I live in my Mom and Dads Vacation home. They moved up here in 1978, and left me alone in Metro Detriot @ 20 yo.

Being part of the Great White Flight, I had my boat in the water in front of our canal home off Lake St Clair for 8 years.

I moved here in 2006 to take care of the snow, I moved back to the jungle in the spring and came back for good in 2007

Dad died May '08, Mom went crazy with Dementia's, and passed in Dec 2018.

At almost 63, there isn't much reason to leave.

6 1/4 acres, National Forest close, like 1500', lake 2000' away.

I went Eastbound and down for my Godfather's viewing last month.

I could not get out of the Clinton Twp  area fast enough.

I smelled the Devils Lettuce all the time when I was driving, folks are driving stoned all over.

It's not much better here, except there are not as many vehicles on the road.

I really doubt any BLM / Antifa crap will happen here. In Grand Rapids it did though.

I enjoy mine.  It's 3 1/2 hours from home.  I never found that excessive for a weekend trip, but I guess that varies from person to person.

I don't have kids either though.  I can see where kids being in sports/activities would make it hard to use the place.

It is a pretty big money drain.  Just for the sake of argument say it's a small place worth $150k.  I spend about $7k-$8k a year in taxes, insurance, upkeep and utilities assuming I have no major repairs like a roof or whatever.  Add to that $50 in gas every time I go there and back, plus mileage on the vehicle.  On top of that the $150k invested in the house is maybe returning inflation, but if I invested that in blue chip stocks I'd make $3k-$4k in dividends plus appreciation.  So the opportunity cost is probably $10-$12k a year.  If all you want is a few getaways a year you can do a lot of AirBnB'ing for half that cost.

But I have a large pool of friends that go to the same place, and you can't replace time you spend with people you like.  I go at least 20 weekends a year, and I take my dogs, and if I have a day off there is no screwing around I just take off and go.

We have 2. The first is a 3-bedroom waterfront condo on a lake that we use every weekend that we possibly can. The second is a 1-bedroom in the same complex, also waterfront. It's being used as a rental right now, but will eventually be my base of operations (I'll be doing lots of traveling) once I retire. I got a great deal on it at a time when prices were going through the roof and I had cash that I wanted to park somewhere stable for when the inflation hit. If you have the money, go for it.
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I can in certain circumstances suck as:
-having one near kids/grandkids.
-hobbies centered around a location away from home/work. For example I have a boat and two of the better destinations are too far away or too expensive for a lot of short trips. But not if lodging was already paid for or an investment. Lake house/beach house kinda thing. Or hunters who hunt the same area several weeks a year.

But generally I’m in the same boat. I want to experience different places not the same one over and over.

While I was off in the service, Dad inherited his uncles place 2 hours outside of Seattle in the mountains. It was in town - the town the TV series Northern Exposure was filmed in. Myself, my youngest brother, and a couple of my cousins on that side mostly used it as a home base to get away to the dry side for fishing, hunting and snowmobiling.

It was a small place and it always needed something. Dad sold it off in the mid 90's and bought a fifth wheel. He offered it to me at a fair price and I passed on it. My wife and I preferred to travel. Vacation houses can be nice if they're close enough, but it gets old.

I've recently purchased a property where I plan to build a 2nd home.

In my case it makes sense because:

1. The property is a little over an hour away
2. I love being in the mountains, but we have to maintain a house in the city because of work and school
3. I will be able to use Starlink and work out there. Potentially turn every weekend into a long weekend, or at least break up my weeks
4. The roads to the property are maintained, so I can use it year-round.

I think the key to it is accessibility and affordability. When I was growing up, my parents had a similar type of weekend place, and we went almost every weekend because it was only an hour away.

People I knew who had places near ours who lived further away almost never made the trip. I agree with others that 2 hours is the max.

I own a cabin in Broken Bow Oklahoma.

I literally make money while I sleep. Everything is automated from bookings, guest messages being answered, scheduling cleaning crews.

Automation is key if you are going to do it as an STR/SH.

Maintenance intense, gets old pretty quick, other people may use while you're away, is your money OP.

I think they work for people who don't like to travel.  My parent's are looking at one on the coast not far from where they live.  It would eventually become their primary residence when they retire someday soon.

I know more than one person who has one and constantly complains that they don't travel anymore because they have their play money wrapped up in their vacation home.

I have one on the NC coast.  It was our vacation spot for years.  I was able to buy just about 2 years ago, and paid slightly more than it sold for in 2006.  Since then, as you know prices have exploded, so that's nice.

I rented it out the past 2 summers and that has paid for improvements that were needed, but have decided not to rent anymore.  I managed to find a local who did some work for me, and ended up us becoming great friends and going fishing a lot when I'm down.  He has no problem checking my place out for me.  That is a huge help.

It's a 13 hour drive, so kinda sucky, but not that bad.  I try to spend about 10 days a month there, that has been tough to do lately because work is so busy.


My primary home is paid off so this really isn't a huge stretch financially. All in all, I love it.

Eta. My back yard

@Paul

Preach on brother, being able to leave it all behind was the main key to actually enjoying our vacations.  No more worries about the place while we are gone, no extra mortgage or property taxes.  Most importantly, I get time back that's not spent dealing with the hassles of owning another home.

I might have thought differently about it when I was in my 20's and 30's but I couldn't afford it back then but now in my early 50's I want to get as much time back as I can and spend it on more important things and be able to vacation anywhere we want without being tied down.

My parents used to have a lake house years ago.  It was great, but after a few years my parents got tired of spending half of every weekend just mowing, painting, maintainint, etc, etc all the time.  

Two houses equals twice the headaches.

we had a cabin in a resort town for a bunch of years when I was in junior HS. lots of upkeep, and this was Pre-AirBnB so not a lot or rental options that didn't take 25+% which pretty much killed margins. an hour away but there was always something to do. We didn't live there full time so we'd always have to pack up food or grocery shop up there. Then cleaning it when we got there, whatever tasks needed tending to, and cleaning it up to leave. 2x the insurances, 2x taxes, etc. The area didn't appreciate significantly and my mom made my dad sell it when I was getting my driver's license. She didn't want me sneaking girls up there. My dad is still mad for the sale but that's the honest reason they sold for a small profit.

Jokes on them, I was in PA and banging girls in corn fields with no commute


I'm considering a cabin but really leaning towards RV instead. With real estate there's the investment potential, and with an RV you're just spending money. But we like to go different places, and there's a beautiful cabin on an army corps lake 45 minutes from me that's fully stocked and $150 a night. Show up with clothes, get drunk and party and hang out,  leave. Low drama makes it worth while currently.

Originally from Maine and wife has family in Texas.
We bought a townhouse 4 yrs ago in the Montgomery, Tx area in a gated community.
We flew down 3 - 4 times a year to spend a week's vacation.

We both hit retirement age last year (59-1/2) and decided to put the house in Maine up for sale in July due to the insane market.
3 days later, the house was sold.  Got rid of a pile of shit thru market place and yard sales.
Packed a U-Haul and 2 vehicles and moved to Texas last August.  (We had already furnished the townhouse)

Fully retired, house and vehicles paid off with play money to spare.

The original plan was to retire in Texas, someday.
The housing market just bumped it ahead a little  

TBH - buying the 2nd house was a little scary but we both said, fuck it, you only live once. We never did rent the Tx. place out.  I don't like other (unknown) people in my house when I'm not there.

I've got several friends with beach houses they rent and they like them.

My mother-in-law has a small house in a town in Colorado that's fantastic the 2 times of year we make the 13-hour drive but it's too far IMO.

The older I get the more I want something on a nice clean clear river.

My mother in law purchased a house in South Bend, IN with the sole intention of renting it out for Notre Dame sports and events.  She makes a killing during football season and graduation.  

She also just purchased a house on Lake Champlain for the kids that we will use for a week or two during the summer months.  She'll rent it out during the rest of the year.  Even though the area is kinda crappy, the town gets a lot of vacationers due to the lake and near by skiing areas.  

My guess is that you'll spend some money on repairs and remodels, but should make it back quick with rental income.

My wife does not complain about all my motorcycles, guns, ammo or tools. She also works her ass off handling the front end of our business 55 hours a week 52 weeks a year. I do not complain about her beach house.

If you're not going to pay someone for upkeep it's about 50/50 work vacation. A few main factors, will you rent it out? How much time can you really spend there? How far away? Whats your job look like? Can you be remote 2-4-800 miles away for 3 weeks on a whim when a roof leaks?

I look forward to only having one property but unless I change jobs that's unlikely anytime soon. Its not just the property costs, it's double as many coffee makers, fridges, tvs, internet subscriptions, contractors to deal with all that stuff. Then add in if it sits empty a 6 weeks the unexpected. Like ants everywhere. I'm glad I bought because it's way up in value but it's a ton of work.

One other consideration for a vacation I don't want to go to the same place 1000 times. There's a big world out there.

We have a mountain cabin several hours away. Originally owned and renovated by my grandpa it’s been in the family since the 60s.

On paper it makes no sense to own because its a hard day or 2 lengthy days worth of driving away, you really need to take off a good week and a half to enjoy, and we’re lucky if we get up there once a year. It’s also not what I’d consider rentable due to it requiring 4wd, the water situation can be finicky, and for what we’d have to pay someone who’s willing to perform repairs, clean, etc, it makes even less financial sense.

But we keep it because there’s 50 some odd years of nostalgia, almost 40 with me and my brother, and the taxes, lease (ground leased from USFS), and upkeep aren’t that much.

We just spent a week on the coast at a rental and the wife started discussing buying one to rent. My thoughts are that unless you had a good bit of cash and could afford to take a big financial hit you’d just be chasing your tail. This is beach front hurricane prone area. Much of it still trying to recover from Ike when it obliterated the area.

I will gladly rent instead

I have a neighbor who bought a house in Galveston a couple of blocks from the Gulf. He didn't factor in ALL the expenses of owning this place.

He carries two different homeowners policies; one that covers wind damage, and another that covers water. He has break-away walls on his first level (car port) in case tide comes in and destroys everything.

Air conditioning units usually survive approximately 5 years due to salt corrosion; along with all the fixtures in the house.

He has a management company that he uses when renters are in the place. If a renter can't figure out how to use a remote control for television, he must pay the company to show the renter how to boot up the TV.

During the past cold snap in Texas, the pipes in his house burst.

I suspect many vacation home owners are like boat owners; happy when they first buy it and happy when they sell it.

This is why I'm glad I have a condo and not an actual house. I pay the HOA $155/month, but that includes water, trash, groundskeeping, pool maintenance, and insurance for the actual structure. I only pay $500/year for "walls-in" insurance. I only work 4 days/week, so I go down on Thursday after work and come back Sunday night. Just show up, enjoy, then leave. My only maintenance is dishes, laundry, and sweeping the floor. The HOA (I know, "Fuck HOAs") is money well spent.

I used to want a cabin in the woods, so I moved and bought a house in the woods. Then we started talking about a beach condo, but we would not rent it out so we decided no.

Now I am looking at around 40' sailing catamarans to spend a few months a year in the Caribbean when we retire ( 10 years ). The sailboat would be cheaper, and if I dont like the view I can move.  

I have 1 and am working on a second.  A lot depends on your definitions - and my 2 will be using opposite definitions.  The first is 98% investment-a semi luxury beach house.  It is rented at an extremely high price every day of the year if we can manage it.  The few days we use it are technically work days.  That said it should gross margin of over $60k a year before depreciation, taxes, and repairs.  If appreciation works out, depreciation will just be a tax line item.  We are hoping for a annual real income of about $30k plus some future capital gains.  That said, it is a very risky investment.  We will rarely use it ourselves in any season you really want to go to the beach, because the rent it can bring in will pay for us renting anywhere we want to go on the Gulf Coast.  It is over 4hrs from my ranch, but that was the location that had the best rental opportunities with the least investment.  The same house closer to me would have cost 2x as much and would have been harder to keep rented.  It is in a management pool, so I don't have to deal with much upkeep.  All I have to do is not feel pain when they take 20% of the gross rent.

The second is a get away.  It will never be rented, never be luxury, always be as cheap as possible. Right now, I spend about $75 every 2 weeks (and 1/2 day) to drive down to it and mow-I have fished a total of 30 minutes since I purchased it.  It will probably always cost me about $3k a year to keep (and that is just taxes and mowing, and maybe cover electricity when do not use it.  It has one purpose.  When my person shit hits the fan, I will have a place to go fishing.  Initially, the plan is to have an RV hook up, some gravel on the road (the clay is slick as snot when it is wet), and a 12'x12' dock to cast from.  After that, I will probably replace the RV with a conex on stilts.  If it works, I might buy a second spot 2hrs away and start over with RV hook ups-the first spot is river and bay fishing, the second would have vehicle gulf access.  Both are about 90 miles from my ranch.  

One good thing about mowing it myself (it would be cheaper to pay someone to do it)-it forces me to go there every 2 weeks.  I hope eventually that means it will give me an excuse to go fishing every 2 weeks.  That said, the river has been up for 2 months and I still need to pull 2 trees off the water front to have a place to fish from (and put my dock/deck - which is postponed because the trailer I ordered for my tractor has been delayed 7 months due to covid).  I need to get the tractor there to pull the trees and dig the holes for the deck footings.

My in laws have a house in town and a beach house.  Beach house is about 15 minutes away.  Rent it out a lot.  She blocks out certain weeks of the year for the family.  Seems to work for them.  Makes pretty good money, though I don’t know what property tax on a house on the beach is.  When my in laws move to the afterlife, that house is gonna be a shit show for my wife and her brothers and sister.  I’m betting her little brother is gonna want to be bought out at an exorbitant a mount of money. Gonna tell my wife to tell him,  if he thinks he can get that amount of money for his share, to buy us out at that price. And if the others bought him out, he’d would still bring his family there, eat all the food, drive all the gas out of the boat,  and not pay a fucking dime.  Fuck him for being poor.  I’m staying FAR away.  I told my wife we would pay a reasonable amount to buy him out, but we are not gonna be fucked. I love it there.

I really want to buy a cabin. I go to public use ones all the time but would like one I can call my own.

Not sure id call it a home since I don’t want it to have running water or electricity. But finding one that is out there enough to please me, not too far of a driving distance away, but not so far “out there” it is hard to get to.

Found one in Homer I would love but at 583 miles from my house I’d likely only see it once or twice a year.

Found another one that’s in the perfect area and on a lake but it’s across a river then another 5 miles so would have to boat an atv across the river which would make getting to on a Friday night a little more ass pain than I’d like.

FWIW, I’m seriously considering a third home, right near where I am at now, strictly for the purposes of investment.

But right now, the market is retarded. I’m going to kick back, enjoy the beach and wait for a downturn. When the correction happens, I will scoop one up, and aside from a somewhat painful 20% down pay,ent, laugh all the way to the bank.

You should put this in the IL hometown forum. You’ll get plenty of replies, because everyone in IL has a vacation home in WI.

I have a condo in fort Myers. I stay there the good winter months and rent it out the other months. It pays for itself and then some

As mentioned above, we're selling our weekend/vacation place.  We will stick the proceeds from the sale into a separate investment account.    We plan on pulling out 5% - 7% per year, to add to our vacation (and hunting trip) fund. When we include the money we used to spend on taxes, insurance, and utilities, it will allow us to up our vacation game significantly.

We (three couples) have discussed this.  It would have to be managed and rented out about 90% of the year, I might give extended family a small discount, but for some of the nicer homes we've stayed in (like Saint John, USVI), you really need to maximize occupancy.  

The house we stayed in earlier this month was fabulous (if not a little crazy 4WD to get to).  You need a good management company, but we calculated that if we could keep it rented three weeks out of every month, it could double the mortgage with a solid escrow account.

It's a risky investment unless you have the capital to outright purchase a few and keep them well maintained and advertised for AirBnB-type renting (there are better companies out there).

I'm personally gun-shy as our current home has been a money pit.  Good bones, but that's been it since we've been in it...I don't want to deal with another home, even if just a vacation home right now.  Home at the beach or on an island?  Investment property.  Small cabin the wood in a remote location?  SHTF-investment property

ROCK6

Those of you who have a vacation home as a rental property... if you want the tax breaks for an investment, you have to track your stays there, and keep it under a threshold.

How do you do this, and how do they KNOW how often you are there? Is it just on the honor system? If you're in danger of going over the threshold, do you just, ahem, rent a room in the cheapest fleabag hotel nearby?

If you're down there to maintain and/or improve the property, do you count that towards your "stays"?

A few stories from a client who has a $10 million beach house.

Street flooding caused a deck drain to back up, turned (semi below grade deck) to turn into a pool. Said deck leaked into the house, flooding the two lower floors including the basketball court and theater.
7 figures worth of damage in the blink of an eye. It was compounded by the fact that nobody was there, giving it time to fester.

A homeless person took up residence in their outdoor living room. He was only discovered when their next door neighbor moved in to their house and caught him walking through their property to get there.

The owner basically spends about 3 weeks a year in normal times. With China virus they have basically not set foot in the place in a year and a half.

get ready because once you buy one, everyone you know is gonna try and stay at the vacation home.

You also need to keep an eye on women trying to poach you from your wife, because when they see you own two homes they want to live that lifestyle

If it’s too far you won’t use it enough.  If you don’t plan to get income on it you should make sure it’s a place you really like or the place you eventually want to retire to etc..

Our ranch place has worked great.  Big increase in land value, close enough that we use it frequently, upkeep/maintenance are things I like doing, and it will probably be a retirement location or we will sell it to fund one.

My parents have one.  They live 460 mi from it, but both retired and they go there 2-3x a year for 3-4weeks at a time.  Its a "cabin".  Really a mountain house in a nice area in the middle of AZ.  Both my sister and I live about 100mi from it and use it on weekends.  We will also go up there to do things to/with the cabin if our parents need.

They freaking love it!

Mines paid for. 6k taxes 1.5k Insurance. Utilities, etc. 10-12k a year for a place on the water.
It'd cost me half that to slip my boat at a marina.

@midcap do you post shit like this in every thread? I'm pretty sure yesterday you claimed me having a golf cart would open me up to a world of swingers... .

We bought some mountain property near Winter Park, CO back in 2017. Last month we’ve hired an architect and builder and have started the ball rolling. Builder has us slotted for a ‘23-‘24 build.

As of today he is quoting $450-$500/sqft

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When we lived outside Philadelphia, we also had a place in the mountains about 2.5 hours away. 42 acres, log home, range on site, neighbor with a 4 acre pond I was welcome to use any time.  Basically got up there just about every weekend and at least 1 full week a month. I can work anywhere that has an internet connection.  I used to hold quarterly campouts/shoots on the property (for about 5 years). Actually met a lot of ARF folks that way.

We sold it after making more than we paid for the property in OGM leases.  The main reason it was sold was that my wife hated the fact it didn't have any sort of view and only got sunlight a couple hours a day (3 acres cleared, the rest almost all fairly old growth pine/hemlock that blocked any sort of view).

Current home (and likely our last; we're both 63) is a two acre property on a 40 acre private lake on the Cumberland plateau. There are about 30 houses on the lake and no available lots. 2/3rds of the houses are peoples' vacation/summer homes. There are 6 houses on our little peninsula in the lake, only two are full time residents.

There is a huge shooting sports facility with everything from 5 stand to a 1000 yard range with electronic target 15 minutes away. I get out fishing almost everyday on the lake.

As my wife tells me all the time "we live in our vacation home."

Just because I post it doesn't mean it's not true.

I just want people to know all the angles. I have wealthy clients and the shit they tell you is amazing.

And no, not having a golf cart is going to open you up to a world of swingers....the type of neighbor hood that is golf cart accessible will.

Just look at the big developments in Florida, and then the neighbor hood in my AO.

Buddy of mine is in this predicament.

Bought a lot in the Outer Banks, down in Duck, about five years ago. Been waiting to build, been waiting to build.

Wants to build now, can’t afford to because Covid lumber prices/construction boom/labor costs.

i wouldnt mind getting a 2nd place, but it would have to be a condo where i wouldnt have to worry about the property too much since i wont be there 100% of the time.

I bought some mountain property mostly as an investment and also it has a decent range for machinegun fun.

It came with a 'free puppy' cabin on it.  Just a 1k sqft cabin with 3br and 2 bathrooms.  It mostly costs me time.
-I set it up to totally drain the water system for winterization.
-it leaks, though I am getting them more and more sealed
-it leaks air.  You can literally watch the sun rise through the wall
-it has humidity/mold issues
-freaking skylights!
-we almost had a mouse issue.  

It's fun to shoot off the back porch.
It's fun to drink bourbon and stare into the open woodstove.

The rest of the time it sucks.

We have one on an island in the Columbia river.  It’s a 2.5 hours away, I wish it was 1 hour.  When there we spend 50% of the time cleaning and maintaining and 50% relaxing.  Neighbors are cool although I do have a druggy that lives across the street but he’s in prison most the time.  I’d love to buy his place and clean it up to rent it out.  Since it’s on the river our place would be easy to rent but the wife’s not into it.  We built an oversized garage with a bathroom/laundry room, I always have a project going and keep woodworking tools there.

Same here.  Wife talks about it, but her parents live (where she grew up) in a resort town already, so we don't really have to pay to play.  Makes no sense to buy and drive someplace 2-4 hours away, when they're an hour away.

Our lake cabin is 3.5 hours away, but it's only 20 miles further than where my wife and I grew up so the drive is familiar and easy.  Annoying though because my wife never wants to drive.

I own a house in FL that I rent, but only to people I know.  Its not on a "rental program".  Its rented ~ 10-12 weeks per year and that allows it to cash flow for the year.    
~300yds from the beach.  
We use it 8-10 times per year - sometimes long weekends, sometimes weeks at a time.  
Bought in 2015 for $325k.  The house beside mine just sold for $891k (same floorpan, smaller lot).
~7hrs from where I live in Nashville.  

I just sold a condo in FL that I bought in 2010.
Paid $181k in Oct 2010, sold in Oct 2020 for $508k.  
We never used it (especially after we bought the above house).  Kept it rented 45+ weeks per year, including a winter snowbird.  It cash flowed, but wasnt a money maker until we sold.  
Same area as the above house.

I own a 25ac piece of land that adjoins my parent's farm - ~100miles from where I live with my wife and kids.  I just bought it this spring, primarily because it adjoins my parent's on the side their house is on.
This property is on Greenbelt in TN, so my taxes on 25ac worth ~$175k is $72.  
I also am in the process of building a shop/building on this property and will either finish out an apartment and/or keep my camper in it for when we go down.  

My Dad and I own, together in our trust, 125ac on the opposite side of my parent's farm that we run cattle on.  Small operation, but perfect ground for what we do.

All in, the above properties are negative cash flow for me annually.  BUT, the appreciation, enjoyment, additional revenue they help generate, have helped to move my family into another tier of income.  If you have the opportunity to purchase real estate, you can afford to do so without completely leveraging everything you have, I would always encourage it.

We have a family lake cabin in MN.  It's in the area I grew up, and we have lots of family friends on the same lake.  We're in the process of setting it up to rent out 1 week in June, 1 week in August, and some weeks/weekends in the winter, not looking to make money, but it will cover taxes and insurance.
My brother and I are responsible for all of the maintenance.  We have a spring work weekend and a fall work weekend for leaves, landscaping, paint, putting docks in/out, etc.  
We're usually there 7-10 days in June, 14-15 days in July, and 5-7 days in August & September each.  Usually 4-5 days around christmas/new years, & random weekends throughout fall and winter.  
We have family christmas there.  Big get-togethers with friends and family on the summer holidays.
Some days it's a pain in the ass, and there's always expenses, but I grew up going to a lake cabin for days on end every summer and wanted my kids to experience the same.  The look on my daughters faces at the end of a day of swimming, chasing frogs, catching a big fish, or getting to stay up until dark and make smores is why we do it.

Very useful info, thanks! This is the direction I think I want to go. Cash flow as much as you can, build up your net worth even if you have to pay out of pocket a bit right now.