Winter Rental in Plymouth - Would you do it? (Boston: oceanfront, rentals)

[nomadlifestyle]

As my husband is working remotely for his company for a few months, we thought maybe we could do a short term rental in Plymouth for about 3 months since we don't really know where the actual office will open yet.

Naturally it is the off season since it will be winter. We have 3 young kids...would it get too cold?

We saw a nice place along Seaview Dr. Anyone knows anything about it? Oceanfront during the winter just does not sound like a good idea but it will really cut costs renting there, esp with the house being fully furnished

Any help is appreciated

[beachlady58]

I would do this in a heart beat - I love Plymouth and the winter can be mild here. Where are you coming from? If you are coming from FLA then it will not be so mild but inland MA gets way more snow than we do. Marshfield and Duxbury also have some cheap summer rentals in the winter.

[nomadlifestyle]

woo hoo! good to know...we are actually coming from NJ...so it may not be too bad at all for us

Do you have to know the street I mentioned? Is it safe? I read in another post that north plymouth is better and that there are some seedy areas in parts of Plymouth.

The whole area really sounds wonderful. I wonder if we might make it more permanent after doing a winter rental We've been looking around the Natick, Needham area for a longer term rental

Have not looked at Marshfield and Duxbury...will look now

Thanks!!!

[CaseyB]

Is this a summer home that is being rented? If so, you'd want to make sure that it's been well insulated and is otherwise suited for the colder weather. If that's the case - then go for it.

[Kat311]

Hi. I am also looking for a winter rental in the Marshfield area. Do you know of good websites to find them? There are SO many, and I don't know where to start. Many of them advertise for summer rentals, but not winter.

[lrfox]

I'd check Craigslist. The South of Boston section should have some. Also check the Cape Cod section as people may post there instead.

Contact those summer rental places too. See if they offer a winter rental rate. I'd imagine that even if they don't advertise it, some may be willing to work with you. An email can't hurt, anyway.

[capecodcathy]

I've done a winter rental on the Cape some time ago and learned the hard way about the winterization issue, as CaseyB said. While I did ask the question, and received a "yes, it's insulated", I found that only the second floor (an addition) could truly be considered insulated. And there was no basement, only a fairly open crawl space and the first floor floors were freezing, especially when the wind was coming off the water at full-tilt boogie.
It cost me a fortune to heat.

[NewfieMama]

I think winter rentals are a great idea--you can usually rent a really nice home for a very reasonable price. But as everybody has said, you have to be careful of the heating bill. ESPECIALLY if it's oceanfront.

DH and I rented a beautiful home in Scituate the first year we moved to Boston. Like CapeCodCathy, we asked if it was insulated and the owners said yes. But still, it was an older home with some drafty windows. Our heating bill was around $600/month that winter...but we did have an unusually high number of nor'easters. Our home was a block from the water, so it could have been worse. And besides, our current house is an antique, ISN'T on the water and is more expensive to heat.

Anyway, my point is that I think winter rentals are a great deal, but don't be afraid to ask about the average heating cost in the winter because it can be really high.

[lrfox]

^The last two posters bring up excellent points.

I rented a waterfront home in Maine (old orchard beach) during the winter months while I was in college. The good news is that we were on the second floor (heat rises) and heat was included in the rent. I'd imagine it would have cost a fortune without that. Still, it was plenty comfortable.

[bigfatturkey]

as i travel quite abit....i'm almost always on winter rentals. and i've been living directly on the water (south coast MA) for the last 2 years. winter rentals work great for me 'cos i'm able to rent great houses for quite little money and the rentals are usually fully furnished (i don't have any furniture of my own).

i've found one winter rental that i've grown to love a lot....and have struck a deal with my landlord to leave my belongings in the basement when i vacate the house during summer (my landlord would use the house in summer) and that really saved me a great deal of trouble/$ moving my stuffs out and then back in again when i move back after summer.

as long as the winter rentals are tight and well insulated...being on the water won't necessarily mean higher heating bills. the last time i was renting an old house away from the water....my utility bills were like 3 times of what i'm paying for my waterfront rental now...all 'cos of inefficient heating system, old drafty windows/doors.

my current heating bills in a 3-bedroom house (2 storey, 1500ish-sqft) right on the water never exceeds $180 even in the coldest months.