A portfolio of holiday homes can be a good investment - as  well as giving your family a wealth of  different experiences, writes Lisa Freedman

ASK seven-year-old Nicholas Moffitt why it's important to have more than one holiday home and the answer comes in a breathless rush. "I really like my room in Ireland because it has a view of the sea and I can watch the boats go by and I love going to Gleneagles because we learn to do falconry, which is cool, and I also like going to Spain because I get to stay up really late at night."

His enthusiasm is infectious. And it goes a long way toward explaining why his parents, Sarah, a London-based solicitor, and Jonathan, a well-travelled venture capitalist, have invested in a portfolio of vacation properties. The idea is to give Nicholas and his brother, Sebastian, aged 14, as much variety and entertainment as possible on their many breaks from school without sacrificing the comfort of a familiar family home.

"My husband and I are both Irish so we've bought a cottage by the sea in Cork near the children's grandparents. It's such a peaceful place and a complete contrast to our London life," Sarah Moffitt explains.

"We go at Christmas, sometimes Easter and the May half-term school holiday, plus two or three weeks in the summer.

"We also have a time-share in Spain for the October half-term and a week at Gleneagles at the end of August, where I feel safe without my husband, or I can send the children alone with their nanny."

It is the modern way to holiday and it's become increasingly common, especially among busy working parents and those with fractured or extended families. "A lot of our clients are looking for a third or fourth home," says Joachim Wrang-Widen, European director for real estate at Christie's Great Estates. "They're mainly driven by family or leisure activities and choose their homes on the basis of their lifestyle. They buy when they're taking up a new interest or a new sport. And sometimes they buy on remarriage when they'll say: 'Let's keep the ski place for me and buy something on the coast for you'."

Take, for example, developer John Hitchcox. The divorced father of three children aged 17, 15 and four, has two holiday homes. "I have a house in Cape Town, where we go to get the winter sun, and I've recently bought a home on one of my own developments - The Lakes by Yoo in the Cotswolds - where there's a sailing club, an equestrian club and a lot of other child-friendly activities. Until recently, too, I had a flat in Paris; I felt it was important the children got to know another culture."

His aim, he says, is to make the most of his time with his children and ensure that they "develop a whole new range of friendships together".

Maintenance is one obvious downside to having multiple holiday homes. But that's why many owners often choose at least one property in a development where cleaning, cooking and even babysitting are included. "In Ireland I'm always rushing around getting the house sorted out," Moffitt says. "But at Gleneagles, they clean the house and change the bedlinen twice a week, which means I can spend all my time with my kids having fun."

Similarly, when Hitchcox is at The Lakes with his brood, he takes advantage of its concierge service.

Another option is a holiday residence club, which allows members who pay an initial deposit, annual dues and usage fees to enjoy the benefits of lavishly equipped homes in a variety of locations without any of the domestic worries that accompany the title deeds.

Rachel Beagles, a non-executive director with a fund manager husband and two sons aged three and five, picked The Hideaways Club, with properties in Europe and North Africa, and says it suits her perfectly. "We considered buying a second home but eventually decided we didn't really want to go to the same place all the time and felt it would be too much hassle," she says.

"Fractional ownership sounded ideal. So far, we've done a week's skiing as a family in the February half-term and another week in a villa in Portugal during the Easter holidays. My husband always has a week's golf in the spring, so in May half-term I went with my parents to Mallorca and this summer we're taking a week in France with another family.

"The villas are all large enough to accommodate two families and, with young children, we always like to go away with someone else. It also has a concierge service, which adds a lot of value. In Portugal, for example, they ordered bikes for us to be ready when we arrived and, when we went skiing, they were able to arrange both someone to cook a meal and a babysitter so we could go out."

Some might wonder whether parents who buy several homes to please their offspring risk spoiling them but Beagles and others argue that opening the door to diverse activities and interests is important, especially for city kids, and most are appreciative.

"My children are still a bit young to enjoy everything but our five-year-old has already started to play golf and, as they get older, I hope they'll learn to ski and go white-water rafting," she says.

For Moffitt, the cottage in Cork is a way to strengthen family ties, "rediscover our roots and give our children an understanding of their heritage", while the three-bedroom Marbella time-share provides "one week of sun in a very nice location" each year and Gleneagles offers sport and wildlife.

Investment is typically a secondary concern for these families but none of them feel as if they're throwing money away, particularly if they are able to rent out one or two of the properties.

Canadian builder John Engels, 53, and his wife Rosemary, 48, have two daughters, aged five and nine, and two holiday properties - a newbuild house in western Scotland and a large villa in Le Marche in Italy. The former is "a real labour of love and we don't intend to rent it out", Engels says. "We want the girls to get the outdoor experience and intend to spend most of our summers there." But the latter he calls more of "a financial venture":

"We're getting other people to invest and when it's fully restored we will rent it in the summer months when the demand is greatest and use it ourselves in the winter to go skiing and climbing, which means that as a family we can do what we love all year round."

Moffitt has a similar strategy. "I bought Gleneagles as part of my pension and I decided I would only use the property every fourth year," she explains. "In the other three years I can rent it out for over £4,000 a week and then in the fourth year we can have a far more indulgent family holiday than we would normally.

"My time-share - a flat we paid £11,000 for in 1999 - is now worth only £22,000 but I certainly feel I've had £11,000 of value out of it."

As for the house in Ireland, she says, "I do feel guilty about having an empty house so I loan it to family and friends but I'm never going to sell it; I intend to retire there."

That suits Sebastian Moffitt, 14, just fine. "I love visiting Ireland and seeing Grandpa John and all my cousins and fishing and sailing. I've also made lots of local Irish friends ...

"Having time in Spain each year has definitely helped with my Spanish GCSE and well, going to Gleneagles, with all the things you can do, is just awesome."

- (Financial Times service)