Your second home

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you have a second home, where is it? Why that location? What do you love/hate about it? How often do you use it? Do you Airbnb or rent when not using?

If you would like to have a second home oneday, where would you like to buy one and why?

The Hamptons (we live in NYC). I hate how much of a scene the Hamptons can be, but it’s close and easy and we are right on the beach, so it’s a nice escape. We move out there for the summer, and leave it vacant other than a live-in housekeeper in the off season.

[Anonymous]

Where is it? Berlin
Why that location? I am from Germany and I love going back
What do you love/hate about it? Berlin is an amazing city and you can easily reach other European destinations. It's a long flight to get there.
How often do you use it? Do you Airbnb or rent when not using? We use it 1-2 times per year. Probably 6 weeks altogether. We let friends use it, but we don't rent it out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you have a second home, where is it?
Paris, LA, Chicago.

Why that location?
I like Paris. It gives me an old world feel that I can't get in the states. LA and Chicago due to business - and is always interesting. Never cared to be in NY, Philadelphia or Boston for one more minute than I needed to be there. Same for any place in the (U.S.) South.

What do you love/hate about it?
Love Paris: No one loves or cares about Trump. Hate Paris: Unfortunately has Le Pen, a more polished version of Trump, of the same ilk.

How often do you use it?
Love to spend Spring in Paris and Summer in the Southern coasts of France and Italy. LA and Chicago as business requires.

Do you Airbnb or rent when not using?
Don't really understand how other people allow others to sleep in their bed and go through their things. A rental is a rental and a home is a home.

If you would like to have a second home one day, where would you like to buy one and why?
Berlin - unexpected adventure, Lake Como - lake living, St. Moritz - skiing. Probably not there often enough to buy.

Wow. Must be nice. What is your HHI?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Colonial Beach is a dump. Sorry. We looked at places to buy there and found it super depressing.

We've spent well over 100K preserving and restoring our home there. Lots of people are doing the same. It isn't for everyone but we love it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:-Berkshire County MA

-We love the location and always have (both grew up going to the area as kids although we are the first in our families to own a place there)

-Love that once you are there, you feel a million miles away from your worries. Can wear whatever you want. No one cares "who" you are. Con is that it is a pain to get to.

-Mostly only in the summers but we go for very long stretches. Sometimes we go up over winter or spring break, too. Have also done Thanksgiving there occasionally.

-Yes -- we list it on VRBO. Income from that varies between 50K-75K a year. Pretty much covers the mortgage but not additional fees like property manager, heating, etc.

-HHI is around 1M although it wasn't that high when we bought it. Probably closer to $500-$600K when we pulled the trigger.

How does 50k-75K "pretty much" cover your mortgage? How big is this mortgage? That would cover mine twice over, and I live in a bog house in Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

Second home in Maine, basically to get out of the heat in the summer. We spend July and August there and do not rent it out, though it's tempting. Pro is that we all love being here--close to nature, good weather, slower pace. Con is that it's another home to take care of and we often have to manage things at one house or the other from afar.

[Anonymous]

Don't people bug you to use your place/s??

Also, what good is a second, third, whatever home if it has no personal relevance to YOU, OP?

[Anonymous]

Easton/St Michaels

90 minute drive from Bethesda if there’s no traffic- and thanks to WFH we can normally avoid it.

We don’t rent it out, though it was an air Bnb before we bought it and brought in good money. We use it probably once a month on average, more in summer less in winter. Nice to have the flexibility to go last minute. Kids are a constraint, but they will be gond soon.

Buying it was one of the best decisions we have made. Very beautiful and relaxing out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in Chicago and have a second home in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. We don't AirBnb it now, but likely will as our kids get more heavily into sports over the next few years and we won't be able to use it as often in the summer (we do go year round). Love everything about it and honestly can't think of a downfall other than it obviously costs money.

HHI $300k

Is your house in town? I’m assuming with your hhi you aren’t in a place with direct lake access. DH and I dream about having a vacation home on Lake Geneva or Delavan Lake but homes on the water are multi million dollar homes and it doesn’t seem worth it if you don’t have a home with lake access.

[Anonymous]

Irvington, Virginia. Hills Quarter. HOA does lawn maintenance. No short term rentals allowed. Close to the water very rural and quiet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't people bug you to use your place/s??

Also, what good is a second, third, whatever home if it has no personal relevance to YOU, OP?

We have a house near the beach and yes, some relatives did invite themselves, wouldn't take no for an answer, and gave us the cold shoulder at family functions for years afterwards. But we anticipated this behavior from these ppl and held firm, so now the demands are a lot less frequent and more manageable.

Our friends are all lovely and wouldn't dream of inviting themselves.

[Anonymous]

We have a house in Sagaponack. We live out there from Memorial Day through Labor Day, sometimes later if the weather stays warm. There isn't a big offseason rental market in the Hamptons, plus I would feel weird having strangers in my home, so we leave it empty the rest of the year. The Hamptons "scene" used to be confined to Southampton years ago, but in the last fifteen or so years, it has spread and made the area much less enjoyable for anyone who isn't chasing that influencer lifestyle. The value of our property has skyrocketed and I'm seriously considering selling and buying in the Catskills instead.

[Anonymous]

We're in FL and really want a cold weather house. Tough as hhi is 250k so it has to be cheap. Would likely have to be a rural area of Maine or VT.

[Anonymous]

If you have a second home, where is it?
Truckee, Lake Tahoe

Why that location?
We live in the Bay Area and it's 3 hrs from our house. We love to ski and be outdoors. We have dogs so appreciate being able to drive to second home. Lake Tahoe region is beautiful has amazing weather year round (even in the winter -- somehow both lots of snow and sunshine), a true four season destination. Feels remote while being pretty

What do you love/hate about it?
Love: Small town cabin in the woods cozy feel. Incredible natural beauty and skiing, easy access to wilderness. Kids making magical memories, growing up as outdoors kids with respect and reverence for the natural world, learning wilderness skills, and going on adventures together as a family instead of spending time on screens.

Hate: Area can get crowded/traffic during peak seasons. Second home maintenance issues.

How often do you use it?
Almost every week during the ski season. 1-2 months over the summer and fall.

Do you Airbnb or rent when not using?
No

If you would like to have a second home one day, where would you like to buy one and why?
Kauai
Big Sur
We like nature but dislike maintenance so until/unless we get to next level of wealth with household managers / caretakers on site to help us manage, will probably not be adding additional homes.

[Anonymous]

Naxos, Greece — It’s so mellow there and the water, community, and food are perfect. It’s the opposite of touristy. Our house is not huge but it suits our needs. Great Kite Surfing. It helps that we’re Greek Americans. Only downside is the distance but we generally stay there most of the summer.