Imagine you've found your dream home. It's large and spacious with a quiet location and sea views. Now imagine you're sharing it with an ever-changing group of up to 20 strangers who arrive unexpectedly, show up at all hours and come and go as they please. Tim Doherty has done just that. He bought a six-bedroom house in Burtonport, Co Donegal, converted it into a backpackers' hostel, and is paying his mortgage with the proceeds.

Opening up your home to all comers is not most people's idea of domestic bliss, but Tim, a qualified nurse from Killarney, has his reasons for taking this route. "I love travelling and meeting fellow-minded people," he says.

Having spent six years travelling all over the world, from South America to the Middle East, Tim is well used to hostel life. But now instead of travelling he stays at home and lets the world come to him. As well as a having a desire to keep one foot in the world of backpacking, he wanted to live in the countryside. Burtonport is about as remote as you could wish for, with the advantages of countryside and sea, as well as access to Aranmore island.

When he returned from his travels, Tim set out to travel his own country and spent six weeks cycling around Ireland. On the way, he fell in love with Donegal and set about looking for a house to buy. After a year of house hunting, Tim still had not found the perfect place. But one day while killing time in Letterkenny he happened to see a picture of the house in an estate agent's window. He immediately jumped in his car and drove down to Burtonport to see it. The house was exactly what he had been looking for, and he acted on his instincts. "I met the owner, we had a cup of tea and the deal was pretty well done that day," he says.

Even though Tim's plan for paying the mortgage included packing in his job, he had no problem raising the asking price of £185,000 (234,902). "I had been dealing with my bank for quite a few years and they know that I'll pay the mortgage," he said, "and my family has also been with that bank for many years. In the country that still counts for something." However, he wonders whether it would be quite as easy now: "A year ago everyone wanted to give you a mortgage, but they might not be so eager to dish it out at the moment."

Not knowing from day to day how many people will be in the house - or how much money will be coming in to pay the mortgage - could be expected to bring the average home owner to the brink of sanity. But sitting in the big bay window of his livingroom, Tim is an oasis of calm. Guests wander in and out chatting to him. Some of them have painted pictures on the walls, creating a mural that is sure to grow as visitors come and go. In the morning the smell of freshly baked scones greets the guests, as their host ambles around the sprawling kitchen, stoking the range and making the breakfast.

The only source of worry is that the backpacking trade in Ireland might suffer due to inflation. "Ireland is not the cheap destination it once was," according to Tim. But while he predicts that the larger hostels will find it increasingly difficult to make big profits, he is optimistic that people like him, who just want to enjoy themselves and make a living, will continue to survive.

Tim is philosophical about the ups and downs of the tourist trade, and expects to wait five to 10 years for his venture to reach its potential. And if it fails to live up to his hopes?

"I have a job to fall back on. I can always go back to nursing." In the summer the house is often full, but once October hits, it gets very quiet. The winter will be spent on maintenance, and perhaps on the start of the long-term project of converting the huge basement into more bedrooms. If business gets really slow, he may even close up for a month and catch up on some travelling himself.

Asked whether he would recommend his solution to paying the mortgage to everyone, Tim laughed. "It depends on your mindset," he said. "Running a hostel is not everyone's kettle of fish. You have to accept that you'll have people wandering around your house. You lose your privacy. There are people you like and people you don't like coming to your door, and you have to treat them all as you would like to be treated yourself."