A holiday home can be a real home, says ISABEL MORTON

THESE DAYS, holidays of any description are entirely out of the question for many who can barely afford to cover their everyday expenses, let alone consider the luxury of escaping to the sun. But some people are still managing to get away – for a change of scenery if nothing else – to one of the many Irish holiday homes built all over the countryside during the boom.

People who invested in these did so when times were good and they felt confident that they could afford such a luxury. They never imagined the day would come when, not only would they not be able to service the mortgage but they wouldn’t even be able to rent their idyllic retreats to other holidaymakers – let alone sell them.

Now, desperate to keep these houses maintained and in good decorative order, they are lending them to friends for holidays, in return for some help with painting and decorating, gardening and repair jobs.

When the Irish property market crashed, the first things to be hit were these rural retreats, most of which are located on the outskirts of picturesque rural villages, near the coastline, lakes and rivers.

Many of the properties were purpose-built, alone in remote areas or in little clusters, by developers who were cashing in on the boom-time fashion for a place in the country or beside the sea. It was never envisaged that these summer houses would be anything other than holiday homes, so no other target market was considered, when they were built.

And, while perfectly pleasant during the summer months, when there is activity in the immediate area, some are isolated and deserted for the remainder of the year and are not ideal as primary residences for families requiring schools, transport links and other facilities.

In certain cases, however, the owners have had little choice but to move into them, as unemployment and mounting debts have forced them to sell their family home in the city and start a new life, often on the other side of Ireland, in what once was their holiday home and is now their only home.

A few are lucky enough to have purchased a summer house within an easy commute of the city and didn’t have to make dramatic lifestyle changes when adopting their holiday home as their main residence.

James Kinsella, from Sherry Fitzgerald O’Leary Kinsella estate agents in Gorey, Co Wexford, says the Gorey area was a prime target for people who wanted or needed to move out of Dublin, as it is within an hour’s commute of the city.

“Years ago, apart from the people who bought holiday homes here, there were others, who sold their three-bedroom semis in the Dublin suburbs and bought four-bed detached houses with nice big gardens, some with sea views.

“The value of properties in Dublin allowed them to do that and that’s still the case but the difference now is that they are doing it to downsize their mortgage. They are selling up in Dublin, clearing their mortgage and buying a very nice property down here, where they benefit from the lifestyle and don’t have to worry any more about owing anything,” Kinsella explained.

“We’ve also seen people put both their Dublin property and their Wexford holiday home on the market at the same time and whichever sells first goes and they move into the other. Sometimes, it’s because they’ve got a mortgage on their holiday home and none on their main house in Dublin and it’s easier and quicker to sell that one and move down here.”

Kinsella explained how ex- Dublin people comment that they spend about the same amount of time in the car as they did when they were sitting in the traffic in the city, only a couple of miles from their jobs and their children’s schools. And, many still commute to the city daily; a trek made easier because of the new roads built during the boom and improved public transport facilities.

Presuming that the traditional Wicklow holiday home market in Tara Hill and Brittas Bay was dead and buried, I was surprised to hear from Kinsella that this is not the case, as prices have dropped so much that people are now buying again.

“We don’t really deal with mobile homes but we’ve found there is a real market for good quality holiday homes, selling at today’s prices. There are people who’ve had money on deposit and who’ve been waiting for prices to come down. Now they can buy for €200,000 or €250,000 which is cheaper than the cost of construction.”

And, what about the once ultra-fashionable mobile homes in Brittas Bay, which changed hands for €300,000 plus?

I made a few calls and was told about one, which sold recently for less than €25,000 – and it came fully kitted out with everything, including beach toys and wet suits. Sold on by receivers, sadly, it had not been cleared out by its owners before the sale.

Isabel Morton is a property consultant