Where to buy a warm weather second home?

One question that immediately comes to mind, is whether this second-home is mostly a lifestyle choice, or intended as an investment. If the former, then it's hard to counter the advice about renting. For entertainment, recreation or just escape, one seeks to minimize burden, labor and overhead, no?

But what if a person seeks to diversify his or her portfolio by buying property in a touristy, in-demand, warm area? That could mean living there oneself, on-site, and renting out part of the space. Or it could be strictly a capital gains play, never mind the rental cashflow (if any).
 
Second home can work if it's going to be the retirement home.

If that's your choice be sure to research the availability of medical care there as you age in place.
 
I also live where it's warm to hot. That's why my second home is in the cool mountains.
 
OldShooter said:
This is similar to other threads that have come along and it still contains (to me) the same mystery: @Asabino, Do you not care about potential risks when you are evaluating possible destinations? Wild fire, floods, earthquake, hurricane, etc. Also financial risks like a city (Chicago) or state (Illinois) having to raise taxes significantly to avoid bankruptcy. ... If I were looking for a "last house" these would be important considerations for me. When I was 30 I could have handled and recovered from these types of events. Now much older, I guess I have the money to recover but I do not want the year or more of disruption and hassle.

The only possible explanation I have for my puzzlement over this issue is the human tendency toward recency bias (Recency bias - Wikipedia) where recent events (no hurricanes, no earthquakes, etc. ) are over-weighted in decision making.

Not trying to hassle you here. Just genuinely curious why you don't mention these risks. Hurricanes alone would instantly take Florida off my candidates list.
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It seems to me everywhere has risks. It depends on how far you dig, how you analyze them, etc.... One friend is looking for their forever home and he is heavily factoring environmental risks that he acknowledges might be 50 years away... but he wants to create a multi-generational forever home. To him this is very logical. To me that's a bit too deep but to each their own. At the end of the day we can live in fear or just live life and deal with the ups and downs!
 
CaliKid said:
It seems to me everywhere has risks. It depends on how far you dig, how you analyze them, etc.... One friend is looking for their forever home and he is heavily factoring environmental risks that he acknowledges might be 50 years away... but he wants to create a multi-generational forever home. To him this is very logical. To me that's a bit too deep but to each their own. At the end of the day we can live in fear or just live life and deal with the ups and downs!
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Well, there are clearly factual risk differences between different areas of the country. You can easily find maps of earthquake potential, flood potential, hurricane potential, etc. If I were planning to move, I would utilize them. Fortunately, we already live in an area with zero hurricane potential, near-zero flood potential (our back yard is the Mississippi but is 30' above the water line), and near zero earthquake potential. It's not a matter of living in fear, I just don't want the potential year or more long hassles if I can increase my probability of avoiding them. I'm just too old for that kind of adventure.

Suggestions here to rent would also be a risk-reducer to me, as I could just walk away from any excitement. Buying but having another home to flee to would work too. We have the money.

50 years! I dunno. That would keep me away from the San Andreas fault for sure. No guarantees, though. Until this week I probably would have thought that Asheville, North Carolina looked pretty good. :(
 
We have no natural disaster risk in Southern Nevada except for the hot summers. We get away in the summer to cooler temp areas to mitigate the heat.

Here's a side note:
I was on a business trip in Japan and fellow colleagues asked about Singapore with regards to natural disasters. No hurricane and no earthquakes. Someone asked so what is the most dangerous thing about living in Singapore. Another Japanese colleague who was working in Singapore on an expatriate assignment said "The government." If you want to know why he said that, you will have to private message me.
 
We might have considered a second home if we were renting.

But owning and being responsible for two homes in retirement...no thanks.

One is more than enough for us. For many reasons.
 
OldShooter said:
Well, there are clearly factual risk differences between different areas of the country. You can easily find maps of earthquake potential, flood potential, hurricane potential, etc. If I were planning to move, I would utilize them. Fortunately, we already live in an area with zero hurricane potential, near-zero flood potential (our back yard is the Mississippi but is 30' above the water line), and near zero earthquake potential. It's not a matter of living in fear, I just don't want the potential year or more long hassles if I can increase my probability of avoiding them. I'm just too old for that kind of adventure.

Suggestions here to rent would also be a risk-reducer to me, as I could just walk away from any excitement. Buying but having another home to flee to would work too. We have the money.

50 years! I dunno. That would keep me away from the San Andreas fault for sure. No guarantees, though. Until this week I probably would have thought that Asheville, North Carolina looked pretty good. :(
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I hear ya but you sort of make my point. I lived in California for over 50 years and never lived in fear over an earthquake. The fires are more problematic in my opinion. I do have an aversion to hurricanes though so am unlikely to buy a home in Florida where hurricanes happen EVERY year... causing ridiculous insurance spikes. We each choose where to live based on a variety of factors. I love living in Las Vegas because I love sun and entertainment... and, luckily for me, don't mind the heat. Others don't even want to visit Las Vegas. I get it. We are all different and we all weigh things differently. As for Ashville my understanding is they had a catastrophic flood in 1916 so it's not the first time.
 
You've used the word "fear" a couple of times and implied that is my POV on natural disasters. It's not. My view is based on basic risk management. Risk, Probability, Cost to mitigate. Risk/impact of "the big one" earthquake is high, Probability of it occurring in the years I have left may be low, but cost to mitigate is also very low. I just wouldn't choose to live near the fault. Not out of fear; it's just a risk management decision.

Same-o on other natural disaster worries. No fear. Just risk management tradeoffs.

It's really no different from looking at the mature trees in the back yard of my house. Risk of one falling and damaging the house is there but damage would be contained and covered by insurance. Probability is higher than the earthquake I think. Cost to mitigate is thousands of dollars per tree AND (intangible) the loss of a beautiful view. So there I'll take the risk.
 
Kings over Queens said:
Loja in Ecuador. 70's year round.
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What else is it like living there? What’s the cost of living like? Crime? What amenities can you expect to be able to find? What kinda food can you find? How do pay to have things fixed and upgraded around your home etc… please feel free to include anything else you think is relevant. I keep hearing about this place and have been considering for me and the Mrs. Who want to snow bird from Pennsylvania. Thanks much.
 
twirler said:
What else is it like living there?
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I couldn't tell you, I'm stuck in New Jersey. :LOL:

My wife found the place while searching for perfect weather locations. I don't like cold, she doesn't like hot, and neither of us like humidity. We're not going to have 2 homes and will travel to various places, taking longer stops as needed, and Loja will be on the list.
 
The Texas Gulf Coast might be worth exploring.
Try South Padre Island, Corpus Christi, North Padre Island, Port Aransas.
Galveston is a little too developed for our taste.
Port Royal Condominiums on Mustang Island near Port Aransas might be worth looking in to. We have lived in Corpus Christi for 40 years and my husband managed Condominiums in this area until he retired. Our advice; never buy a condo as an investment...Home owner fees will devour any income you hope to make.
 
Not West Coast Florida! Unless you want to lose money on your home. Look at the east coast, NE in particular.
 
Asabino said:
Weather and other factors play into the mix. I suppose anywhere you go, weather and "act of God" circumstances are always in play. I'm looking for vacation/second home - wanting recommendations where we may be interested.
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You only mentioned "warm weather" in OP. What else is part of "where we may be interested".

The group went to financials and risks to take the fun out of it. As a second home, arguably some risk mitigation is occurring as you have another home in a different location.
 
Montana primary home for the Summer and a big 5th wheel that permanently stays in an RV resort in Casa Grande, AZ for the Winter. This will be Winter #12.
 
Arizona if you are talking winters. Beautiful weather and less expensive. No hurricanes or tornadoes.
 
JJpop said:
Arizona if you are talking winters. Beautiful weather and less expensive. No hurricanes or tornadoes.
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No water either, right? Big political battles coming as states without water go after the water from states that do.
 
As a few of us have said earlier, if you don't know where you want to buy, just rent so you ca n check out different places.

Worst case, you rent somewhere for 3 months and hate it. Next year try somewhere else.

Who knows, maybe after a few years of renting/snowbirding you might find that preferable over owning.
 
We have a couple in our community who snow bird in St. Croix. Another in Arizona.
 
I bought a condo in Austin, TX for four months of the year. I have family/grandkids there, so I have a strong reason to go. I have joined a few social groups and have a circle of friends outside of my family. I do hop down once in a while during the summer for special occasions. My family looks in on my place and use it as there nearby pool.
 
We moved from Ft Myers, FL after Hurricane Ian. We now living in Winter Haven, FL our concrete block house held up well, no flooding ..... Great Area .... Nice 55+ Community called Traditions
 
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