'Second home is our pension'

Sunday Mirror, Dec 7, 2008

SELF-employed plumber Gary Taylor and his wife Andrea bought a one-bedroom apartment in Corralejo, Fuerteventura, last year.

"We were thinking of buying a second property because I don't have a pension," says Gary, 39, from Northwich, Cheshire. "Prices in the UK were ridiculous so we decided to buy abroad. We went for the Canary Islands because we'd been there a lot on holiday.

"The idea was that we'd use it, family and friends would use it and it would be a future pension fund. We remortgaged our own home to buy the apartment for pounds 89,000.

"Initially Andrea wasn't keen on letting it to strangers but in July this year we decided to get some extra income from it.

"We're planning to use it ourselves about six weeks a year. And I don't like the idea of not earning any money from it the rest of the time.

"We set it up for renting through Holiday Lettings in August this year and I've also done my own website, www.taylorsoasis.co.uk.

"I asked other people's advice about prices and kept them quite low, which seems to be working. We think we can rent it out for about four months of the year at between pounds 200 and pounds 250 a week. We'd be more than happy with that as it would cover the costs, including tax.

"If we rented it out for six months a year it would cover its costs and our additional mortgage.

"So far we've had lots of inquiries, one paying guest and two confirmed bookings. It's early days but it's been straightforward and we'll definitely carry on."