Second/Vacation Homes

[AdironRider]

accept that it will come at the expense of relationships in your primary home since you'll be at the second house so much.

This is a very important point, and often very much overlooked. My wife seems fine with it but I struggle with it sometimes. No one else in our social circle has a place to get away to and it does lead to some missed opportunities.

I've pretty much settled on taking as much advantage of the place now while our son isn't in school, for as others have mentioned, he will soon be to busy to spend every weekend there. That said, I don't want him to be left off the invite list, notably because he is an only child, and to miss out on building solid relationships of his own.

Very much a first world problem.

[singlecross]

I recommend buying an Island, and I think Harry does too.

[ticketchecker]

I recommend buying an Island, and I think Harry does too.

Those heli bros moving in next door to you?



Interesting thread for my world.

The GF and I own two 3 unit buildings in a great neighborhood (we live in one of them) and the clock is running out on my tolerance for apartment living and how long I want to continue being a landlord. Currently we rent out our own unit at different times to cover renting places to live elsewhere. It certainly works and to an extent it's better than having to maintain these temp second homes. It just gets old living in other peoples houses for extended periods of time and we missed the boat on RE costs to grab a camp on the cheap.

So the big question for us is do we buy a third property or sell one of the apartment buildings and grab a house somewhere. The math pencils out to go either way on the equation, but in life the things we own can end up owning us.

That 3 months in EU plan sounds pretty good

[zion zig zag]

Some of y’all are talking about a level of maintenance and upkeep that I haven’t experienced. If I go use the place for a three day weekend, I bet on average only a couple of hours of that is spent doing housework. Sometimes none, sometimes a bit more, but it has never stopped me from getting the biking or skiing time I wanted.

[Bunion 2020]

My "ideal" is 10 acres in the middle of BFE that has decent access, a concrete pad you can park a camper on while visiting, possibly a well and power and eventually a small building (< 200 sq ft) that houses a kitchen and full bathroom.

[singlecross]

Those heli bros moving in next door to you?



… but in life the things we own can end up owning us.

Haven’t heard anything more about the Heli bros. Time will tell.

Our plan is to keep things small and simple… 400sq ft and simple 12v off grid systems.

Small camp = Big fun.
Big house = Big headache.

I like Bunion’s idea of a stable drive-in campsite with a small shed or a tiny house on a trailer and is probably what I would do/build if I were out West.

[whipski]

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

Reader's Digest Version: not a burden at all (for me)

My mother had her own business from 1979 to 2023. We knew she did well but my family is one of those that does not share personal information; so we didn't really know how well. Anyway, about 13 years ago, my sister called me and asked, "Where are you going to buy a ski house?" I had no idea what she was talking about. Apparently, my mother was buying vacation homes for us kids. She had already bought one for my brother (who is/was wealthy) and my sister was in the process of buying (with my mother's money). I tried to play it cool with my mom and she finally said she wanted me to find a ski house to buy. I told her I couldn't afford one (we had already put 3 kids thru college and one was still in school). She gave me a look that said, you know the deal, stop fucking around. The only constraint was she had to get a key to the house.

She lives in NH; we were in the Albany area. My brother and sister were also in NH and bought houses in Waterville Valley; 45 minutes from my mom's house on Lake Winnisquam. I told her we would be buying in SoVT so we didn't have to drive too far to use it. She was good with that because she missed VT (we were all born and raised to some level in VT). We ended up buying at the base of Magic Mountain; at the time, Magic was in dire financial straits and always in danger of returning to the NELSAP roles (it was closed from 1996-2000) but I was (still am) in love with the terrain and people that frequented the area. We found a FSBO with a view of the ski area. It was a Lindal cedar post and beam and was finished inside in T&G clear pine. 8 minute walk to the lifts. I was in love. Called the guy that night and closed 2 weeks later. 1,300sf, 3br, 2ba home that needed some updating but was turnkey. And the price was right because the previous owner was convinced that the ski area was going to close again. It didn't....

That was 12 years ago. While I was still working, we spent virtually every weekend here. It was 80 minutes from our house in Saratoga Springs. Then, we moved to Burlington and the commute was now 2+20 but still manageable and we spent every weekend here. I retired 3 years ago. My full-time house is now in NH and is only 70 minutes from the Magic house. We spend Easter to Thanksgiving on a lake in NH and Thanksgiving to Easter at the base of the best ski area in SoVT.

Both places are so awesome that I don't look at the upkeep as a burden at all. While many working stiffs think they will ski every day when they retire, I can tell you that there are many days you do not want to be out there. So I do little jobs on those day and the place just keeps humming along. My summer days are filled with cycling, kayaking, sailing, swimming, hiking and I still have plenty of time for upkeep. I come over to Vermont once a week to check in with our neighbors and mow the lawn.

We've never considered renting out any of our places. We're fortunate that we don't have to. Like most other places, our VT community hates STRs and we have a neighbor that we've never seen (they bought the house sight unseen during COVID) that rents out their house every weekend to what seem to be frat reunions. They leave food and trash everywhere that the bears love but not the human residents. And they're loud. All night.

The key for us has been easy accessibility. If it's a burden to get to, you won't use it as much and then it starts to feel like an anchor.

We were fortunate in that we didn't have to get a mortgage to buy it so there's really very little financial consideration. Our town actually used to give 2nd homeowners a break on school taxes since we weren't using the school but the STR issue has changed that. Our taxes went up significantly this year but are still reasonable (I used to live in NY so they seem very reasonable to me).

My kids all stopped skiing when they went to college (I went to college to ski...) so they don't come visit too often. But someday, it will be theirs and my guess is, they'll sell it immediately since they didn't spend much time here. They have no connection but we have lifelong friends in our immediate neighbors and really feel as, or more, comfortable here as in our main home.

View from our deck in VT


View from our deck in NH (dock had to come out early this year)


I am one lucky SOB.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

I guess it all depends on where you live, where the second place is and how you came about the place.

My partner has a cabin at Lake Wenatchee and I live in Wenatchee. Her cabin was built by her great grandfather in 1925. It had a remodel in the mid 50s. It’s 18x16 with a great fireplace, nice pine paneling and mid century fixtures. It’s seasonally dry and is not insulated. It’s got basic plumbing for summer, kitchen and bathroom sinks and a toilet. The toilet is served by a two ring system. In addition there’s an outhouse. There’s not a lot of maintenance other than yearly brushing and that’s only a couple days work.

Between our main residence and the cabin we don’t really feel the need to travel. The cabin is 45 minutes away. It is something we do and we have plans to do some more in retirement. Because of where we live and the things we like to do I sometimes feel guilty leaving here.




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[singlesline]

Between our main residence and the cabin we don’t really feel the need to travel. The cabin is 45 minutes away. It is something we do and we have plans to do some more in retirement. Because of where we live and the things we like to do I sometimes feel guilty leaving here.

It certainly does come at the expense of other travel.

My family travel as a kid was basically:
Summer: go to the cottage
Christmas: visit the out of town grandparents every other year or so
Winter/Spring Break: ski trips

There were no big national parks road trips and I've still never seen the Grand Canyon. We did Disney World once and went to Denmark (overlapping with a relative's wedding)...but that's about all I can remember doing as a full family.

I don't regret it though. Loved every minute of it. Have gotten to do plenty of my own travel since then which I probably appreciated more.

[skaredshtles]

<snip> I've still never seen the Grand Canyon.

Wife and I are leaving this afternoon for a backpacking trip into the Big Ditch. You should do yourself a favor and get yer ass down there to see it. It's simply spectacular.

[Grange]

My parents bought land and we built the cottage on it when I was a kid. We had the hole dug and a basic driveway installed and we did everything else ourselves from pouring the footings to putting on the roof. The only other thing we didn't do was the plumbing and septic system since that had to be done by a licensed plumbing contractor.

I spent most of my summer between 8th and 9th grade up north getting the cottage to the point where it was fully enclosed and had the fireplace ready for heat. Over the next several years we continually worked on finishing the cottage as funds came available. When the place was finally finished 100% we started adding some extras like a wrap around deck. We also built a large garage.

I think this was the only way my parents could have afforded to have a second home and not be in debt. It certainly helped that my father was a journeyman cement mason and journeyman carpenter and their best friend was a electrician, but I still consider this quite a feet considering my father's laborers were three kids under 15 and a wife that had no construction experience. Setting the rafter's and trusses ourselves with no crane is a memory I won't forget.

My folks have now moved up there permanently since their retirement, put on a big addition, and updated the original place significantly.

This place is very special to me and as much as I enjoy going on vacation to places like Europe and Alaska some of my best vacations have been spending a week at the cottage with my dogs chasing birds in the fall. I am planning on financial aspects of keeping this place and the maintenance costs.

[frorider]

As a Gen Xer with most of my friends in their 30s and 40s, I’ve seen a generational change in attitude on this topic. Warning: anecdata ahead

When I was a 22 yr old dirtbag, the idea/dream of a small vacation home with a ski resort and mtb/bc skiing options was very appealing. In fact I remember half-heartedly condo shopping in Mammoth in my 30s when that shit was affordable & HOA fees weren’t insane.

But it’s a different world. You may have heard of Ikon passes, climate change, wildfires etc. Nowadays it seems a 30 yr old with a decent job prioritizes getting a decent all-season van or camper so they can travel to where the skiing or biking is good. Snow forecast apps, wildfire smoke predictions, a network of friends in BC or UT or wherever seems to be the norm. And a Starlink.

But maybe The lake cottage or ski resort A-Frame dream is relevant to a 30 yr old planning to have kids. Seems (to me) that having a fixed vacation/weekend location is nice if you have all the crap you need already there. Even if it’s raining on a 2 ft base.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Second/Vacation Homes

It certainly does come at the expense of other travel.

My family travel as a kid was basically:
Summer: go to the cottage
Christmas: visit the out of town grandparents every other year or so
Winter/Spring Break: ski trips

There were no big national parks road trips and I've still never seen the Grand Canyon. We did Disney World once and went to Denmark (overlapping with a relative's wedding)...but that's about all I can remember doing as a full family.

I don't regret it though. Loved every minute of it. Have gotten to do plenty of my own travel since then which I probably appreciated more.

Don’t get me wrong about travel, I love seeing new places. It’s just that where we live there is a lifetime of outdoor exploration to be had. Ski touring, lift served skiing, hiking, backpacking, climbing, white water, all types of cycling. Alpine, montane and desert all less than an hour away. Between the house in town and the cabin we can find novel outdoor experiences with little to no driving.

If I had to travel a long ways to get to the cabin and get to where I want to recreate I wouldn’t want a second place. I would probably travel to more exotic locations.

I love the simplicity of a real cabin not some mini mansion with all the luxuries. It’s a big step up from car camping but is quite comfortable.


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[Name Redacted]

I think a tiny home w/ AC in the desert would suffice for me, my wife and dog. No yard to take care of. Definitely a shed or garage though. Almost bought a townhome in Moab a while back but changed our minds.

Honestly, having a camper is far better for what I want to do though.