Motorhome vs Holiday home

[wotme]

What you need is the right kind of friends, those with plenty of money and property all over Europe that you can use preferably when they are jetting off somewhere else.

 

[Sundowners]

Four years ago we purchased a bit of land in Central Portugal as wild camping was becoming more problematical in the Algarve. We just thought it would be somewhere we could park up for the winter.

We have been travelling all our married lives and never thought the day would come when we didn’t have the urge to keep travelling. But we have found our little bit of heaven and love it here. It’s taken this long to decide to rent out our house in the UK. When we bought this bit of land we did it knowing that it could be difficult to sell so considered it permanent and to be passed on to the family. It had a little brick building on it which we have extended to make living accommodation in case family wanted to stay, but we have just moved into it ourselves and bought a caravan down from the UK for family to stay in. Our beloved motorhome is up for sale as it does not suit our needs at the moment, but we are considering a little camper to explore more of Portugal for little trips away. Not sure about future travelling long term, at the moment we are quite settled here and enjoying every minute of this laid back lifestyle.

 

[big bertha]

Started of in early 90's with an old tourer which stayed put on a site, that was our holiday home. We moved onto buying a log cabin on an old Forestry Commision site while also investing in various caravans and motorhomes for travelling especially to visit in laws down south. We sold cabin after 16 years and made a bit of money on it. We now have a static placed between our two daughters places of residence and Eriba for travelling. Never needed a property abroad as in laws stay in Spain and have a flat for relatives to stay in but we never go now as kids are up and away.

 

[seakay22]

View attachment 316160Just done it .Not intentional but the right property came up last year outside Fethyie in Turkey.So plan now is once retired to drive down to it using the motor home once a year for a 3 or 4 month stint plus 1 month down one month getting back .The motor home will be ideal for taking the dogs plus we get to see a lot of Europe as well .The maintenance and cost of living is a lot less than Europe just paid the property tax for the year £72.00 plus they empty the bins 3 times per week.I will however have to maintain the pool while i,m enjoying myself.

Seems you've combined the two perfectly!! Very impressed ?

 

[Makingtrax]

Had a holiday home in France for 11 years. Ongoing costs, worry of storm damage whilst absent and maintenance were the downsides, beautiful location, part of a community and lots of French friends the benefits. If you don’t focus on the negatives, you can even turn them into positives. Loved pointing some of the old stone walls with lime mortar and repairing an oak balcony.

When we bought the property in 2005 their was 1.5 euros to £,so it was quite expensive. When Brexit came we decided to sell immediately the £ went through the floor and made a tidy profit. But all in all I calculated that after capital gains tax the property had paid for itself over the years and we were about even taking into account maintenance, repairs, travel and local taxes for 10 years.

This is now our 2nd motorhome and we’re loving it. There is no right or wrongs to the most advantageous type of holidaying. Just make the best of whatever you decide and enjoy it.

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[TerryL]

Over breakfast this morning, just after she had checked if we had won the £1m, we chatted about what we would spend it on. The conclusion was nothing; we love where we live and will always have somewhere to call home. Equally we love our motorhome and wouldn't change it either. As for buying a holiday home, we tried staying in the same place in a rented cottage for several years in a row and decided not for us. Flying is not her thing, which is one reason we bought the van, and now we have a dog it's out of the question.

And no, sorry, we didn't win the £1m.

 

[Jake Royd]

Just looking in the background of your picture.
The yacht anchored there has a Freedom rig , quite rare these days.

I always said that we’d buy a house in France. It’s the place I feel most comfortable in. My second language.
But when we did have the money to invest we actually bought a house in Wester Ross, the most beautiful part (in my opinion) of Scotland. We can drive up on a weekend. We go about 6 times a year. We don’t rent it out. It’s all set up so we just arrive and start holidaying. Part of the rationale was to invest the money so we didn’t spend it ... so our kids would benefit from it too.
But we had caravanned and rented all our adult lives. And I hankered after a camper van. So now we have both.
We can take the van up north and spend time in our house doing overnighters even further north or to the islands.
Just now, we’re in the most southerly point in Scotland in our van. Photo below.
The view from our holiday house View attachment 316157is in my profile picture.

The boat in the background, anchored, looks like it has a Freedom Rig if I see it clearly enough.
(two unstayed masts the same length)
No particular reason for mentioning it, I used to have a sailing boat.....................

 

[Puddleduck]

When we were younger we would not have had the time to enjoy a second property and now I think about the hassle our children would have if we still had it when we shuffle off.

At least selling a motorhome should be a lot less hassle for them as they could just put it into an agent and sell on commission.

 

[Southdowners]

Four years ago we purchased a bit of land in Central Portugal as wild camping was becoming more problematical in the Algarve. We just thought it would be somewhere we could park up for the winter.

We have been travelling all our married lives and never thought the day would come when we didn’t have the urge to keep travelling. But we have found our little bit of heaven and love it here. It’s taken this long to decide to rent out our house in the UK. When we bought this bit of land we did it knowing that it could be difficult to sell so considered it permanent and to be passed on to the family. It had a little brick building on it which we have extended to make living accommodation in case family wanted to stay, but we have just moved into it ourselves and bought a caravan down from the UK for family to stay in. Our beloved motorhome is up for sale as it does not suit our needs at the moment, but we are considering a little camper to explore more of Portugal for little trips away. Not sure about future travelling long term, at the moment we are quite settled here and enjoying every minute of this laid back lifestyle.

That sounds a very good plan...

I expect that at some point we'll loose the urge to travel in the motorhome and will likely do the same as you.

 

[mikebeaches]

Everybody has different ways they like to enjoy their leisure time and, as the OP suggested, many will have considered whether a bolt hole in the sun, or whatever, would be desirable. We certainly have... for many years.

But again, like most on here, we enjoy travelling and feel a single holiday home abroad might be somewhat restrictive, not to mention another responsibility to be looked after.

We have taken a slightly different path. We love the van and have travelled all over Europe. But from time-to-time we like a bit of serious luxury and private space to relax. The trouble is, it is very difficult to know what to expect when you rent accommodation - all might be fine and meet your expectations, or it might not...

We had long been aware of the Holiday Property Bond (HPB) which currently has 34 developments across Europe and the UK. The smallest site has just two accommodation units (Fishing lodges in Scotland) and the largest over 100 units consisting of apartments and villas with private pools, with lots of infrastructure. In total there are more than 1,400 different holiday homes to choose from.

Holiday Property Bond - Transform your Family Holidays

We've been transforming the quality of life of thousands of families for over 30 years. Find out more about the Holiday Property Bond.

www.hpb.co.uk

Accommodation is of a high standard with a comprehensive inventory - you know exactly what to expect in the kitchen, for example. You know the standard of furnishings, decor and cleaning will be good. And the standard of onsite management is excellent - can't do enough to ensure everything is as it should be, or help in any other way. We are fortunate to have managed to stay at all 34 sites, often travelling in our camper to ones in Scotland, France, Spain, Austria etc. It works for us and we really enjoy mixing and matching touring in the van and staying at HPB.

The minimum cost to gain access is modest - a one-off investment of £5k - and then a system involving payment of a no-profit user charge wherever you decide to stay, and a payment of points which are allocated on the basis of your upfront investment and renewed each year. Most increase their investment over the minimum to obtain more points spending power. The scheme started in 1983, currently has circa 42,000+ bondholders and has never had any bank borrowings, ever. Unlike timeshare, there are no fixed annual maintenance fees that have to be paid regardless - you only pay when you decide to stay somewhere. And it is straightforward to sell your Bond and get some of your original investment back (realistically, unlikely more than say 65-70%).

I don't want to give the impression it is cheap - it isn't, but, IMHO, it is good value for money. And it takes away all the responsibility of looking after a second home. And, just like camping, we get to meet a lovely crowd of folk that take travelling and holidays seriously.

Wondering if there are any other 'Bondies' on here?

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[coroner]

Seems you've combined the two perfectly!! Very impressed ?

Yes very fortunate in right place at right time it is very quiet and has brit neighbours who live in turkey all year round who have been a real help in getting things sorted.we decided to combine the two to give us a holiday base but also as a resource our kids can bring partners out to use and one day grandkids as plenty of room for everyone sleeps 12 at a push.

 

[Sundowners]

When we were younger we would not have had the time to enjoy a second property and now I think about the hassle our children would have if we still had it when we shuffle off.

At least selling a motorhome should be a lot less hassle for them as they could just put it into an agent and sell on commission.

We always knew that the property would be left to our ‘kids’. They come down on holiday and love it. It’s such a contrast to their homes in UK. In fact our son has just split from his wife and step kids and has moved here to start a new life, so he thinks it’s alright too. May be never get sold, they might pass it down their kids, who knows, but we will hopefully keep enjoying while we are on this earth. It feels right for us, but might not for others.

 

[EastAngler]

We had long been aware of the Holiday Property Bond (HPB) which currently has 34 developments across Europe and the UK. The smallest site has just two accommodation units (Fishing lodges in Scotland) and the largest over 100 units consisting of apartments and villas with private pools, with lots of infrastructure. In total there are more than 1,400 different holiday homes to choose from.

Holiday Property Bond - Transform your Family Holidays

We've been transforming the quality of life of thousands of families for over 30 years. Find out more about the Holiday Property Bond.

www.hpb.co.uk

Wondering if there are any other 'Bondies' on here?

Yes, an no - My in-laws have been members since early 90s and we use it under the "family" provision either using tenancies (as below) or picking up something from the 28/56 day list. They have been to virtually all the sites a few times over, we've only been to a few of them.

As you say you know what you will be getting and whilst not cheap, the quality is very high. We've been to some of the tenancies as well as the owned sites and have enjoyed all those as well. Off to Crete with them in September and off to Alafix in November.

In-laws are now in their mid-80s and use HPB about 4 times a year. What they really like is that they can effectively purchase a "package" as HPB will book flights and transfers for them, and sort out any issues that arise. They prefer to pay for that service as opposed to our approach of booking our own flights / transfers / car hire which works out cheaper.

 

[mikebeaches]

Yes, an no - My in-laws have been members since early 90s and we use it under the "family" provision either using tenancies (as below) or picking up something from the 28/56 day list. They have been to virtually all the sites a few times over, we've only been to a few of them.

As you say you know what you will be getting and whilst not cheap, the quality is very high. We've been to some of the tenancies as well as the owned sites and have enjoyed all those as well. Off to Crete with them in September and off to Alafix in November.

In-laws are now in their mid-80s and use HPB about 4 times a year. What they really like is that they can effectively purchase a "package" as HPB will book flights and transfers for them, and sort out any issues that arise. They prefer to pay for that service as opposed to our approach of booking our own flights / transfers / car hire which works out cheaper.

Hi

Well there's a turn up. I thought there might be somebody else on here involved with HPB. We certainly see occasional MHs at some of the sites, particularly Alfaix. We kept our van in Spain last autumn / winter and had four separate stays at Alfaix.

Fully understand your parents-in-law preferring to let HPB make all the arrangements - makes complete sense. They are doing well to still be making such good use of the Bond and enjoying their holidays. Like you, we normally arrange our own travel.

We've concentrated on staying at the Bond-owned properties and only been to one tenancy, in Lanzarote. As well as Alfaix, we're fond of El Balcon, on La Gomera in the Canaries - although we don't take the van there. But they're all pretty good.

Cheers, Mike