Own two houses?

[oldcrowcall]

We owned two houses for awhile in the 80's. One was on a lake 50 min from our primary residence. I did find it a hassle of having two of everything, but in the summer coming home to the kids swimming off the dock, golden sunsets, etc was great. When kids got older they wanted to be with their friends in town not with us at the lake and it was expensive carrying two houses so we sold it. BUT. we made over a 150,000 on a 45000 investment and this is in 80's dollars. Kinda sorry we sold it cause now the grandkids would love it. Would not buy in now tho!!

[SteveR]

We have two houses now. One primary residence and a cabin in the mountains. The cabin is about an hour away and is only used in the non-snow months due to access. We love the cabin but it is a lot of work. I enjoy being country boy with a chains saw and an ATV to haul stuff around but it is still work. We keep thinking about selling it but we like being up there and the view is one to die for.

We would move up there for good and sell the main house but I would need some MAJOR snow removal equipment and some serious space upgrades to the cabin to actually live in it 24/7. I tried to get in there in January with a snowmobile and it disappeared in the top 4 foot layer of powder . I had to dig it out and discoverd I was standing on another 6 feet of snow. Not going to do that again. So it is our late spring-summer and fall place.

If the kids move we will stay at a hotel or executel. Not going to buy another house/condo. Two are two too many most of the time.

[free4now]

I wonder if a timeshare would make sense for the original poster. Timeshares bought at retail are usually poor bargains, but I've heard that buying them on secondary markets can be a good deal. I've never been attracted to them because I don't want to limit my vacationing options, but the original poster's desire to spend time visiting the same place every year seems perfect for timeshare.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by free4now I wonder if a timeshare would make sense for the original poster.* *Timeshares bought at retail are usually poor bargains, but I've heard that buying them on secondary markets can be a good deal.

Every time we've run those numbers we've realized that we could rent someone else's timeshare every year of the decade for a lot less than we'd be spending on one of our own.* Plus we'd have more flexibility, no expenses, and no market worries.

[treypar]

We have looked at owning two homes several times, one in town and one in the mountains. Each time however the double costs on everything and maintenance headaches made me reconsider. I think that one home is just fine.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by atla We have looked at owning two homes several times, one in town and one in the mountains. Each time however the double costs on everything and maintenance headaches made me reconsider. I think that one home is just fine.

I gotta admit that when I read threads like this I'm thinking:

"America-- what a country. Life is good!"

[youbet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords "America-- what a country.* Life is good!"

What?* What's so good?* If life was good, we'd all be able to afford eleven homes and illegals to take care of them for us.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by youbet What?* What's so good?* If life was good, we'd all be able to afford eleven homes and illegals to take care of them for us.

Ever spent any time poking around Bangkok?

It's all relative. Life is still good.

[gtmeouttahere]

Well, If you buy a 2nd home in a tourist area that is furnished you could rent it by the day, week, or month that you're not living there.* Either advertise on the web or through a realty or property management co.* It can actually be quite profitable as renting for 1-2 weeks per month could actually pay the mortgage and anything more would be profit.* Just allocate the time that you would be spending there and the rest is rentable time.

I know people that do this and make a really good profit, also help pay for their vacations.* Thought about doing it myself just haven't jumped at it yet.* I would probably buy a condo but houses rent for top dollar to big families who want a gathering place and do not want to stay in a hotel.

I know they rent well because we stay in houses like this on our vacations and they are almost always booked.* They can rent from anywhere to $800-2500 dollars a week depending on the size and location.* Some people can make a killing doing this if they buy close to, or in a resort type community.

[Lancelot]

My situation is not an exact comparrison to the OP question about owning two houses, but, for me, I love the freedom of renting and being able to move on whenever I want.

In a former life, I always owned a house and looking back, I can't belive how much time I spent maintaining and improving my properties...

Now I lounge by the swimming pool, peruse a Lonely Planet and plan my next trip.

Works for me

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords Ever spent any time poking around Bangkok?

Man, talk about a soft pitch! I am going to let that one go...

[wallygator69]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich_in_Tampa I'd rather just cough up a couple thousand a year to park ourselves at a Residence Inn or such, then leave it and forget it when we return to our Fla home.

Hi folks,

Rather than use a hotel, I have had great luck using VRBO.com. *Vacation rentals by owner. *I've rented houses near Disney, Vegas and Myrtle Beach. *In Myrtle I rented a 3 bedroom 3 bath house with ocean views for $750.00 a week. The same house through one realtor was $1250.00 and another was $1450.00. A decent hotel in Myrtle is over $100.00 a night and we had several guest come down for a few days...

We had to go to Vegas for a wedding last year and I rented a 5 bedroom 4 bath house with swimming pool, 6 man hot tub and a game room with pool table. *It was about $1350 a week but with 5 couples it ends up costing about $25.00 a person per night. It was like life styles of the rich and famous, or drunk and stupid, actually a little of both....

Good Luck.

Wally

[gtmeouttahere]

Quote:

It was about $1350 a week but with 5 couples it ends up costing about $25.00 a person per night. It was like life styles of the rich and famous, or drunk and stupid, actually a little of both....

That's been our experience. It's good cheap fun!!!

[tryan]

Perhaps the question for all the 2 home owners is this ...

Would you have kept the second home if appreciation was at or below inflation for 5 years ?

I would not buy a second home expecting appreciation anywhere near what we've seen in the last 5 years.* Going forward I'ld bet on something closer to inflation.

That being said, we're building on waterfront land I 've been sitting on for years.* Will do the vacation rental thing when we're not in it (working of course).* The thought of buying "everything" again has been painful ... but given the appreciation we've seen over the last 5 years, we'ld get it all back (and then some).* *

[youbet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords Ever spent any time poking around Bangkok?

Well......errrrr........no. But If you'd document the experience in a paperback book, I'd buy a copy! Sounds titillating.

[wabmester]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tryan Would you have kept the second home if appreciation was at or below inflation for 5 years ? I would not buy a second home expecting appreciation anywhere near what we've seen in the last 5 years.* Going forward I'ld bet on something closer to inflation.

That was certainly a factor for us selling our second home.* * That and the capital gains exemption we were able to use by making our first home into our second home.* * It's hard for me to imagine real estate appreciating much more over the next 5 years, but I think I said the same thing about tech stocks in 1995.

Anyway, now that we've sold our second home, I finally understand the downside.

Not only do you have to buy two of everything when you have a second home, but when you sell, you need to get rid of all the redundant cr@p!* * What a pain.* *There's only one thing I hate more than moving, and that is selling and giving away stuff while I'm moving.* * And you wouldn't believe how flakey craigslist buyers are -- I think about 75% of the buyers never show.

OK, I feel better now.* *End of rant.*

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wab And you wouldn't believe how flakey craigslist buyers are -- I think about 75% of the buyers never show.

The other 25% live near me, and they never show either.

What amazes me is the guy who calls for directions, turns out to be only three miles away, says they'll be there in 10 minutes, and never shows up. Should I file a missing-persons report?

[Martha]

Same with potential tenants. Greg would tell them about the place, they would want to look, and a good percentage would never show up.

I think some people never were taught manners: it is polite to call if your aren't going to show.

I think some people can't say "no" to save their lives, so they never were interested but committ themselves to looking nevertheless.

[dwk]

Our second home is a condo in Florida. Prior to buying the condo I ran all kinds of numbers and scenarios; keeping it strictly as a vacation home, renting it out year-round versus seasonal, tax implications, buying a single family home vs a condo...

I purchased the condo 3 yeas ago even though no scenario showed a positive cash flow. A lot of it had to do with the tanking of the stock market and the my belief that real estate would be a safer investment at the time. My wife and I had been looking at shore property in Ocean City and on the eastern shore of Maryland. But you can't touch anything decent for under $400,000. We purchased a condo in a upscale and gated community on Charlotte Harbor. The unit was 1/4 of what we would have paid down the shore and you can still go the beach and fish during the winter months. The downside is we're 1100 miles away versus 150, and don't get to use it nearly as often that we would like. But it is very nice wearing flip flops and t-shirts in January.

We decided to rent it seasonly vs annually because we could generate between 60-70% in the income (compared to renting it annually) and have much less wear and tear. Our plan is to rent the condo until we retire and then use it as snowbirds in the winter months.

14 months after buying the condo, Charley and Francis hit the west coast and we were ground zero. The unit sustained significant damage as did the entire complex. Since then the entire place has been rebuilt and is brand new. There certainly was a great deal of stress, a lot of work and some expense. I'm one of the lucky one's where my insurance covered a majority of the damage.

The question is would I do it today. The answer probably not. Real Estate pricing in southwest Floridia has increased almost 100% in less than 3 years. Having to carry twice the mortgage payment, if I purchased it today would not be doable.

I really think our decision to purchase was well thought out, but I never would have expected the appreciation in the property values.

If your looking a purchasing a 2nd home -- 1) make sure you have some disposable income. 2) Have a financial plan, if you have to struggle every month to make the mortgage payment or condo fee it's not worth it. 3) Have some reserves in case the unexpected happens -- you or your wife gets sick, there is storm damage.... 4) You have to be more diligent given the inflated property values. 5) be aware if you're purchasing this for the tax savings, you begin to lose the benefits as your income exceeds $100,000. You can carry up to a 25,000 loss, but for every $2,000.00 above the $100,000 threshold, the benefit is reduced $1,000.00 -- so if your income is over $150,000, you get zero benefit -- although you can still deduct interest and taxes.

I've been extremely lucky with this property, it certainly was a lot more luck than skill. Timing was everything.

In a few years when I retire, the condo will become our primary residence and our second home will more than likely will be a sailboat. We'll spend the summers with the the grandchildern and dock at a nearby marina. At least that's my plan -- my wife can join me if she wants.

dwk

[db]

For those 55 and older, one possibility is to buy into a retirement community, while maintaining a second home elsewhere. *Here in the Santa Barbara area where housing prices are high, you can buy into a retirement community for much less than a condo would cost.

One of the nicest such commnities is in a grand old estate in Montecito. *Not only do you have a beautiful buildings with beautiful grounds, if you buy in while healthy, you will be cared for regardless of what your future health may be. *And given that Julia Child was one of the residents, the food may be pretty good as well. *Some residents buy more than one unit and combine them. *Condo prices in this area start at over a million dollars. *Of course, there is a waiting list.

db