Second/Vacation Homes

[singlesline]

Oh and maybe I'll add one more thing to the list that helped it to work:

6. Like minded neighbors. There were a few rental units and others with different use patterns, but most of the other cottages were used the same way--some primary user who lives within driving distance and spent a fair amount of time/weekends there.

If you have friends in the area, kids/grandkids have other kids to play with on the beach, etc. you'll be more likely to go and visit and actually use the place.

The downside of owning the vacation home is you don't have to plan/book in advance to use it...you just show up. You'll always be fighting the FOMO of leaving home...there's always something going on at home, some chore you need to do, some activity for your kid, that will make you say "nah, lets just stay home this week" and before you know it, the season is over and you barely used the place. Having some social connection to the vacation home creates more of an incentive to go.

That can be something structured like Saturday morning sailboat racing or a group bike ride, or something less structured like people having casual BBQs or just running into people on the beach. Plus, neighbors can keep an eye on things and let you know if there are issues without you having to pay someone to monitor the place.

[XXX-er]

These " cabins " have gone WAY up in value so the taxes are thru the roof, my buddy from colorado said sure its nice but the taxes are 35K

so who wants to spend an extra 3 K per month on taxes ?

I think some people really like to own things, me not so much

So as oposed to acres and acres of just acres

I would rather be crawling distance to the craft brew

[AdironRider]

My wife's family has a lake house in Maine. Her and her sister stand to inherit it in 10-15 years. It is a camp that her parents built their year round home next to. We love the place. It is actually two buildings, so it might just work having her and her sister own it without being weird. They get along ok, but aren't like best sister friends either, so I'm a little hesitant about the whole thing, but I'm pretty sure my wife would quit her job, sell our current house, and move there if push came to shove. Her parents are old enough that with me being the only man in the family, am stuck putting in and pulling out docks two weekends a year, plus usually a bunch of smaller projects. Her parents are more old school frugal Mainers so the whole place has been DIY'd, so its kind of a mess but charming none the less. It is 2.5 hours away so we use it basically every weekend in the summer, and we can both swing Monday and Fridays working remote so we get a lot of 4 day weekends. Don't short change the amount of work a second home takes. It is actually usually more than your primary because things sat unattended and unmaintained for longer. That always increases the frustration level. That said, it is great to have a place to get away and just change things up.

I'm not really sure how my opinion will change once she inherits it. The taxes, maint, and utilities would be a significant expenses (probably 10-15k per year for her half all in). A large part of the cost is driven by larger projects that will inevitably need to be done. That would be tough for us to swing currently, but by then we will probably be a promotion or two ahead of where we are now and will probably be able to swing it. I do fear my sister in law's ability to pay for it. That would be worst case scenario as there is no way we could buy out her half or support her portion of the expenses without doing the nuclear option above and move in full time. The school district there sucks and both my wife and I's careers are not present there so it would be a major issue.

Setting that aside, we are enjoying it immensely now but it could easily become a boat anchor. Like with all real estate it is pretty illiquid so you will need to be ready to handle that even if you decide to sell.

[Doremite]

Second/Vacation Homes

Costs aside, I have no regrets on having a second home. That said, I suggest “vacation” home can be a misnomer. As some have already pointed out, it is a second property to care for and it does not fee like a “vacation” like a rental does. As with home #1, there always seems like there is shit that has to be done. Unless you can also afford a caretaker, which I can’t, it’s managing the realities of home ownership x2. Kids and wife will be kick’n it on the dock while I am off to the hardware store again.

I am only 2 hours away and it gets me to an area of VT that I really enjoy spending time in so it is all worth it but there are so many factors to consider - too big a burden? is not an easy question. I bought in 2015. I couldn’t afford the house in today’s market. Has worked out great for me and the family but that doesn’t mean it is the right decision for everyone that can afford to have the option.

It had more value to me when I lived in Boston since it was a great rural escape from the city. Such a different vibe that I loved. I now live in Burlington, VT so that differential has flattened a bit but I still love going there and use it probably the equivalent of 15-20 weeks a year.

[plugboots]

Yeah, well I’m a fucking maniac and can drive a long way fast w/o stopping. If you like futzing around, taking your time, and like to spend time fixing shit and not skiing biking and fishing, do it.

https://www.amazon.com/Saving-Family.../dp/141331841X

[skaredshtles]

These " cabins " have gone WAY up in value so the taxes are thru the roof, my buddy from colorado said sure its nice but the taxes are 35K

$35K per year in property taxes? This sounds like a bunch of horseshit.

[Shredhead]

$35k/year tax in Colorado is $10 million dollar cabin.

My family and I have owned several second homes on lakes and in the mountains. We've made a lot of memories and a lot of money.
Probably the best investments we've ever made, especially the ones in Aspen.

[nickwm21]

My parents own a second home. Growing up, essentially every holiday + 30% of weekends were spent there. We didn’t have many vacations outside of going to the house, similar to how a family with a boat or an RV spends most free weekends using it…

I live a ~15 hour drive away now, so only get to the house twice a year. Both my sisters and parents are only a ~3 hour drive away and are there all the time… if I was closer, I’d be there often.

Our family has spent years of our lives at that place. It’s a part of our identity, in some ways more-so than our main residences.

However I worry about my dad getting older; he maintains the place, he’s the one that will wake up at 3am to beat traffic to drive up there and shovel the snow after a big storm, he’s the one that does the fire defense clearing every spring, etc. I got that gene but my sisters did not; and their husbands (great guys) are not that type either. I’m too far away to provide the help needed.

When my parents do pass I expect my sisters will have a desire to keep the place but not the capacity to maintain it. The only way I see keeping it around is to carve out a chunk of cash from my parent’s estate (if there even is any…) and set it aside as some sort of trust to maintain the place, cover taxes, etc…


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[NBABUCKS1]

I think the burden of maintenance scales with age, square footage and functions.

I bought 10 acres in 2020 south of Jackson, WY. and built a very small cabin (340 square feet w/ loft) over two summers with my wife. Similar situation to ZZZ, wife is remote and can spend much more time there than I can. Also a lot of our camping and other exploring trips have been replaced by going to the cabin.

Right now there is next to zero maintenance because it's so tiny, well built and 'brand new'. That will/could change in the future. I really enjoyed the building process and fanaticize about building a much bigger house but a full time job makes that not possible right now. In addition I'd love to spend more time there but I'm not remote. Hopefully I'll retire early and afforded that ability but if I were to put down a bunch of money to build a new place I'd have no cash to retire on sooner. I'd like to make it a semi-permanent residence.

[Toadman]

Back in the day when I was living in Purgatory, no, not Durango, Colorado, but Northern NJ, the one thing that kept me sane was the in-laws had a house 2 hours North in, wait for it...upstate NY. At least I'm pretty sure it was considered upstate NY. Columbia county. Nice 20 acre spread built back in the late 1700's, and it was a good spot for outdoor activities. Kayayking, biking, hiking and not too far from a few tiny ski hills. Windam was about an hour away. It got a lot of use and was well maintained by the family members.

The aunt and unlce had a vacation house in Bend, OR. That got a ton of use when I was up in Seattle. Now family has moved into it and it's no longer a vacation house.

So, in conclsuion, if you have some family with a 2nd home, be nice and offer to help out with the upkeep and taking care of the little things when you get a chance to use the place and avoid the mortgage, utilities and property taxes.

[skaredshtles]

<snip>
So, in conclsuion, if you have some family with a 2nd home, be nice and offer to help out with the upkeep and taking care of the little things when you get a chance to use the place and avoid the mortgage, utilities and property taxes.

It's kind of like a boat in that regard.

It's better to have a friend with a boat than to own a boat.

[hawkgt]

So, in conclsuion, if you have some family with a 2nd home, be nice and offer to help out with the upkeep and taking care of the little things when you get a chance to use the place and avoid the mortgage, utilities and property taxes.

truth, wife's grandparents had a lake house down on Table Rock lake, southwest side. linked up to part of family other side of hill to the next cove. sweet property, i put in my sweat equity for sure over the years. they loved me when i showed up and they put my ass to work.

[Core Shot]

My grandparents owned a cottage on Lake Michigan in SW Michigan (well, technically up the hill in the woods off the lake, but it had deeded beach access down a path which I think was the best of both worlds). My grandpa was an architect and he designed and self built a guest cottage/bunkroom on the property as the family grew. They owned it from before I was born up until a couple years after I finished college.

I'm incredibly sad that it is not in the family anymore. But the timing of them wanting to be free of it just didn't work out with either my dad or his sister's ability to buy it...and they did the classic grumpy old man thing of not really being willing to discuss their finances or motivations for selling with their children. They started trying to sell it in the wake of the financial crisis (though it took several years) and my Aunt/Uncle had just made the choice to move further away and buy a more expensive house than they were planning on...a little "heads up" or willingness to work out the money (e.g. answer questions like "what do you need the money for? How much do you actually need *right now*? etc.) could have changed things.?).

Are we related?
SW mich lake house. Third generation. I can’t see selling. Ever.
Only there for one or two weeks.
But memories. Mine. My parents. Aunts uncles cousins my kids etc.

With no emotional attachment it’s harder to justify a second home. Unless you’re wealthy enough.

[frorider]

There’s a tradition of sorts in my extended family of having a modest place in the city of employment (apartment, small house..) to enable having some sort of getaway cabin or yurt or whatever in the mountains or at the beach.

My aunt & uncle (NZ) intentionally built a cabin so small that it could never host a family get together. Just big enough for two overlooking a black sand beach. Otherwise it can turn into just another location for the daily grind of cooking/cleaning etc. Solar power, simple heating system, etc. Sorta like #vanlife but it doesn’t go anywhere.

My grandparents had a biggish vacation house & while I enjoyed it as a kid I’m glad it was sold. Would’ve been a massive headache for the family to maintain.

Seems like careers & divorces etc spread families out so much that the idea of a collectively supported & enjoyed vacation home feels old school to the point of being impractical :shrug:

[riser4]

Place for two off the grid on a black sand beach sounds like paradise to me.