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 went the route of the 2nd home (actually our 3rd), but we aren't extravagant about it. We have family in all 3 areas, so upkeep is not a big issue. We planned for these homes to be very modest and to pay cash for them. We sleep better at night knowing that should an emergency occur in one area, we have another place to retreat to in comfort.
We also have 6 grandchildren, 3 of whom are already in their teens. Our most fervent wish is that none of them will ever be homeless, and given today's economic and employment conditions, this is a real concern.
Of course, all this is in addition to our regular investments. We are not "real estate poor".
I agree. A 2nd home might be a good investment, one can sell it when the shine wears off, but maybe just letting the dust settle and taking more trips would be the way to go. No wind insurance or upkeep on banked money. 2nd guessing myself here as OP. Enjoying and appreciating the responses. Thanks.
I could buy a second home, but don't want to. The home I have is enough headache for me, I don't need to take on a second one. If I want an urban penthouse, beach house or a mountain cabin, I just rent one. When I'm done, I hand the keys back along with all the maintenance and hassles of home ownership. I already live in a gorgeous home with a beautiful rural setting. If I wanted to live somewhere else, I would just move. In fact, that's how I ended up living here.
If you have more money than you need, I recommend giving it away. There are many worthy causes, or you could just help out friends. I knew a woman who had been fighting leukemia for years. While hospitalized during a relapse, she got a notice that the bank was going to foreclose on her house, so I paid her back mortgage payments. She lived three more years and died peacefully in her own home. I didn't think twice about the money. I've spent more on hip replacements for two dogs.
As a helpful hint, if you donate to organized causes, buy a money order for your records and donate anonymously. It keeps you off of the donor lists.
We purchased the second home two years ago (snowbird in FL). Well we liked it so much we're selling the primary in NJ and moving south permanently.
The reasons we purchased in the first place was so we'd have a place with all of our stuff. Since we were planning on spending at least 3-4 months in the winter, we didn't want to be in a rental. (I'd never get my husband in a rental for more than 1 month)
Downsides in owning 2 homes- you need someone to watch the one you are not using, which means a person in each location. Houses don't like not being lived in and older homes (like over 10 years) more so than younger. Seals start to give way from lack of use. Things clog up.
The heating system broke in the beginning of Feb. during the coldest point in winter. I have a sensor that turns on a lamp when the temp goes below 60. My neighbor called me one morning the first week of Feb to tell me the light was on. I called the person watching the house and he said he would go over as soon as the ice storm stopped. By the time the repair people came the next day temp in the house had fallen to 38. It was a circuit board that had been replaced in August so it was covered under warranty, but still could have caused quite a lot of damage.
When we returned to our NJ house this year we had to replace the washer (seals broke water all over the floor) so we replaced the dryer also (both about 22 yrs old), we had a drain pipe in the basement back up and had to replace it. Both the refrigerator and the basement dehumidifier bit the dust. We kept the water on and even though we had someone periodically coming in and running it and flushing the toilets, the water still left stains in the toilet and I had to run it a while to get the old water out of the tank. This happens at our FL house as well and we have to drain the HW heater when we return to get the smelly old water out of it.
It's nice not having to go through northern winters anymore, but there is a hassle factor in owning two homes. If FL gets too hot in the summer, we'll just rent something up north for a few weeks.
............ If FL gets too hot in the summer, we'll just rent something up north for a few weeks.
Sorry, but there's no "if" about it. Florida will be too hot in the summer, and for a lot more than a "few weeks" - more like six or seven months! Several years ago in April I was visiting my cousin and his family in Gainesville, FL. He and I drove to a local outdoor track for a bit of jogging in the morning and I thought I was going to pass out from the heat and humidity. In humid climates it just doesn't cool off at night. Once I was staying for a week at my mother's place in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and I tried to beat the heat by going out before the sun was up for jogging, which is a guaranteed solution in California. Sorry, but it didn't work at all - I might as well not have bothered to get up so early. It is pure misery 24/7.
If you don't mind being a prisoner of the air conditioning - fleeing from air conditioned home/apartment to air conditioned car to air conditioned restaurant/office/movie/stores/gym, then it may not bother you. But life in prison is not my cup of tea.
Sorry, but there's no "if" about it. Florida will be too hot in the summer, and for a lot more than a "few weeks" - more like six or seven months! Several years ago in April I was visiting my cousin and his family in Gainesville, FL. He and I drove to a local outdoor track for a bit of jogging in the morning and I thought I was going to pass out from the heat and humidity. In humid climates it just doesn't cool off at night. Once I was staying for a week at my mother's place in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and I tried to beat the heat by going out before the sun was up for jogging, which is a guaranteed solution in California. Sorry, but it didn't work at all - I might as well not have bothered to get up so early. It is pure misery 24/7.
If you don't mind being a prisoner of the air conditioning - fleeing from air conditioned home/apartment to air conditioned car to air conditioned restaurant/office/movie/stores/gym, then it may not bother you. But life in prison is not my cup of tea.
I know you don't like hot, humid weather and I thought I didn't either. I'm surprised it doesn't bother me in FL like I thought it would after reading so many complaints about it. We still snowbird though and I only get a taste of it. We stay until the second week of May and it has been good through April so far, temp and humidity-wise. The hard part is leaving 80+ weather and coming back to NY with morning temps in the 40's. I can't get warm.
We return to FL the first week of September and I always overdue on my first day of yard work with the heat and humidity. I've been here two weeks and have acclimated already. It will be hot and humid until Halloween and then one day it's like someone threw the humidity switch off until later April/May. We live near the Gulf so there's always a breeze which helps.
In NY we do not have AC (older house and we bought the FL place before we invested a mini-split AC unit).
Our one neighbor teases us and is amazed the hot, humid days don't bother us. After 30 years of it, it's just what we do. In FL we keep the AC at 80 because we don't enjoy living in an ice box. When the humidity leaves, we open the windows every chance we get.
We don't flee from one AC place to the next and prison is a state of mind, IMO. We walk the dog, go to the beach, garden, swim in our son's pool and spend a lot of time outside, usually morning and evenings avoiding midday, but we go out then too if we need to. I sweat and shower a lot some days. I look at it as a purification of sorts. My skin has never felt so good with all the humidity and no heat on in the winter. I put sunblock on as soon as I get out of the shower, the UV in FL is nothing to mess with (hat, sunglasses etc.)
We never stayed in all winter with the snow either though. If I have a choice, it's to be outside, no matter what the weather. I think too often, all that is written is how awful heat and humidity is, as much as snow and ice and I think neither is true for everyone. I'm representing the other side. I'm sure I could deal with CA weather too if I had to.
OP again. Appreciating the responses and here's where we are right now... Travel more and do it guilt free. When the time is right, when the grandkids have girlfriends and rather be with anyone but us, build our dream house in Florida. We did this (we thought) in 2005 but chose the location badly. Build in FL and travel back to the NE.
But here's what's rattling around in my head... We're already snowbirders. For those who say, I'll just rent here-or-there up north to escape the Florida heat. It's not easy. The good rentals go to repeat renters, the good rentals go for the season, 4 months. When you want a rental for short term, you are at risk. VRBO/Homeaway, etc. post misleading photos, photos from when the unit was bought or rehabbed and there's no sniff button on line. Twice we got stuck in moldy units. This reality is what leads us to the 2nd home fantasy. I'd rather a Marriott to most rentals.
It's trial and error until the grave. Urn in our case.
Sorry, but there's no "if" about it. Florida will be too hot in the summer, and for a lot more than a "few weeks" - more like six or seven months!
We left for NJ on Father's Day weekend after having arrived at the beginning of the previous October. I've also been there in late Sept. Yes, it's hot and humid, but since we live near the Gulf we get out to the pool or the beach almost every day. I also bike ride in the morning. That works better for me than the cold up north. Plus I have extremely dry skin that doesn't react well to dry heat. I worked from home before retiring and there were times I could go days without ever going outside in the dead of winter. That to me was living in prison.
........... I worked from home before retiring and there were times I could go days without ever going outside in the dead of winter. That to me was living in prison.
But it's not really like "prison" in the same sense because in the winter you can bundle up, go outside, and be comfortable outside with the right clothing. Whereas in the summer in the gulf states, there is no such thing as being comfortable outside during the summer months. If it were legal you could go naked and you would still be uncomfortable.
I remember how much fun it was in Buffalo, New York in late December to go for walks in the snow. Why do you refer to it as "prison"?
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.
