How many of you have second homes? (move, community, state)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We're four years into the second-home thing, a condo for snowbirding on the gulf coast so we can avoid Midwestern winters. We're in a great complex, glad to pay the HOA fees, the sweetest sound in all of nature is somebody else mowing the lawn. Up north we relocated into a neighborhood association that takes care of lawn care and snow removal.
We found out you can pay money and have less hassle, and that is the way we want it. No regrets, we love each home for different reasons.
And if we ever need to choose between them (like for health or financial reasons or whatever) the experience of owning two will have given us the perspective and experience to choose the right one.
I did have a second home, it was a condo in florida. But, later we got two dogs and dogs aren't allowed there. The rules changed.
Now, we still have two dogs but, I am thinking I'd like to get a second home in Florida.
Just a small winter place, with a picket fence.
That sounds just fine by me. I love to decorate so that would be fun, and I'd love winters in Florida.
My wife and I are both native Texans. When this year started we owned three houses, e.g., one small farm in west Texas, one house in a small west Texas town and one city home at Albuquerque. We had rented the small town Texas house for the past few years until a few months ago when we encountered some really bad renters who nearly destroyed the property. After much back-breaking work restoring the property, we sold the rent house and converted its rental income to mortgage income.
I have been retired to our west Texas farm for the past few years taking care of it as well as the rental house but my wife still lives at our Albuquerque home. We've been stuck in that sorry situation for a few years now what with the poor job situation and lowered real estate prices. We hope now to sell the New Mexico home in the next year or so and both retire to our Texas farm mortgage free.
Short story. If your family means anything to you, never allow jobs and real estate to stretch your family beyond bounds where daily visits become impossible.
I inherited a mortgage and the house came with it. It is a beautiful little home on a beautiful corner lot and I will never live there. As far as I am concerned, it is in one of the worst towns in America with an unemployment rate of about 22 percent. There is absolutely nothing there except a large and very good hospital, every pharmacy, auto parts stores, loan companies, strip joints, and a Walmart. Taxes and insurance are outrageous. I only keep the house because DH loves it.
Yes, my wife and I own a few properties in different countries and we very much enjoy them. We spend time in several of them throughout the year and when we aren't using them we rent them out via vacation rentals so they more than pay for their expenses throughout the year. (In fact, we make money on all of them).
I don't think it's for everyone but absolutely it can be nice. One thing that has been EXTREMELY beneficial is in all of the places that we own 2nd homes, we have family (or at least VERY close friends) there that manages the properties and pays the bills. I don't think I could ever own a 2nd home in a place where I didn't have family/friends that would personally manage them.
But we really enjoy it. Also, don't discount using websites like www.homeexchange.com We also parlay these 2nd homes into doing home exchanges. My wife will never allow me to use our personal primary house for a home exchange but we use many weeks each year and trade for amazing properties around the world. I'd highly encourage home exchanges for people that love traveling.
I would love to own a second home in England but it's not gonna happen--airfare to the UK has become extremely expensive and their home prices are costly.
My parents (Greatest generation) and sibs and friends had two homes and I wouldn't want those problems. The ones with the condos did the best because there were no worries about getting the house looked after and the lawn mowed while you're away. But then you give up when we (and my parents) like the most---your own yard and garden, the feeling of living in a real house. The people who owned houses in the south had it the worst: coming back to find that the paid caretaker hadn't done his job, or the a/c had gone off and the house was moldy, or (in one case) a squirrel had died in the chimney).
I'm the type of person who would be better off just renting a place for a month in the winter and not bothering about it the rest of the year. We are in New England and right on the ocean so it's great except in winter.
I would love to own a second home in England but it's not gonna happen--airfare to the UK has become extremely expensive and their home prices are costly.
My parents (Greatest generation) and sibs and friends had two homes and I wouldn't want those problems. The ones with the condos did the best because there were no worries about getting the house looked after and the lawn mowed while you're away. But then you give up when we (and my parents) like the most---your own yard and garden, the feeling of living in a real house. The people who owned houses in the south had it the worst: coming back to find that the paid caretaker hadn't done his job, or the a/c had gone off and the house was moldy, or (in one case) a squirrel had died in the chimney).
I'm the type of person who would be better off just renting a place for a month in the winter and not bothering about it the rest of the year. We are in New England and right on the ocean so it's great except in winter.
Absolutely I agree with you. Real estate in the UK is insanely expensive, especially when you factor in the exchange rate conversions with our dollar. London and Paris are two of our favorite cities in the world. We absolutely LOVE them.
Due to the cost of real estate there and high expenses we would never think about buying there. But this is where home exchanges come in handy. They are WONDERFUL. We spent a few weeks in London 2 years ago and we spent a full month in Paris last year. On home exchanges. Our apartment in Paris that we had was in the 7th Arr. just a few blocks from Invalides. Amazing!
I know it's not for everyone but I can't tell you how wonderful of experiences we've had with home exchanges over the years. We've been on over 40 home exchanges over the past several years all around the world and they are hard to beat. Not only because you don't spend a penny on accommodations but also because you "live like a local".
In_NewEngland, most people are better off just renting off of VRBO, Homeaway, AirBnb, Flipkey, etc. vs. buying a second home. Unless you have family that can manage it, that typically is the MUCH better option. Owning property far away can be a nightmare if you don't have someone 100% reliable and dependable and honest to watch over it.
Absolutely I agree with you. Real estate in the UK is insanely expensive, especially when you factor in the exchange rate conversions with our dollar. London and Paris are two of our favorite cities in the world. We absolutely LOVE them.
Due to the cost of real estate there and high expenses we would never think about buying there. But this is where home exchanges come in handy. They are WONDERFUL. We spent a few weeks in London 2 years ago and we spent a full month in Paris last year. On home exchanges. Our apartment in Paris that we had was in the 7th Arr. just a few blocks from Invalides. Amazing!
I know it's not for everyone but I can't tell you how wonderful of experiences we've had with home exchanges over the years. We've been on over 40 home exchanges over the past several years all around the world and they are hard to beat. Not only because you don't spend a penny on accommodations but also because you "live like a local".
In_NewEngland, most people are better off just renting off of VRBO, Homeaway, AirBnb, Flipkey, etc. vs. buying a second home. Unless you have family that can manage it, that typically is the MUCH better option. Owning property far away can be a nightmare if you don't have someone 100% reliable and dependable and honest to watch over it.
I would love to do exchanges like that, especially in the UK. I've been lucky to have relatives over there to stay with for a few days at a time but people do get old.....and at this point I think we might be imposing on some of my older relatives and even the younger ones who have downsized and have no space.
The other thing about owning two places was, in my parents' case, when one of them was in their final illness, the second house went unoccupied. They never went back. It was kind of sad and kind of a waste and you just never know when that final illness will come. What happens to the second house in the meantime? I don't mean to get anyone depressed but I'm all for ONE good house and leave the options open to rent whenever and wherever you want because things can change.
Location: Prescott Valley,az summer/east valley Az winter
2,061 posts, read 4,140,499 times
Reputation: 8190
yes I have two homes. Have a mobile home in a 55+ park here in Colorado springs where I have wonderful neighbors and many things to do in the summer when it nice here. When they start talking of snow and windy cold weather I'm more than ready to get back to my home in Mesa ,az. Live in a great home in a 55+ park with a golf course within our guarded community. OOOOPS! missed out on that 110+ temps and the haboobs, get to enjoy that 65-80 degree weather all winter? long. My first electric bill of the season always has a statement that the electric bill will be smaller because they are going to winter rates because people are turning the A/C's off for the winter. I'm where they grow all the stuff you guys are buying all year round. Lettuce at about 3/$ etc. a lot of activities with a lot of my friends. Would I change? Probably not~ been doing this for a lot of years, although I have changed homes on both ends. Moved my summer home 5 years ago from Iowa to Colorado and love it~ bought a new home in Az about three years ago at the very bottom of the bust and am extremely happy to change from a 400 sqft trailer to a three bedroom house with a view of the mts from my living room. Just why would I want to stay where it snows or why would I wish to endure 3-4 months of 110+ degree heat?
2 homes here, one for nice cooler summer weather, one for nice warm winter weather.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
