London Olympic House Lettings

[mcdoto]

Is anybody contemplating letting out their house during the London Olympics 2012?

[BeccaL]

No, am hoping to be going to as much of the Olympics as possible. Not sure ED is close enough to warrant the hassle, is it?

[jimmyraj]

I was certainly going to look into it - perhaps a good opportunity of a month's holiday and being out of London when it's packed out. The East London Line extension from Peckham Rye hopefully should be up and running giving a good route that way to East London.

[Nero]

I agree that the line from PR to Dalston wd be a good way to go. You'd obv have to change somewhere, but it does seem like a good way to make a few ???. Are there rules regarding taxes etc?

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Article in this week's 'Horse & Hound' (shades of Hugh Grant) talks about accommodation for the Olympics:

Home-stay websites have only just started advertising, but to give an idea of price, currently listed for August 2012 is a self-catering Greenwich apartment for four people in two bedrooms at ?600 per night, and two bedrooms (three beds) within a home two miles from Greenwich, at ?500 including breakfast.

www.homestaylondon2012.com

www.HomeAway.co.uk

www.rentduringthegames.com

www.londonrentmyhouse.com

[Marmora Man]

I'm in the "money isn't everything" camp. I missed the first UK Olympics as I wasn't born, I'll miss the third UK Olympics as I'll be dead - this is my only chance to watch the Olympics in UK. I've planned my tickets purchases, I think we'll see the opening and closing ceremony fireworks from One Tree Hill and the Overground to Dalson is open from HOP. I'm ready.

The possibility of earning maybe ?5,000 (less tax) and missing this one off opportunity doesn't excite me at all.

[Jeremy]

Also, ED really isn't that convenient for getting to the Olympic site. Maybe HOP and Forest Hill are easier because of the new Overground, but ED is not ideally located. And it's probably a less desirable area than Greenwich, Blackheath, etc.

[rbm]

I have been looking for an olympic rental for the up coming olympics

and see you mention http://www.rentduringthegames.com

I like the way they dont force you to make an account to see prices or even to contact the owner but my question is,

does anyone have any information on this website Good or bad?

[Narnia]

Are people comfortable with ripping off tourists? I'm not sure I would be.

[ClareC]

Is it ripping off tourists?

Surely price is determined by demand as usual. If supply is less than demand the price increases.....

Provided the price is clear and there are no hidden costs is it really ripping off a tourist that knows the price and chooses to pay it?

It's a hassle moving out of your home and you would forgo the opportunity to live here whilst the Olympics is on ....... if the remuneration isn't worthwhile, people won't allow their home's to be used and supply decreases further!

[womanofdulwich]

I dont think London existing hotel accommodation will accommodate all the extra people. If you have a spare room then ?25 per person per night would not be ripping anyone off-anything extra you would have to be turning yourself into a b and b / hotel.

What does everyone else think? is it worth taking the holdiay off work and turning yourself into a b and b for a few weeks??maybe my family can camp in the garden??????????

[Narnia]

Running a B&B is slightly different to letting your flat/house I'd say. I guess my dislike of the laws of supply and demand as ClareC put it is that a lot genuine sports fans will not be able to afford to stay in London if prices are hiked. I've read about the hosts of this years Rugby World Cup, New Zealand, where everything is going to be charged so high that a lot of fans who might venture to the bottom of the world are not likely to now. It would be a shame if the Games were only for the wealthy people.

[Jeremy]

In theory I agree with you Narnia. But in practise, if everybody else is milking the situation for every last dollar, your individual altruistic stand won't really make any difference.

[spotify]

It is only a rip off if someone is holding a loaded gun to your head,

other than that it's called freedom of choice!

[SeanMacGabhann]

I'm with narnia all the way on this one. I have been to sold out gigs where touts and other fans were selling tickets for 10 x price but with 2 spare tickets i find the fans who obviously cant afford that and sell for cover price.

I've been in the "can't afford" bracket many a time and cant understand why people aree so quick to make a buck at other peoples expense.

It's one of the few times where one gets to freely choose " do I be a cunt or not?". Choosing to do something because others do it is no excuse

[Narnia]

I remember going to Twickenham some years ago without a ticket. I eventually got one from an England fan for face value who quizzed me on rugby before parting with his ticket. Just to make sure I wasn't a tout.

[Jeremy]

Doesn't make sense. Why would you specifically vacate your house during the Olympics, just so you can make "normal" rent on it? You'd give up your home just so sports fans could enjoy the games?

And if you own a rental property anyway... surely you own it with the specific inention of making money?

Try as I might, I just don't see the gig ticket analogy. It's not like you've got something going spare that you don't need any more.

[Michael Palaeologus]

This is all getting a bit holier than thou. Its not like the people paying are without a bob or two, we arent talking about proverty stricken students wanting to get into a gig. We are talking about wealthy, middle class tourists who can afford the ridiculous cost of the tickets for the Olympics, the inflated cost of flights and the costs associated with a holiday in London.

I am no sports fan. I wasnt a supporter of the Olympics, the argument that the games generates economic generation is fatuous. if the money spent on the games had been invested in social housing and economic development work, the same impact would have been had at less cost and hassle.

To add insult to injury we have had to pay the costs of developing the site - twice! Once through general taxation and then again through an additional levy on London Council taxes.

So, if you dont want to watch the games, dont want to put up with the disruption caused by the games and want to avoid the gallons of dribble produced by excitable sports fans - go on holiday and rent your place out, get back some of your money that has been spent on this huge item of niche interest.

[SeanMacGabhann]

so if you don't happen to be well off, bugger off, the Olympics aren't for you?

nice

people can get to London for pennies these days as well you know

[SeanMacGabhann]

Look, people can rent out their gaff if they like, it?s up to them (although if it?s nice enough to command a premium at Olympic time, chances are these people are well off too)

But by the same token it would be nice if these same people didn?t complain about the price of anything else ? it?s only someone else making money right?

[Michael Palaeologus]

Well, yes.

That would seem to be how the ODA have set things up. Its not a "peoples" games at all. Its a "if you can afford the tickets come along, if not, watch the telly like all the other plebs" games.

Nowt to do with me. However, given that, the people looking for accommodation will not be poor.

They may well be able to get to London for pennies now, but not during the Olympics, when prices will be stagged. The "demand" argument will be used to push all bus, train and flight prices through the roof.

Hopefully, somebody will think to open some campsites near the games so that there will be some cheaper places to stay. However, lets not forget that the "economic situation bequeathed to us by the last administration" will yet again be trotted out as an excuse for milking people outrageously thus excluding those with limited incomes.

[ClareC]

And let's not forget tourists don't HAVE to stay in central London! Plenty of campsites/ b&b's within an hours train ride!

[Jeremy]

SeanMacGabhann Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> so if you don't happen to be well off, bugger off, the Olympics aren't for you?

I understand what you're saying from an ideological point of view, but I don't understand it from a practical perspective. You're not going to help the situation by simply *not* renting out your house. And nobody is going to specifically vacate their home for a few hundred quid. So... what's the solution?

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

I think university rooms are being rented out for cheaper options.

Through the roof option may be a floating hotel - I think I read that two cruise ships are seeking permission to moor nearby for the duration.

It doesn't bother me what anyone else chooses to do but I'm in the MM camp. Just not sure I can afford the tickets.

[SeanMacGabhann]

you mentioned earlier people with vacant property - they could just let it as per norm (I might well be in that position myself then)

You don'thave to vacate your home either - a spare room could be lodgings