Procrastination not advised for home holidays or projects

Personal finance columnist Jill Kerby has some advice for those looking to book a staycation this summer or indeed trying to get any home improvement projects up and running...

Despite the snow, thoughts have turned to the ‘grand stretch in the evening’, to spring gardens, DIY jobs around the home and summer holidays – at home.

We’ve all be warned to park any idea of foreign vacations in favour or the ‘stayvaction’ variety, with €500 fines – per person - a possibility if you are caught breaking the latest non-essential foreign travel rules. Even if you somehow did manage to get on a flight, with or without a positive COVID-19 test, other country rules can change overnight and you may have to quarantine there, or back home.

The other issue that should act as a disincentive is that your annual travel insurance may be void if you violate the 'no-travel' ban.

My husband is keen on a week in the wilds of Counties Clare, Mayo or Sligo this summer, places we spent some of our happiest home holidays when our son was little. He was always as keen on the outdoors as his dad, and himself can’t wait to walk parts of the Great Atlantic Way.

The more remote the holiday home, the better, he says. Meanwhile, I sent him The Hidden Ireland website (hiddenireland.ie) full of wonderful country house hotels since my idea of a holiday does not include cooking every night, or driving on dark winding roads (especially not in the rain) to get to the nearest town.

His earliest conclusion after a cursory search is that we should expect to pay between €800-€1,000 for a really nice cottage even in a scenic but remote spot and double that anywhere near a popular beach resort, especially in the southwest, where bookings are already brisk, according to Tourism Ireland reports.

He also noted that booking and cancellation policies can differ, with some self-catering providers looking for a booking deposit for up to a third of the cost of the hire. Most of the ones he looked at redeem up to 50% of the booking deposit if you cancel within four weeks before check-in and 100% back if you have a quick change of heart and decide to cancel within 24 hours of booking. Wait that extra day, however and you lose half your deposit.

With large seaside ‘cottages’ in Cork and Kerry renting for as much as €500 a night, you certainly want to make sure of your dates and that booking early may secure a better rental rate than if you leave it until the late Spring but could cost you €450 if you have to cancel within a month of arrival.

Anyone booking a particularly expensive break might want to check to see if your existing holiday insurance policy includes an Irish staycation policy. Most that I have seen, including An Post’s travel insurance, only provide such cover for annual policies, not single trip ones and only for pre-booked accommodation for more than one night.

Keep in mind too that most holiday home destinations do not take pets; you may have to book them into a kennel or cattery, if there is no one able to take them in or house sit (which may not be possible at the moment) so check first with your local pet boarding facility. If they are open, demand could be very high by the late Spring/Summer and you may not be able to book a slot. (Ditto for car rental.)

With Spring nearly here, the other big plans that people are beginning to pursue again are postponed home improvement projects.

Just a few days before this latest lockdown we had just received a verbal quote for a number of electrical jobs that need doing around our house, including new wiring for ornamental and new generation security lights in our back garden.

Our relatively small job – about two days worth - has now become a very small job indeed with our contractor probably unavailable until late summer. “We should have paid him a deposit,” said my husband.

As with booking an expensive holiday, lots of things can go wrong when you hire tradespeople, especially during these periods of 'on and off' Covid lockdowns when both parties are pressed for time and the pandemic throws up all sort of restrictions and possible supply delays from the UK due to Brexit.

The government competition and consumer website (www.ccpc.ie) advises that before you engage any contractor or tradesperson you should check that they are registered with the Companies Registration Office, and in the case of gas and electricity tradespersons, that they are registered with their respective trade bodies at www.safelectric.ie and rggi.ie (the registered gas installers).

A written quote, says the CCPC is always better than an ‘estimate’ and a written contract that covers delays, allows for staged payments, and a mutual cancellation clause is also recommended.

As for deposits, they “are usually non-refundable” and you are recommended to pay “a large deposit using a debit or credit card, because if the supplier goes out of business, you card provider can reverse the transaction with a chargeback” once you contact your bank.