See my post above.
2nd home/cabin etc. How'd you decide to pull the trigger?
- Thread starter Carnage
- Start date
See my post above.
gooddog
Recycles dryer sheets
If it can be rented as a vacation rental, that offsets costs. Since it wouldn't be a financial burden, that does take some of the pressure off.
Bamaman
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
My sister and I inherited my parents' lake house, and I bought out her half. It's an incredible piece of property on deep water with a six mile water sunset view. And my grandmother bought the place 76 years ago.
Best thing is the home is 70 minutes from home.
Worst thing is maintenance and cutting grass. Weekends are a joy. Relatives and close friends surround us.
The main issue is making the commitment to use the second home. And that is easier if it is in close proximity to home.
We have many friends with condos on the Gulf Coast, however they are too far to use very often. And they pay out the nose for maintenance while I handle all issues personally.
After all, if you cannot use up the property enough, it is not worth the investment.
Best thing is the home is 70 minutes from home.
Worst thing is maintenance and cutting grass. Weekends are a joy. Relatives and close friends surround us.
The main issue is making the commitment to use the second home. And that is easier if it is in close proximity to home.
We have many friends with condos on the Gulf Coast, however they are too far to use very often. And they pay out the nose for maintenance while I handle all issues personally.
After all, if you cannot use up the property enough, it is not worth the investment.
We retired 11 years ago and live in Chapel Hill, NC. I bought a beach condo right on the beach in Kure Beach in 1998. It’s a 2 and 1/2 hour drive from our house and we love it down there but not during the summer so we rent it out from May through Labor Day and come down about 10 days a month the rest of the year. Works great for us and it’s worth 4 times what I paid for it. We also have access to a big family home up on Beech Mountain so we can get away in the summer to beat the heat.
A now two year saga of our foray into buying a second home:
https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/financing-2nd-home-with-401k-97731.html
Short response is that we have no regrets and it seems to have worked out well. Now working hard to sell the primary residence in the spring of 2022. We'll live at the lake house full time for the near term. The long term future of the lake house is the point of many "wine glass" discussions recently. But for now, it is a fun place that we enjoy. No regrets about the financing path that we chose either.
https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/financing-2nd-home-with-401k-97731.html
Short response is that we have no regrets and it seems to have worked out well. Now working hard to sell the primary residence in the spring of 2022. We'll live at the lake house full time for the near term. The long term future of the lake house is the point of many "wine glass" discussions recently. But for now, it is a fun place that we enjoy. No regrets about the financing path that we chose either.
jeffmete
Recycles dryer sheets
We owned a lake condo 4 hours away for 15 years, sold it after we retired to buy an ocean front condo in st augustine, Florida. This one we rent out may-September, which pays for HOA and taxes, so basically free to use the other 8 months.
NameTaken2
Recycles dryer sheets
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If considering a 3-season lake house, decide what kind of owner you will be.
Are you going to DIY all maintenance, open/close annually, put in/haul out docks, cut dead trees, maintain the yard-etc, and at current age how long can you DIY?
Do you have younger family members that will help with the above when you're no longer able to, or have the assets to start paying for all maintenance/upkeep then?
Or are you wealthy enough to hire all the work out from the start, and just focus on enjoying the place?
DIY for a second home, especially an older one, is a lot of work.
A lot of time at the lake is not "fun time" for a DIY 2nd home owner.
I spend most of my time doing DIY, but OK with that b/c children/grandchildren love it there and hearing them splashing in the lake/having fun is rewarding when I work around the place.
If you plan to DIY, just be aware it can take away a lot of time you could be enjoying the property -may lead to regret if you didn't understand that going in.
Are you going to DIY all maintenance, open/close annually, put in/haul out docks, cut dead trees, maintain the yard-etc, and at current age how long can you DIY?
Do you have younger family members that will help with the above when you're no longer able to, or have the assets to start paying for all maintenance/upkeep then?
Or are you wealthy enough to hire all the work out from the start, and just focus on enjoying the place?
DIY for a second home, especially an older one, is a lot of work.
A lot of time at the lake is not "fun time" for a DIY 2nd home owner.
I spend most of my time doing DIY, but OK with that b/c children/grandchildren love it there and hearing them splashing in the lake/having fun is rewarding when I work around the place.
If you plan to DIY, just be aware it can take away a lot of time you could be enjoying the property -may lead to regret if you didn't understand that going in.
Rummy
Recycles dryer sheets
A friend and I fell in love with a ski area two hours away from home. It's a simple drive, mainly interstate driving, set the cruise control and go. But after skiing all day, the two hour drive home became a chore. So we decided to see if we could find a cabin close to skiing.
After looking at several available homes we decided on a small cabin on a two acre wooded lot about a mile from and overlooking the mountain. We paid cash and split the ownership and expenses 50/50. The cabin was nine years old and totally unique. The architect who built it always wanted a yacht, so he designed a 1200 sq.ft. four level home. The interior is trimmed entirely in mahogany and knotty pine. Most furniture is built in and to get to different levels, you climb ships ladders. So it looks like a yacht stood on end. There are two bedrooms, a loft, two complete bathrooms, LR, kitchen, built in dinette, a wood burning fireplace and a propane fireplace. The exterior is natural cedar and we replaced the cedar shake roof with steel years ago. One exterior stain respray was the main maintenance project and with friends help, we did it ourselves. There's no grass to mow, so no summer maintenance is required. All our ski gear and clothing remains there so no dragging "stuff" back and forth.
Purchased in 1988 we would spend one weekday and the weekend there. Our kids spent the weekends and often friends joined us. Many, many good memories were created. Since retiring we spend the weekdays there and let the crowds have the weekend. We will spend a few nights there during Summer and Fall but it is our skiing getaway.
Total costs of ownership, maintenance, utilities and taxes, plus firewood is about $3000 annually. (The oil bill is larger than the RE taxes). A small cost for the pure enjoyment we receive each winter.
My life would be completely different if I didn't own our Little Cabin in The Woods. Hopefully you can find your dream too.
After looking at several available homes we decided on a small cabin on a two acre wooded lot about a mile from and overlooking the mountain. We paid cash and split the ownership and expenses 50/50. The cabin was nine years old and totally unique. The architect who built it always wanted a yacht, so he designed a 1200 sq.ft. four level home. The interior is trimmed entirely in mahogany and knotty pine. Most furniture is built in and to get to different levels, you climb ships ladders. So it looks like a yacht stood on end. There are two bedrooms, a loft, two complete bathrooms, LR, kitchen, built in dinette, a wood burning fireplace and a propane fireplace. The exterior is natural cedar and we replaced the cedar shake roof with steel years ago. One exterior stain respray was the main maintenance project and with friends help, we did it ourselves. There's no grass to mow, so no summer maintenance is required. All our ski gear and clothing remains there so no dragging "stuff" back and forth.
Purchased in 1988 we would spend one weekday and the weekend there. Our kids spent the weekends and often friends joined us. Many, many good memories were created. Since retiring we spend the weekdays there and let the crowds have the weekend. We will spend a few nights there during Summer and Fall but it is our skiing getaway.
Total costs of ownership, maintenance, utilities and taxes, plus firewood is about $3000 annually. (The oil bill is larger than the RE taxes). A small cost for the pure enjoyment we receive each winter.
My life would be completely different if I didn't own our Little Cabin in The Woods. Hopefully you can find your dream too.
After many years of discussing it, we took the plunge in late 2019 and bought a piece of land in Hawaii, with the intention of building a home there. I would have preferred an existing condo, but one of DH's biggest dreams has always been to build his own home. We had a two year plan to get the house built, and are now a year behind schedule, but we don't regret the purchase one bit.
Like the OP, our house was just about paid off and I agonized over taking on a new mortgage, but having my brother pass away at age 59 made me realize that life really is short and you can't take it with you. Also, we've already done extensive world travel and are ready to commit to Hawaii for long-term stays. Does it make sense economically? Not at all, but we decided we could afford it and it was something we wanted badly.
Like the OP, our house was just about paid off and I agonized over taking on a new mortgage, but having my brother pass away at age 59 made me realize that life really is short and you can't take it with you. Also, we've already done extensive world travel and are ready to commit to Hawaii for long-term stays. Does it make sense economically? Not at all, but we decided we could afford it and it was something we wanted badly.
skyking1
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Congrats, that sounds like a total move rather than a second home.
We dream of a place at about 1500 feet elevation in Kona, for a temperature we can tolerate. We loved the houses there with a couple of garage doors to just let the breezes through. It is out of our budget. We will continue to visit.
Watching real estate market, go in with eyes wide open as to what might come. We closed on second home Oct 2007, everyone in this forum can imagine what happen next. Property values did not recover for more than a dozen years. My advice is make sure worst case still palatable.
Congrats, that sounds like a total move rather than a second home.
We dream of a place at about 1500 feet elevation in Kona, for a temperature we can tolerate. We loved the houses there with a couple of garage doors to just let the breezes through. It is out of our budget. We will continue to visit.
Our land is up on the North Kohala coast. It's pretty hot and dry. If you don't mind being farther from Kona, have you looked at Waimea? It's much cooler there and a nice, fun small town. We considered it and you can still find slightly cheaper places there. Our problem is that we are divers and after dives we are supposed to stay below 1000 ft for at least a few hours so the elevation in Waimea (2500+ ft) is too high for us.
We may end up selling our current house and moving there permanently, but we decided to defer that decision until we get the house built and actually live there for awhile.
skyking1
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Our land is up on the North Kohala coast. It's pretty hot and dry. If you don't mind being farther from Kona, have you looked at Waimea? It's much cooler there and a nice, fun small town. We considered it and you can still find slightly cheaper places there. Our problem is that we are divers and after dives we are supposed to stay below 1000 ft for at least a few hours so the elevation in Waimea (2500+ ft) is too high for us.
We may end up selling our current house and moving there permanently, but we decided to defer that decision until we get the house built and actually live there for awhile.
Thanks for the reply. We have vacationed there a half dozen times and know the Kohala well. I take it your land is lower?
Years ago a rafting company did a trip "flumin' the Ditch" where they took inflatable kayaks down the irrigation canals and tunnels on the North Kohala. That was a blast.
We liked Waimea too.Heck, the only two places we would not settle in are the lava houses on the south coast, and in Hilo proper. I've had enough rain here in the Seattle area.
I looked at Waimea, and there was a leasehold plot of 1.76 acres for 299K. That is at the top limits of my land budget, and building costs there would break our proverbial bank.
The more affordable lots there are too small for our liking. We have been on 1.25 acres for too long now.
Our current plan is about 200K cash in land, HELOC to build, then sell the old place and pay off everything. Hawaii is out of our $$.
The Onceler
Dryer sheet aficionado
We had a town we knew we wanted to retire to. We bought a cottage there in our mid 30s. We sold that after 4 years and bought a country house (to which we could retire) in our late 30s. This year (we both will be 60) we sold our main city place and are making our second home our principal residence. Has worked out great. 90 minutes away from the city and work. But since Covid there has been no need to show up at work more than 2x per month. The biggest benefit over 24 years of ownership— the melting away of stress at 3pm on a Friday afternoon when we left for the weekend. That never wore off. And now it is our home and we love it. Find the right spot and it can really be transformative. Not a financial decision if you can make it work. Meaning that I wouldn’t look at it as a monetary investment so much as a psychological one. How much is your well-being worth? To us it is worth a good bit. Good luck in your search and decision.
This might be a bit of a tangent, but maybe there's something of value for you in this reply.
I was thinking about a "condotel" or such in Florida, but it looks like those prices have gone way up of late, and HOA dues are crazy. I'm not as concerned about the 2021 housing bubble, because I don't think the same bad mortgage assets exist as 2008. I suspect you're more likely to see a "leveling off for a while" than a 2008-like crash.
Personally, I want to travel and not be stuck in one or two places. So, I got a campervan. I'm not a fan of the high gas prices right now, but I'm getting a solar system, and I have an instant pot pressure cooker, a small fridge, a Planet Fitness membership for showers, etc., so I'm quite set. I'm young enough and don't have things that might tie others down, so I can adventure a bit. Although I'm only slightly concerned about high inflation impacting a comfortable retirement, the other benefit of this kind of lifestyle is that I can live cheap for a while if I really need to. Another thing is that I have friends in various parts of the country that I'd get to see along the way. My van does pretty well on gas mileage, and I'll aim not to be a burden on friends, the environment and my fellow drivers on the road.
Vanlife or RV life isn't for everyone, of course.
I was thinking about a "condotel" or such in Florida, but it looks like those prices have gone way up of late, and HOA dues are crazy. I'm not as concerned about the 2021 housing bubble, because I don't think the same bad mortgage assets exist as 2008. I suspect you're more likely to see a "leveling off for a while" than a 2008-like crash.
Personally, I want to travel and not be stuck in one or two places. So, I got a campervan. I'm not a fan of the high gas prices right now, but I'm getting a solar system, and I have an instant pot pressure cooker, a small fridge, a Planet Fitness membership for showers, etc., so I'm quite set. I'm young enough and don't have things that might tie others down, so I can adventure a bit. Although I'm only slightly concerned about high inflation impacting a comfortable retirement, the other benefit of this kind of lifestyle is that I can live cheap for a while if I really need to. Another thing is that I have friends in various parts of the country that I'd get to see along the way. My van does pretty well on gas mileage, and I'll aim not to be a burden on friends, the environment and my fellow drivers on the road.
Vanlife or RV life isn't for everyone, of course.
Dash man
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
We bought two vacation homes. A beachfront condo on the beach in Florida and a house two blocks from the beach at the Jersey Shore. We were fortunate enough to pay cash for each of them. The condo has been expensive to maintain due to special assessments and a remodel. Thanks to Covid and an 87 year old father-in-law that now lives with us, we haven’t been able to use the condo enough to make it worth it. The Jersey Shore house we rent a few weeks each high season to pay the taxes and insurance.
I don’t regret buying either since I hope we will get the use out of them we want. The Jersey house has appreciated quite a bit.
Bottom line is we didn’t buy anything we couldn’t afford. If we had mortgages and struggled to pay the bills, they would be bad investments.
I don’t regret buying either since I hope we will get the use out of them we want. The Jersey house has appreciated quite a bit.
Bottom line is we didn’t buy anything we couldn’t afford. If we had mortgages and struggled to pay the bills, they would be bad investments.
Live Large
Recycles dryer sheets
Still an investment
I also saw a response or two compelled to act on the thought of second hm because Life Is Short - I write this post while relaxing at our 2nd Hm of the past 19yrs purchased out of a super commute circumstance in 2002. Our SFH was purchased in the Central Valley of CA in 1991 and was quite affordable. Over time, the commute to the San Francisco Bay was a bit much. Found a great turn key 1br/1ba on the Hill behind a local 4yr college.
Three airports near San Jose, San Francisco Oakland
15-25miles depending where we are going. This works well for “vacations/ domestic/international.
75 miles from our larger ranch hm (2500sqft).
Prior to ER, I used almost weekly the entire time.
During Covid also stay often DW can chose still wo*k
but remotely past year. Two of everything? We’ve maintained two homes this long it’s been a luxury we have become accustomed too. Expense? We feel it has been a great use of our money - RealEstate.
We also had two rentals big on other post for streams of income - we downsized to 1 rental.
If it fits your lifestyle & funding sources are there?
Go for it! I still ER’d at 50 DW chose to continue a couple more years - FIRE calc? Not scared to spend money ~ Life is Short, I concur ~ It’s why saved $
I also saw a response or two compelled to act on the thought of second hm because Life Is Short - I write this post while relaxing at our 2nd Hm of the past 19yrs purchased out of a super commute circumstance in 2002. Our SFH was purchased in the Central Valley of CA in 1991 and was quite affordable. Over time, the commute to the San Francisco Bay was a bit much. Found a great turn key 1br/1ba on the Hill behind a local 4yr college.
Three airports near San Jose, San Francisco Oakland
15-25miles depending where we are going. This works well for “vacations/ domestic/international.
75 miles from our larger ranch hm (2500sqft).
Prior to ER, I used almost weekly the entire time.
During Covid also stay often DW can chose still wo*k
but remotely past year. Two of everything? We’ve maintained two homes this long it’s been a luxury we have become accustomed too. Expense? We feel it has been a great use of our money - RealEstate.
We also had two rentals big on other post for streams of income - we downsized to 1 rental.
If it fits your lifestyle & funding sources are there?
Go for it! I still ER’d at 50 DW chose to continue a couple more years - FIRE calc? Not scared to spend money ~ Life is Short, I concur ~ It’s why saved $
I bought a house on the lake when I was 27 and lived there for a year. It was one of my goals to own lake property even though I was not wealthy by any means. I took a job about 70 miles away and decided to rent it out until I had it paid off.
It is an 1100 sq ft brick home on an awesome lot. When I purchased it years ago it was next door to homes of similar sizes. Fast forward to today and now the small homes in the area have been replaced by much larger ones. The home that I purchased has had some upgrades , but still is a small home now compared to most. I probably couldn’t afford one of the homes in the area now.
It is an 1100 sq ft brick home on an awesome lot. When I purchased it years ago it was next door to homes of similar sizes. Fast forward to today and now the small homes in the area have been replaced by much larger ones. The home that I purchased has had some upgrades , but still is a small home now compared to most. I probably couldn’t afford one of the homes in the area now.
