Purchasing property in Mayo

Daniel,

Nothing to stop you buying and renting with a view to later living in it yourself. If you want to let it out as a holiday let then you can charge more but you obviously won?t be able to fill it 52 weeks of the year. (Winter in Mayo doesn?t exactly bring the tourists rushing in). You will also have to pay someone locally to look after it every changeover day, cut the grass etc. Longer term lets don?t need that back-up but obviously you will still need an agent to find and vet the prospective tenants. Estate agents have different options. You can have a wholly managed service where they do everything, or another where they will just advertise and find the tenanst for you, leaving you to deal with other issues. Obviously their charges vary according to what you agree. You need to check that with them.

A scenic area for holiday lets may not be ideal for long term lets. Longer temr lets are more likely to atrract people who are working in the area so you could do better bneing near a town, whereas a holiday let could be somewhere more remote and scenic, but that might not suit people with jobs.

You probably need to decide what you want yourself if you intend to live in it one day. No point having a house in the middle of Castlebar if what you want is good walking and a view of the sea.

If you google ?Estate agents Mayo? it will bring up about 24 who could give you advice and details of available properties. And you will obviously need a locla solicitor for advice on the legal aspects. So google ?solicitors Co. Mayo?, or look some up in the golden pages: www.goldenpages.ie

I wouldn't worry about upsetting the locals. You will find them very tolerant and you will also find you are not the first person to do this. The west of Ireland is particularly popular with Germans and Swiss (who have little or no access to the sea and so love the irish coastline) and they have many holiday homes in that general area, as do many Irish and British people. With Ireland being a member of the European Union people from all over Europe have come to work and live here and you will find a real mix of nationalities, including the odd American! (Indeed if renting on a long term basis, expect to find prospective tenants from countries like Poland and Lithuania).

Hope this helps.

Elwyn

Elwyn,

Thank you for your prompt response and helpful advice.  I will contact a land agent.  As far as getting locals to assist in looking after the place is that hard to find?  Ideally I would like to let it out as a vacation home and then use it myself in the off season.  Any more advice is appreciated.

Daniel

Daniel,

I?d spend a week touring the county to decide where you want to buy. Then I?d go and chat to local estate agents to get a feel for prices and see what the local rental market is like. Go and look at other holiday let properties to see what the competition looks like, and what they are charging.

As far as finding someone to do the changeover and maintenance, I would be very surprised if you have much difficulty. Ask around in the local area, or put an advert in the local paper or shop window.  In the summer months most rentals are Saturday to Saturday, but in the quieter season it?s by negotiation. (People quite often just want to rent for a weekend in the winter, and obviously if you have no other bookings you might decide to accept such a booking). Most holiday properties ask the outgoing occupant to leave by say 10.00 and the incoming one not to arrive before 1600. That gives a window of up to 6 hours to do the cleaning etc. So you need someone nearby who will do that, as required (because they won?t be needed every Saturday). You will also need someone to do general maintenance, cut the grass, order gas and heating oil, and ensure the rubbish bins have been put out to be emptied. I live in Ireland but I have a flat that I rent out in England, so I can?t do the maintenance myself. I have a couple of trusty tradesmen there I can phone who will sort leaking pipes, remove & replace defunct washing machines etc, without the need for payment in advance. They just send me the bill later. You ought to try and find someone similar near to your property, so that if there is a problem, you can ask them to go round and sort it.

Apart from Christmas and New Year, you may not get a lot of holiday lets in the winter. There can be some severe cold snaps and wild gales in Ireland then and you need someone to keep an eye on the property in case of structural damage or burst pipes when no-one is there. In a cold snap you may need them to go in and put the heating on etc.

You?ll need to decide how to market the property. You could set up your own website, or you could put it on one of the many holiday cottage to let sites. Watch them because some charge far more commission than others. Choose carefully.

Elwyn

Elwyn,

Your advice is greatly appreciated.  Sounds like a good plan.  As far as times of the year I would imagine letting it out through the summer when the whether is considerably more mild.  As far as my own personal use I doubt I would mind winters in western Ireland too much, can't be worse than Cleveland Ohio (lots of snow and freezing whether).  

Do you have any idea what type of amenities these type of holiday rentals offer?  Obviously you have basic furniture and household goods like plates, silverwear an appliances but are there other common items?

Any additional assistance is appreciated.

Daniel

Daniel,

Here?s a selection of sites, some with details of holiday properties in Ireland, and others with general advice on dos and donts when putting your property on that market. (Eg are you willing to allow dogs in the hosue etc). You will see from the sites what facilties are on offer at each property. Why not stay in one of them for a week and see for yourself what it's like? That may help you when choosing your own. Some of the bigger marketing companies are UK based, presumably because that?s a huge market for potential customers, but I am sure you can convert the currency OK:

http://www.cottages4you.co.uk/promotions/ireland/?gclid=CO7xvLr2vbkCFVMPtAodWCkAaQ&clickcd=21200

http://www.shamrockcottages.co.uk/?gclid=CML_psj2vbkCFdHMtAodE2oAtg

http://www.cc-cottages.com/?gclid=CLDdu972vbkCFXHMtAodKRoAig

http://www.cottages.ie/?gclid=CKHmu5H3vbkCFaKWtAod3igAMQ

http://www.rent.ie/houses-to-let/mayo/

Elwyn