by One of Alix Bateman’s earliest and most lasting memories is of her pink hippo toy on the rocks at Porthcawl.
She was maybe four years old.
She also remembers playing in the sand with her brother, swimming in the pool, visiting the funfair, and going on donkey rides – all hallmarks of a classic old-school seaside summer holiday, staying with her grandmother Ella.
“We used to go down and visit every summer, at least once a year,” says Miss Bateman.
“It was a very big part of my childhood, and our family history there goes back to the 1850s.”
Family visits to the flat, which Ella bought in 1985, continued long after her death.
In 2020, Miss Bateman and her brother inherited the property from their parents, and decided to continue visiting with their own children as well as renting it out on Airbnb to cover running costs.
But realizing that neither of them had much time in Wales, as well as the practicalities of paying for and running the property, forced them to make a painful decision.
The flat went on the market in June and was listed at £150,000 by Chris Abraham Property.
“I’m sorry about it,” said Miss Bateman, 57, who lives in Clapham, south-west London, with her 18-year-old son and their two Bedlington terriers.
“About a year after we inherited it, my brother and I realized we’d only really visited it once or twice. Our children are no longer in the age of the bucket and spade, and renting involved a lot of bills and a lot of administration.”
Other homeowners have had a hard time recently, even those with long-term ties to a site.
In the Budget, Jeremy Hunt died over the tax system on furnished holiday rentals.
This scheme currently allows around 127,000 fully furnished home owners to deduct mortgage income from their rental income, a privilege lost to other landlords in 2020.
From April 2025, this tax loophole will be closed, along with lower capital gains tax on furnished rental homes.
The idea is to encourage landlords to sell, which in theory will bring more stock to the market for local people.
Meanwhile, local councils are using powers introduced in 2023 to discourage second-home buyers by doubling their council tax bills.
Recent Telegraph analysis has revealed that more than three quarters of second home owners will face council tax surcharges by next year, while paying more for household and maintenance bills.
The tax burden is high, and growing – in April, Bridgehead Borough County Council, which includes Porthcawl, announced a 200pc surcharge for second home owners.
The surcharge will rise to 300pc after two years – one of the highest levels in Wales.
The problem with Ms Bateman’s property is certainly not a lack of holiday demand. The flat rents for around £120 per night.
Winter trade was slow but it was booked solid over Easter, spring half term and summer holidays with a mix of young families and surfers.
In September, during the annual Elvis festival in Porthcawl, fans of The King would fly in from all over the world to attract him.
“I also wanted less administration in my life, less emails to answer,” says Miss Bateman who runs The Glebe House London, an events venue.
When the flat is sold, she plans to use her share of the proceeds to help her university-bound son with fees and expenses. She also understands that selling the property does not necessarily mean cutting ties with its history.
“I want to keep links with Porthcawl when the flat is sold.
“I know I’ll be back, I just won’t be in that particular property,” she says.
Difficulties in stacking second homes are not just a problem for the UK
Britain’s exit from the European Union has put pressure on overseas property owners, like Aled Evans.
In 2018, he spent €66,000 (£55,670) on a two-bedroom apartment in the Condado de Alhama golf resort in Murcia, Spain.
The plan was to use the flat as a family getaway for him and his two daughters, now aged 11 and 14, and rent it out in the meantime to cover his running costs .
At first everything worked well.
The family, who live in Bedlington, Northumberland, could hop on a flight from Newcastle Airport, and would visit three or four times a year to relax by the pool and enjoy a round of golf.
Renting out the flat on Airbnb earned “around £5,000 or £6,000” a year – enough to cover bills and maintenance – and it seemed like a win-win situation.
“I thought it might be a good investment too because they were building new apartments in the resort,” 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 increased – as a non-EU resident I had to pay 24pc tax to the Spanish government,” says Mr Evans.
“In order to get the income I needed I intended to become completely uncompetitive compared to the other owners, who were mostly Europeans and who were not paying such high taxes.
“It wasn’t worth keeping it on the site, because nobody was interested in it. It became unbearable.”
Last year, Mr Evans decided to sell the flat. It sold for €70,000 to a French couple in May.
“After paying all the fees, I just didn’t break even,” he says.
The girls took the sale of their holiday home in stride.
“They were a bit sad about it but it means we’ll be able to try a lot of different places, instead of always going to Spain.”
