A holiday hideaway in a secluded rural spot needn't cost the earth. Annie Shaw scours the country for idyllic cottages costing less than £80,000
No sooner does a house come on the market than it is snapped up. You have to be persistent
IN SPRING it is not only a young man's fancy that turns to thoughts of country matters. It seems that once the sun comes out, everyone's fancy turns to dreams of escape from city life to a picturesque cottage in some secluded spot.
As the economy has recovered and house prices have started to creep up, so there has been an increase in demand for second homes - often the first asset to be jettisoned during a recession. Many of the big national agents are reporting an upturn in demand for substantial second homes, but it is still possible to find something modest below £80,000, although competition from other would-be buyers can be stiff.
Jean Lewis, branch manager of R. A. Bennett in Evesham, Hereford and Worcester (01386 765200), says she has a "bank" of prospective purchasers. "We hardly ever advertise holiday homes. No sooner does a house come on the market than it is snapped up. If you want to get a place you have to get in the queue - and be persistent."
Around Evesham, favoured weekending spot for Brummies, you won't find much for your £80,000, says Jean Lewis. In the popular villages of Ashton-under-Hill, Fladbury and Cropthorne, it is possible to pay as little as £65,000, but the house will need as much as 50 per cent again spending on it, and cottages that have been done up cost about £100,000.
The market for second homes is divided into those that are bought for the owners' use at weekends and holidays, and those that are to be a source of income. For easy lettings, a minimum of three bedrooms is the norm and the property has to be maintained to a high standard both to comply with regulations and attract tenants.
In Evesham most buyers use the homes themselves. As Jean Lewis says: "We find that most buyers are in city jobs and just want somewhere to 'de-stress' at the weekend."
In Aldeburgh, Suffolk, however, the picture is rather different. Nick Tuohy, of Tuohy and Son (01728 452066), reports a buoyant market in second homes. "There are always cottages coming up and they go very quickly. I can never get enough," he says. "People like Aldeburgh because it is unspoilt and rather old-fashioned. We have a lot of weekenders, and a number of people let because you can do it all the year round here. Summer lets are, of course, very easy but people come in the winter, too, to sail on the river. Oddly, the Festival is not the moneyspinner it used to be because, with improved communications, nowadays people tend to come from London for the day."
Typical Aldeburgh buyers are Alec Melville, a London solicitor, and his wife, Lorna. Last weekend they spent their first night in the cottage in the High Street that they bought last Christmas. The family intends to stay the whole of August in Aldeburgh, and half-terms and weekends when possible.
Lorna says: "It's my cottage and I am taking responsibility for looking after it and for lettings, but really Alec is reliving his past. The house is just round the corner from the cottage Alec's parents bought in 1952, and he remembers what a great time he used to have as a child, fishing, playing on the beach and catching crabs, and he wants the same for our three children."
The Melvilles paid under the asking price of £67,500 for the cottage, which turned out to be half of the old Trafalgar pub. But it has been hard work: "We needed to get rid of the damp," says Lorna, "and we were faced with the task of filling in the cellar, which we have now done. We've made another bedroom out of the landing upstairs, because it's better for us and I think it will be easier to let with three bedrooms. There are plenty of other things we'd like to do, ideally, but we've now said 'enough'."
Tuohy and Son has three central properties on its books: 250 High Street, a two-bedroom brick-built cottage priced at £55,000; a three-bedroom, second-floor flat for £75,000, up the road; and, in Wentworth Road, the northern continuation of the High Street Cross Barn, a two-bedroom cottage, with an asking price of £85,000.
Out in the West Country it is much easier to find a selection of properties under £80,000 - mainly because of the increased drive-time from the affluent South-East, where many of the second -home owners live. In the far west of Cornwall, Pearce Richards (01736 363816) has on its books a four-bedroom granite cottage, close to the beach at Praa Sands, for £83,000. For only £38,500 you could buy one-bedroom Anchor Cottage in the fishing port of Mousehole or three-bedroom "Bethany", also in Mousehole, a double-fronted cottage in the heart of the village at £78,950. Over at Lamorna, near Land's End, two-bedroom Camellia Cottage is priced at £68,500, while two-bedroom Greeb Rocks Cottage in Marazion, overlooking St Michael's Mount, is on the market at £74,500.
Also in Marazion, Yates (01736 360605) has the three-bedroom Hazel Cottage on the market at £51,000 and near Newlyn at Tredavoe, the charming "The Haven" is for sale at £45,000, while inland at Goldsithney a three-bedroom terrace cottage will set you back £54,500.
Low-priced Lake District properties are much harder to find. Weekenders come mainly from the Tyneside and Manchester areas, but the British love affair with the Lakes is undying and Kyle Blue, of the Cumbria agents Penrith Farmers' & Kidd's (01768 862135), which has recently sold a holiday retreat to a buyer from Essex, is surprised how far determined weekenders will travel.
"It is hard to find a house within the Lake District proper under £100,000," says Kyle Blue, "although you will get a much better property for your money if you look outside the area. There are villages close by which are every bit as pretty, but letting can be less successful as holidaymakers tend to want to be within the National Park. Even then there are few properties under £80,000."
PF&K has on its books an old lead miner's cottage in Glenridding at the head of Ullswater going for £69,500. Winter Cottage in Morland, in the Eden Valley, is on the market at £56,000.
In North Wales, Bryan Davies, of Bryan Davies and Associates of Llandudno (01492 875125), reports a marked increase in business over the past 15 months and is selling £3 million-worth of property a month.
He says: "This coast is popular with holidaymakers from the Manchester area and Staffordshire. You can get a pleasant flat for between £30,000 and £70,000, or a small terraced home between 90 and 100 years old in somewhere like Penmaenmawr or Llanfairfechan."
Among the properties Mr Davies has on his books is a two-bedroom modern house in Cyll Terrace, three-quarters of the way up the Great Orme in Llandudno, at £42,950 and four two- and three-bedroom purpose-built flats at Deganwy Beach, priced between £43,950 and £65,000.
He says: "When people think of holiday homes they dream of a little cottage with roses round the door. But we are finding a growing interest in flats rather than cottages because they need less looking after, particularly in winter."
