One of Alix Bateman’s earliest and most enduring memories was of losing her beloved pink hippo toy on the rocks at Porthcawl.
He was probably four years old.
He also remembers playing in the sand with his brother, rock pooling, going to the funfair and going on donkey rides – all hallmarks of classic old-school seaside summer holidays when he stayed with his grandmother Ella.
“We would visit every summer, at least once a year,” Ms. Bateman says.
“It was a very important part of my childhood and our family history there dates back to the 1850s.”
Family visits to the flat Ella bought in 1985 continued long after her death.
Ms Bateman and her brother inherited the property from their parents in 2020 and decided to continue visiting their own children, as well as renting it on Airbnb to cover running costs.
But the growing realisation that neither of them had much time to spend in Wales, and the practicalities of paying for and managing the property, forced them into an agonizing decision.
The flat was listed for sale in June by Chris Abraham Property for £150,000.
“It makes me sad,” says Mrs Bateman, 57, who lives in Clapham, south-west London, with her 18-year-old son and two Bedlington terriers.
“About a year after we inherited it, my brother and I realised we only really visited the place once or twice. Our kids are no longer of the bucket-and-spade age and there were a lot of bills and a lot of admin involved in the rent.
Second home owners, including those with long-standing ties to a place, have been having a tough time lately.
In the Budget, Jeremy Hunt sounded the death knell of the furnished holiday rental tax regime.
The scheme currently allows around 127,000 fully-rented homeowners to deduct mortgage payments from their rental income, a privilege that other homeowners lost in 2020.
From April 2025, this tax loophole will be closed and lower capital gains tax will apply on furnished rental homes.
The idea is to encourage homeowners to sell, which will theoretically bring more stock to the market for locals.
Meanwhile, local councils are using powers introduced in 2023 to deter second home buyers by doubling council tax bills.
More than three-quarters of second home owners will face council tax surcharges by next year, as well as paying more on household bills and maintenance, the Telegraph’s recent analysis found.
The tax burden is high and rising; In April, Bridgend County Borough Council, which includes Porthcawl, announced a 200 per cent surcharge for second home owners.
The surcharge will rise to 300% after two years – one of the highest levels in Wales.
The problem with Ms Bateman’s property is certainly not a lack of demand from holidaymakers – the flat rents around £120 a night.
Winter trade was slow but Easter, spring term and summer holidays were heavily booked by young families and surfers.
In September, King fans from around the world would snap it up during Porthcawl’s annual Elvis festival.
“I also wanted fewer admins in my life and fewer emails to answer,” says Ms. Bateman, manager of The Glebe House London, an events venue.
When the flat is sold, she plans to use her share of the proceeds to help with her college-going son’s tuition and expenses. He also realizes that selling the property does not mean severing ties with his past.
“I want to maintain my links with Porthcawl once the flat is sold.
“I know I’ll be back, I just won’t be on that particular property,” he says.
Second home acquisition difficulties are not unique to the UK
Britain’s exit from the European Union has also created problems for overseas property owners like Aled Evans.
In 2018, he spent €66,000 (£55,670) on a two-bedroom flat at the Condado de Alhama golf resort in Murcia, Spain.
The plan was to use the apartment as a family getaway for her and her two daughters, now ages 11 and 14, while also renting it out to cover operating expenses.
At first everything was going well.
Living in Bedlington, Northumberland, the family could hop on a plane from Newcastle Airport and visit three or four times a year to relax by the pool and play golf.
Annual earnings from renting the flat on Airbnb were “about £5,000 to £6,000”; This was enough to cover the bills and maintenance, and it seemed like a win-win situation.
“I thought it might be a good investment because they were building new flats on the property,” says Mr Evans, 49, who runs his own travel company, My Local Tour.
Then the Brexit deal was completed and things changed overnight.
“My Spanish taxes went up; as a non-EU citizen, I had to pay 24 per cent tax to the Spanish government,” Mr Evans says.
“Getting the income I needed meant for me being completely uncompetitive compared to other owners, who were mostly European and didn’t pay such high taxes.
“There was no point in keeping it on the site because no one was interested. It became untenable.”
Last year, Mr Evans decided to put the flat up for sale. It was sold to a French couple for €70,000 in May.
“After paying all the fees, I was just about breaking even,” he says.
The girls welcomed the sale of their holiday home calmly.
“They were a little upset about it, but it means we can try lots of different places instead of going back to Spain all the time.”
