Why Let Your Cottage in the Lake District?

Why you should be setting up a holiday let

You love the Lake District home you’ve bought to get away from it all, or you dream of buying one as a bolthole to escape to at weekends – but will it end up costing you too much money?

The answer? Make it a holiday let. (We’ll tell you how to run a holiday let shortly)

That way you get to have a beautiful home in the stunning Lake District, but by letting it, you will be able to make money on it when you’re not using it.

People want to go on holiday or have a break in nice destinations – well, you can’t get much more popular and pretty place than the Lake District for holidays.

Plus, self-catering holidays are becoming more and more popular because it seems people enjoy being able to put their own package together and can come, go, eat, sleep whenever they please.

The internet and social media have also made it much easier to increase exposure of holiday homes – at Lakelovers, we feature homes on our website and continually on social media – which works really well.

What’s in it for you?

Setting up a holiday cottage in the Lake District can be very satisfying and you’ll find stepping into your holiday let on a weekend break from your hectic city life will be just the tonic.

Swap busy, fume-filled streets for fresh air in a beautiful picturesque patchwork of lush countryside, towering mountains instead of office blocks and endless panoramic views instead of hemmed-in brickwork.

But, when you’re back home, by setting it up as a holiday let and with a letting company like us, you will make money. Sounds a good plan, doesn’t it?

Why Lakelovers is the best choice

Modern life is busy and there just seems like there just isn’t enough time to get around to doing everything you need to do.

So, while you love the idea of having a holiday home, it is another thing to keep on top of –  maintaining it, marketing it – and, of course, making a return on your investment.

At Lakelovers, you can stay at home, get on with life and know that your property is being put in front of potential visitors and looked after.

We simplify having a holiday let it by managing it all for you – if that’s what you wish – so even though your daily life is busy we make sure your home gets the best care and attention at all times.

We Do The Hard Work For You

Our team get to know both you and your property inside and out, so we can talk about it – just like our own homes – when talking to potential visitors.

We’ve been in business for 40 years – so we’re not new to this and know the ins and outs of owning and running a holiday home.

There are lots of things to get to grips with when setting up a holiday let – Tax for example can be a minefield and keeping on top of the general finance running can be quite a task too and then there are statutory obligations to comply with.

So, we don’t just stick your property in our portfolio and leave you to it, we advise and give you support too – from advice and providing supporting documentation for tax forms to monthly income statements, Landlord Gas Safety Certificates to Public Liability insurance.

The legislation surrounding a holiday let can change from one year to the next, but don’t worry about having to book mark Government website pages on your computer or tablet and read through reams of corporate speak literature – we do that for you and keep you informed of changes that may affect you and your let.

What others say about us

Some of our clients have been customers for almost 40 years – so we must be doing something right, don’t you think?

We trust them, they help us, they work in partnership with us and they go the extra mile to make sure that the customers are happy.

Ian Hackett, The Grange

How to run a holiday let

If you are new to it, or simply don’t have the time, we ensure you get the very best from buying a holiday let.

With a holiday let, you need to:

• Ensure it is a good standard.
• Have all the relevant documentation – such as gas certificates, public liability etc…
• Market it through the internet, social media and PR.
• Once you’ve attracted booking, you have to take payment and organise the booking, send out booking information and greet guests on arrival.
• Deal with guest queries both before and during their stay.
• Organise cleaners and ensure that the home is spick and span for guests.
• Carry out any necessary maintenance.
• Include it in your tax returns.

From marketing your property, taking bookings for it, to supporting you and holidaymakers to your home – we do everything you’d expect of us when it comes to looking after everything about your property.

Hassle-free service

If you are looking for someone to take care of everything, we’ve got just the thing.

Our fully managed service will mean you don’t have to spend hours marketing your property, you won’t have to deal with customers, you don’t have to clean your home before and after their stay – we do it all for you.

We let the world know about your property through our proactive marketing and when we’ve got you a guest, we don’t just leave it there – we welcome them on your doorstep too.

They will step into your property, which our cleaners will have scrubbed, cleaned and changed the bedding and our checkers will have rigorously inspected the entire property before the guests arrive – and find it in tip-top, pristine condition.

And, during their stay, if there’s a problem or a query – we deal with that too. Our customer service team are on hand during office hours, but we don’t leave it there, as guests can contact us anytime, so we can deal with any problems immediately. So, you never have to answer a phone to deal with a guests query.

Just like you, we want people to come back time and time again and want to give them a fantastic impression of your home from the minute they book to the minute they leave – they’ll only do that if we maintain our high standards.

All our services are charged separately, so that you can tailor make your package to suit you and most importantly, your budget.

And for the extra services you choose – be it the window cleaner or the gardener – we deal with those bills straight away on your behalf.

So, there won’t be cash coming out of your bank here and there, or bills from third parties dropping onto your door mat – we simply add them to your monthly statement.

We also provide your guests with priority tickets to top local attractions and organise many added extras, should they want it, including spa treatments– should they want to indulge that bit more.

Owner managed

But, if you’d rather clean your home for guests, sort out linen and bottom your home for change over of guests, you can do that.

We help as much or as little as you want us to. If you’re happy to deal with the day-to-day running of your home, then we’ll just strive to fill it with bookings and you do the rest.

Maintenance

Homes need maintaining as we all know. If you have the time or the desire to maintain it yourself, then great. But, if time is precious, or you live miles away from the property, then the chances are that you’ll need a little maintenance help.

Our full-time skilled maintenance team cover everything from window cleaning to full refurbishment projects – so your job gets done, when you need it to be done – no being added to the bottom of a tradesman’s list.

And, because we have been in business for so long, we know a raft of service providers locally who have a great track record in what they do, and can recommend professional service providers – from plumbers to architects.

And, how will I be paid?

Payments will be made to you timely – irrelevant of the time of year.

And, should you have a query, our accounts department team is happy to speak to you anytime during office hours (9.30am – 5pm) Monday to Friday.

Find out more

To find out more about what Lakelovers can do for you and your property, take a look at our Let Your Cottage area by clicking here.