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October 2011 Moms
Elsa1984
member
NBR: 2nd home nonclicky
Elsa1984
member
SO and I are on the market for a 2nd home. We have always wanted to get a home by the lake where we spend a lot of time in the summer and had been saving for one. Recently an opportunity came up to purchase a home in a completely different area with a completely different feel. I am very indecisive when it comes to big purchases. SO is now pushing for the "Sound House" even though we had even saving for the "Lake House". We haven't told hardly anyone we were looking, so I can't get opinions from IRL people. And since you ladies may have reasoning for choosing one over another that I may not have thought about, I figured I would ask on here. I never thought I would have another option, we just always wanted a lake house and that's what we had focused on and saved money towards. I had my heart set on it.
"Lake House"
Pros....New construction. 3bd 2bth. Grass yard. Open layout design. Use our current boat. Warmer climate. Same price as "Sound House". Small neighborhood, only two other houses. Move in ready. I am a warm climate person. In an area where family members don't go, so they wouldn't be asking to stay all of the time.
Cons....Yard Mantainance. Still 30min from lake. A 3hr drive to house. Used mostly for 5 months out of the year.
"Sound House"
Pros.....Buying from family, who is offering discount. 3bd 2bth. Gated community, so don't have to worry as much about people breaking in. A 2.5hr drive. Used all year. Community center in neighborhood with pool. Two minute walk to beach area/water.
Cons.....Colder climate. Not open layout, so feels smaller. Would need some updating, so we couldn't move in right away. Most likely wouldn't bring current boat up there, and instead would purchase my gpa's fishing boat. Due to it being closer to some family members, I am anticipating there are a few that will assume they have free access to it all of the time....SIL is one of them.
Which would you choose?
"Lake House"
Pros....New construction. 3bd 2bth. Grass yard. Open layout design. Use our current boat. Warmer climate. Same price as "Sound House". Small neighborhood, only two other houses. Move in ready. I am a warm climate person. In an area where family members don't go, so they wouldn't be asking to stay all of the time.
Cons....Yard Mantainance. Still 30min from lake. A 3hr drive to house. Used mostly for 5 months out of the year.
"Sound House"
Pros.....Buying from family, who is offering discount. 3bd 2bth. Gated community, so don't have to worry as much about people breaking in. A 2.5hr drive. Used all year. Community center in neighborhood with pool. Two minute walk to beach area/water.
Cons.....Colder climate. Not open layout, so feels smaller. Would need some updating, so we couldn't move in right away. Most likely wouldn't bring current boat up there, and instead would purchase my gpa's fishing boat. Due to it being closer to some family members, I am anticipating there are a few that will assume they have free access to it all of the time....SIL is one of them.
Which would you choose?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: NBR: 2nd home nonclicky
Our house in FL the security who run the gate also drive through the neighborhood and call the residents if something looks not right or there is any damage to the house. The HOA also covers all yard maintenance (they also paint the house annually). If the gated community offers that then I would definitely go that route. The simplest thing for family members is to just not give them a key and get used to saying no. Even if the other place is less likely for them to go they will still ask. I also like having the community center and pool.
If one area is a warmer climate why wouldn't you use it year round? If you bought the sound house would you sell your current boat or have to pay to keep it docked somewhere? Do you like your grandfathers boat?
Burned by the Bear
It's in a warmer climate but still not WARM warm. It hits about 80 in May and goes up to about 100 in July/August and is down to 70's by Oct. Since our main reason for being out there is boating, those would be the main months we would be there. We really could use it the rest of the year, we would just have to be able to drive thru the mountain pass/snow during fall/winter. There is really nothing to do in the area if you are there in any other season other than summer.
We would not sell our current boat. It would just stay in the garage, like it currently is, and be taken out when we go camping/boating. I don't mind my gpa's boat, it is a fishing boat and the Sound House is fishing territory. We have a wakeboard boat with a no fishing rule in it due to the carpet not being removable....and we don't want fish smell in it. So our current one would stay at our house as a camping/wakeboarding boat...like it is now. And my gpa's basic fishing boat would stay at the Sound House as a fishing/claming/crabbing boat. It would stay in the garage there when not in use.
Yes we are keeping our current home, this would be a vacation home.
What's the resale potential on them? Not that you're planning it to be a temporary thing but if you needed to cash out or upgrade would one put you in a better position?
The Sound House. We will be buying below market since SO's uncle wants it to stay in the family. It is on an island and easy to turn into a rental property...his uncle has had it rented out for the past 10 years. The Lake House would be harder to rent out or sell if need be.
That is a really good point. I hadn't even thought about resale potential!
We are actually 10min from the river but it is so choppy you really cannot enjoy it. So we hit the lakes. If its a "quick" trip after work, it's a 1hr drive to the lake. If we are going for a three day weekend or a week, one lake we visit is 2.5hrs away, the other is 3.5hrs away. If we got the Sound House, we would still be using our current boat a lot between May and August, on the lakes we currently go to. So those summer trips will still stay the same.
Did you ever regret getting a second home?!
Look at recent sales in the neighborhood... See if you have a friend in real estate who wouldn't mind pulling comps from the past year or so, just to get an idea of whether the neighbor is on an up or downturn.
Look realistically at cost for YOU to travel there, utility costs, maintenance costs, plus costs for necessary updating and renovations. Property taxes, HOA fees... Basically, how much is this house going to cost you per month the first year, second year, etc.
BFP 1/18/11, EDD 10/1/11. Born at 37w5d on 9/15/11.
***BFP Chart***
"There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning.
Nope, but I also don't pay for it (either of them) lol. In all seriousness though,my mom and I LOVE real estate and had a ton of fun shopping for the house. It took them a couple years to decide on a place. We stayed in several different neighborhoods down there to get a real feel of what it would be like to be down there for an extended period in that specific location. Even if you were buying from family I would get a home inspection and involve a real estate professional or someone to work the deal out and be sure neither of you are getting screwed. We don't rent out our vacation houses, they are for the family only so it's not really an investment in that sense. But I know if either of them needed to be sold they both could be gone quickly and at a profit.
ETA: We have the FL house but we also have a house at the beach in our home state which is only useable as an actual beach about 3 months out of the year. We love going down in the off season and going to some of the restaurants that stay open and relaxing because there is nothing to do.