You may wonder if you can get a mortgage for a holiday home, whether you are looking for a rural retreat or a beach house. Getting a mortgage for a holiday home is not quite as straightforward as getting a residential mortgage for your main residence or even for a buy-to-let, but there are a few specialist mortgage lenders that can help.
If you’re intending to purchase a holiday home as an investment property you’ll find that many of the larger lenders do not have a suitable product, requiring all buy to let properties to work under an ‘assured short hold tenancy’ agreement, which isn’t suitable for letting to holidaymakers. A property's rental yield can fluctuate considerably at different times of the year and there is an inherent high level of risk since occupation can be sporadic.
Nevertheless, some building societies and specialist lenders offer mortgage products specifically designed for holiday homes. In order to secure the right mortgage for a holiday home, you may wish to consult an independent mortgage adviser. A good whole of market mortgage adviser will not only provide you with impartial advice, but will also search across the entire mortgage market to find the best products for your needs.
In the case of holiday home mortgages, they can be particularly complicated since they can vary considerably from lender to lender. For instance, some lenders will only offer financing for properties located in certain geographic areas of the UK. Other options may limit the number of days the property can be rented out as a holiday home each year, making some options only suitable for personal use.
A borrower may also need to meet specific criteria, such as having a minimum income of £20,000, being a homeowner, and putting down a deposit of 25-30% on the property.
The affordability of holiday let mortgages is often calculated based on the potential rental yield, so you may have to provide a letter from a reputable holiday company estimating the property's rental income during both high and low seasons, with at least 125% of the mortgage payment being yielded each month. In addition to the costs associated with running a holiday let, lenders may also consider cleaning, maintenance and advertising when calculating affordability.
Raising capital for holiday home purchases or improvements is easy with our specialist broker team:
If you are not sure what holiday home mortgage options are available speak to our independent mortgage broker team who will be able to offer impartial advice or you can call us on 0117 403 3464