 70,
decided they would be better
off boosting their income by
turning their home into a holi-
day let instead.
Jeannie, a retired photogra-
pher, says: ‘We thought the
only way we could stay in our
house and live the retirement
lifestyle we wanted was to
sweat our assets. At our
age we didn’t want to move
to a smaller place. So we
spoke to friends who had
already done it, put some
work into the property and
opened our home to
holidaymakers.’
The couple had built a
granny annexe in their
grounds for Ross’s mother to
live in. After she passed away,
they used the two-bedroom
house they call The Barn to
stay in if they are in the
country when the main house
is let.
The couple use Airbnb to
advertise their home and The
Barn, but also employ a prop-
erty agent to ensure they
receive enough bookings.the best quality guests,
you have to be prepared to
put in the work and offer a
home with personal
touches and modern
comforts,’ she adds.
Jeannie’s favourite job is
putting together welcome
packs containing local
produce and providing fresh
flowers in each room for
their guests.
At the end of the first year of
letting out the property, the
couple hope to have made
£20,000 a year before tax. They
are going to use a tax adviser
to help them work out
which costs are deductible
from their profits.(^) Daily Mail, Wednesday, August 7, 2019
Booking.com. Each website
has different charges, but
Airbnb, for example, charges a
minimum of 3 pc of your
earnings per booking.
If you do need finance to buy
a holiday let, it is important to
check banks’ terms and condi-
tions, as these can vary widely.
Not all lenders will offer
finance if the house is let
through Airbnb. Ipswich BS
insists the property is regis-
tered with a holiday lettings
agent, which must provide a
forecast of the weekly takings
if it is newly let or proof of pre-
vious earnings. And some
banks do not allow owners to
use the property for their
own holidays.
Martin Sach, chief executive
of the Holiday Home Associa-
tion, says: ‘Holiday letting is
growing in popularity. Encour-
aged by the current lower
value of the pound, people are
rediscovering how much the
UK has to offer as a fantastic
holiday destination, which
means more demand for holi-
day accommodation.’
However, it is also more time-
consuming than being a
landlord, which may prompt
investors to wait until retire-
ment before setting up a let.
More than a quarter of
borrowers who took out a
mortgage from Leeds BS this
year were over 55, and an
estimated one in three owners
registered with Mulberry
Cottages is a retiree. ‘Creating
a perfect experience for every
guest, with changeovers every
week or so, is demanding, as
is keeping on top of the
maintenance required to
ensure today’s expectations of
high standards are met,’
Mr Sach adds.
You can employ an agent to
manage bookings and cus-
tomer service. Firms typically
charge between 15 and 20 pc.
However, management of the
property, which includes clean-
ing and repairs, would still
usually fall to the owner, as do
any personal touches such as
welcome gifts.
It is also the owner’s respon-
sibility to provide a safe
environment for guests.
An important drawback to
consider is that many holiday
lets can be empty for months
at a time — particularly during
winter. So if you have a mort-
gage, you must put money
aside to cover your repay-
ments at times when the prop-
erty is not being let.
If you want to let out your
existing home, be aware of the
tax implications.
Jackie Hall, partner at
accountancy firm RSM, says:
‘Running a business from your
own home means that when
you sell it your capital gains
tax bill could be complicated.
‘Private residence relief,
which offers tax relief on any
gain you make selling your
main home, will be restricted
because the property is being
used for business purposes.’
You may be entitled to busi-
ness-related CGT relief.
[email protected]
The agent takes 18 pc commission
from each booking the couple
receive. In return, the company
advertises the property on its web-
site and in magazines, shops and
travel agents in tourist towns and
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Jeannie says: ‘If we get
bookings for both properties,
we use it as an excuse to go
on holiday.’
They charge around £450 a
night for the main house and
up to £150 a night for The
Barn. Prices fluctuate depend-
ing on the season. ‘To attract
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