Should I buy a beach vacation home?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I only listened to the DCUM echo chamber, I would be more worried about owning our beach home and being able to resell it. Because climate change is real, and sure, the stock market would have been smarter purely from an investment standpoint.

The fact is that 40% there are SO many families who still want to buy beach properties -- though maybe that's on the wane in Florida. Maybe because they can afford it regardless of whether it blows away. Maybe because they're climate change deniers. Maybe because they are motivated by emotion and are willing to ignore the risks; they want a gathering place for family that feels more like home than a vacation rental.

And all of that negates the naysaying on this thread. You'll be able to resell your beach house because the psychology still favors buying coastal properties. I'm at our beach house right now. I had two people just this week ask me if we'd think of selling - one who wants to buy, the other who knows someone who is actively looking. Could that change in the next few years? Sure. But right now, it's the weird poster here (who is so freaked out that she's calling names) who is the outlier. No one on our island is freaking out.

Ha Ha you were doing so well until you weeded into bullshit. This did not happen. Folks looking for beach houses don’t ask owners of houses that aren’t on the market if they’re “interested in selling.” They look at the MLS, where there always are plenty of houses for sale in every beach community that attracts renters.

There are very very few houses for sale in the upscale beach town we’ve been looking at. Inventory is so low. I fear prices will only rise if rates get cut.

I’ll add that I’ve been told by locals that there are less and less rentals available every year because rich people are buying the houses and not renting them out.

Where are you looking? We have a house in the Hamptons that we don't rent, but the town we're in has pretty strict regulations about rentals---especially short-term rentals. That's not a bad thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I only listened to the DCUM echo chamber, I would be more worried about owning our beach home and being able to resell it. Because climate change is real, and sure, the stock market would have been smarter purely from an investment standpoint.

The fact is that 40% there are SO many families who still want to buy beach properties -- though maybe that's on the wane in Florida. Maybe because they can afford it regardless of whether it blows away. Maybe because they're climate change deniers. Maybe because they are motivated by emotion and are willing to ignore the risks; they want a gathering place for family that feels more like home than a vacation rental.

And all of that negates the naysaying on this thread. You'll be able to resell your beach house because the psychology still favors buying coastal properties. I'm at our beach house right now. I had two people just this week ask me if we'd think of selling - one who wants to buy, the other who knows someone who is actively looking. Could that change in the next few years? Sure. But right now, it's the weird poster here (who is so freaked out that she's calling names) who is the outlier. No one on our island is freaking out.

Ha Ha you were doing so well until you weeded into bullshit. This did not happen. Folks looking for beach houses don’t ask owners of houses that aren’t on the market if they’re “interested in selling.” They look at the MLS, where there always are plenty of houses for sale in every beach community that attracts renters.

There are very very few houses for sale in the upscale beach town we’ve been looking at. Inventory is so low. I fear prices will only rise if rates get cut.

I’ll add that I’ve been told by locals that there are less and less rentals available every year because rich people are buying the houses and not renting them out.

Where are you looking? We have a house in the Hamptons that we don't rent, but the town we're in has pretty strict regulations about rentals---especially short-term rentals. That's not a bad thing.

We’re looking at an affluent beach town in NJ. Don’t want to say where because of the nut that is on this thread. Yes, I think that’s right that it’s not a bad thing, especially with limits on short term rentals. We would not plan to do that but might rent during the peak season for a few years before we renovate.

[Anonymous]

I laugh when people say "don't buy a house at sea level because of global warming!" even though I do believe global warming is real.

Know what else is at sea level?:

New Orleans, Louisiana
Miami, Florida
New York City, New York
Boston, Massachusetts
San Francisco, California
Charleston, South Carolina
Norfolk, Virginia
Long Beach, California
Galveston, Texas
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Wilmington, North Carolina
Tampa, Florida
Savannah, Georgia
Oakland, California
Honolulu, Hawaii
Amsterdam
New Orleans
Jakarta
Bangkok
Venice
Rotterdam
Tokyo
Lagos
Alexandria
Dhaka
Mumbai
Manila
Ho Chi Minh City
Singapore
Karachi
Copenhagen

Many more people than beach house owners are gonna have issues. As in, everybody on earth.

So go ahead and enjoy that beach house while you can. I sure enjoy the hell out of mine!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I laugh when people say "don't buy a house at sea level because of global warming!" even though I do believe global warming is real.

Know what else is at sea level?:

New Orleans, Louisiana
Miami, Florida
New York City, New York
Boston, Massachusetts
San Francisco, California
Charleston, South Carolina
Norfolk, Virginia
Long Beach, California
Galveston, Texas
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Wilmington, North Carolina
Tampa, Florida
Savannah, Georgia
Oakland, California
Honolulu, Hawaii
Amsterdam
New Orleans
Jakarta
Bangkok
Venice
Rotterdam
Tokyo
Lagos
Alexandria
Dhaka
Mumbai
Manila
Ho Chi Minh City
Singapore
Karachi
Copenhagen

Many more people than beach house owners are gonna have issues. As in, everybody on earth.

So go ahead and enjoy that beach house while you can. I sure enjoy the hell out of mine!

Bingo!

[Anonymous]

I can see the appeal if we had family nearby that would come regularly. Otherwise when we I think about I I realize that between seeing family in California, wanting to explore the world, not es ting to deal right repairs, concerns about climate change and not having g a lot of time off I prefer to rent a week or two a year. If I were to buy any second property now it would be outside the us (either small Paris apartment or larger property outside Paris).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really want a beach house and have looked extensively for one. I cannot find an area that I like that also isn’t at huge risk of flooding and erosion. So for now I am not buying one. I am trying to convince myself that I will like a house high in a cliff in Maine. But really I want a house right on the ocean at the Charleston SC beaches.

We are at that house right now. It's wonderful, I will say! But I will be ready to return to DC in a few weeks; it's definitely a vacation house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would only buy a beach house if I could afford for it to be a complete failure as an investment. I would expect renters or squatters to trash it when I'm not there. I would expect the cost of insurance to triple over the next 5-10 years. And i would expect if I tried to sell it, it would be at a big loss. If you can stomach these real risks, then go for it.

We've owned a beach house for almost 15 years and none of these things has happened. Squatters? Please. Summer renters are hard on it, sure, but they don't "trash it" and it's nothing that a good cleaning service can't take care of. The cost of insurance is rising, but so far, not that much. And we regularly get cold calls with offers on the house that are many times what we paid for it.

I think you're dreaming up problems. There are cons to owning a beach house, but none that you have mentioned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I laugh when people say "don't buy a house at sea level because of global warming!" even though I do believe global warming is real.

Know what else is at sea level?:

New Orleans, Louisiana
Miami, Florida
New York City, New York
Boston, Massachusetts
San Francisco, California
Charleston, South Carolina
Norfolk, Virginia
Long Beach, California
Galveston, Texas
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Wilmington, North Carolina
Tampa, Florida
Savannah, Georgia
Oakland, California
Honolulu, Hawaii
Amsterdam
New Orleans
Jakarta
Bangkok
Venice
Rotterdam
Tokyo
Lagos
Alexandria
Dhaka
Mumbai
Manila
Ho Chi Minh City
Singapore
Karachi
Copenhagen

Many more people than beach house owners are gonna have issues. As in, everybody on earth.

So go ahead and enjoy that beach house while you can. I sure enjoy the hell out of mine!

I don't really find the argument "Ho Chi Minh City is also going to have flood problems, so the fact that my beach house won't be insurable in the next 5-8 years is fine with me!" very persuasive.

Investing, or even building, in an area that is only going to be more and more exposed to potentially destructive weather is crazy. Even if you're not looking at a beach house as an investment, it just doesn't seem like a good long-term play. It's not going to be a generational asset, and it's just going to be more and more of a pain in terms of maintenance.

It becomes everyone else's problem when beach house owners start expecting financial bailouts for their bad decision making.

[Anonymous]

If I had the money, I'd buy a beach house in Kauai or a lake house in Whitefish or Flathead Lake, MT. But I think we'd need to be over $30m for it to make sense, and so far, we've had great luck renting in both places. The house in MT we like has a private dock, and we can rent a boat for our trip.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I laugh when people say "don't buy a house at sea level because of global warming!" even though I do believe global warming is real.

Know what else is at sea level?:

New Orleans, Louisiana
Miami, Florida
New York City, New York
Boston, Massachusetts
San Francisco, California
Charleston, South Carolina
Norfolk, Virginia
Long Beach, California
Galveston, Texas
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Wilmington, North Carolina
Tampa, Florida
Savannah, Georgia
Oakland, California
Honolulu, Hawaii
Amsterdam
New Orleans
Jakarta
Bangkok
Venice
Rotterdam
Tokyo
Lagos
Alexandria
Dhaka
Mumbai
Manila
Ho Chi Minh City
Singapore
Karachi
Copenhagen

Many more people than beach house owners are gonna have issues. As in, everybody on earth.

So go ahead and enjoy that beach house while you can. I sure enjoy the hell out of mine!

I would not buy house in any of those places for the flooding reasons alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would only buy a beach house if I could afford for it to be a complete failure as an investment. I would expect renters or squatters to trash it when I'm not there. I would expect the cost of insurance to triple over the next 5-10 years. And i would expect if I tried to sell it, it would be at a big loss. If you can stomach these real risks, then go for it.

We've owned a beach house for almost 15 years and none of these things has happened. Squatters? Please. Summer renters are hard on it, sure, but they don't "trash it" and it's nothing that a good cleaning service can't take care of. The cost of insurance is rising, but so far, not that much. And we regularly get cold calls with offers on the house that are many times what we paid for it.

I think you're dreaming up problems. There are cons to owning a beach house, but none that you have mentioned.

No you don’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would only buy a beach house if I could afford for it to be a complete failure as an investment. I would expect renters or squatters to trash it when I'm not there. I would expect the cost of insurance to triple over the next 5-10 years. And i would expect if I tried to sell it, it would be at a big loss. If you can stomach these real risks, then go for it.

We've owned a beach house for almost 15 years and none of these things has happened. Squatters? Please. Summer renters are hard on it, sure, but they don't "trash it" and it's nothing that a good cleaning service can't take care of. The cost of insurance is rising, but so far, not that much. And we regularly get cold calls with offers on the house that are many times what we paid for it.

I think you're dreaming up problems. There are cons to owning a beach house, but none that you have mentioned.

No you don’t.

There is a troll on this thread who must be very bitter because he desperately wants a beach house and can’t afford one. Let’s stop feeding the troll

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would only buy a beach house if I could afford for it to be a complete failure as an investment. I would expect renters or squatters to trash it when I'm not there. I would expect the cost of insurance to triple over the next 5-10 years. And i would expect if I tried to sell it, it would be at a big loss. If you can stomach these real risks, then go for it.

We've owned a beach house for almost 15 years and none of these things has happened. Squatters? Please. Summer renters are hard on it, sure, but they don't "trash it" and it's nothing that a good cleaning service can't take care of. The cost of insurance is rising, but so far, not that much. And we regularly get cold calls with offers on the house that are many times what we paid for it.

I think you're dreaming up problems. There are cons to owning a beach house, but none that you have mentioned.

No you don’t.

There is a troll on this thread who must be very bitter because he desperately wants a beach house and can’t afford one. Let’s stop feeding the troll

You should enjoy your beach house. Just don't come asking for a bailout when it gets wrecked in a hurricane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I laugh when people say "don't buy a house at sea level because of global warming!" even though I do believe global warming is real.

Know what else is at sea level?:

New Orleans, Louisiana
Miami, Florida
New York City, New York
Boston, Massachusetts
San Francisco, California
Charleston, South Carolina
Norfolk, Virginia
Long Beach, California
Galveston, Texas
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Wilmington, North Carolina
Tampa, Florida
Savannah, Georgia
Oakland, California
Honolulu, Hawaii
Amsterdam
New Orleans
Jakarta
Bangkok
Venice
Rotterdam
Tokyo
Lagos
Alexandria
Dhaka
Mumbai
Manila
Ho Chi Minh City
Singapore
Karachi
Copenhagen

Many more people than beach house owners are gonna have issues. As in, everybody on earth.

So go ahead and enjoy that beach house while you can. I sure enjoy the hell out of mine!

I don't really find the argument "Ho Chi Minh City is also going to have flood problems, so the fact that my beach house won't be insurable in the next 5-8 years is fine with me!" very persuasive.

That ignorance is your issue. It does not change the facts.

Investing, or even building, in an area that is only going to be more and more exposed to potentially destructive weather is crazy. Even if you're not looking at a beach house as an investment, it just doesn't seem like a good long-term play. It's not going to be a generational asset, and it's just going to be more and more of a pain in terms of maintenance.

And the point was there are hundreds of millions of people in coastal locations, and a good portion of the world's economy. If your beach house is underwater permanently, the entire world will be farked. Are you going to spend your time left here on this planet worried about that? Well, you do you, I will not.

It becomes everyone else's problem when beach house owners start expecting financial bailouts for their bad decision making.

Ahh, there's the tell, Miss Rand! Since you are someone who never, ever benefits from anything civic, and who lives in a place shielded permanently from flood, earthquake, tornado, fires, or any other kind of disaster, then your righteous indignation is completely justified, and I bow before it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I laugh when people say "don't buy a house at sea level because of global warming!" even though I do believe global warming is real.

Know what else is at sea level?:

New Orleans, Louisiana
Miami, Florida
New York City, New York
Boston, Massachusetts
San Francisco, California
Charleston, South Carolina
Norfolk, Virginia
Long Beach, California
Galveston, Texas
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Wilmington, North Carolina
Tampa, Florida
Savannah, Georgia
Oakland, California
Honolulu, Hawaii
Amsterdam
New Orleans
Jakarta
Bangkok
Venice
Rotterdam
Tokyo
Lagos
Alexandria
Dhaka
Mumbai
Manila
Ho Chi Minh City
Singapore
Karachi
Copenhagen

Many more people than beach house owners are gonna have issues. As in, everybody on earth.

So go ahead and enjoy that beach house while you can. I sure enjoy the hell out of mine!

I would not buy house in any of those places for the flooding reasons alone.

The point wasn't about whether you personally would buy a house in New York City or Miami or not. The point was no matter where you live, you will be severely boned if your prediction comes true. This renders it a moot point when deciding whether to purchase a home there or not.

Do you not get that?