Should I buy a beach vacation home?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ha, have fun with climate change.

Only a sucker would be investing in anything near the water these days.

Seriously—insurance is only going up, and that's your best case scenario. Most places you're probably consider are extremely vulnerable to catastrophic storm damage.

Get a mountain house.

Op - also a consideration, but we aren’t sure we are boat people.

Maybe something mid Delmarva peninsula—easy drive to the beach with much less risk. We stayed at some airbnbs—beautiful large old houses on open fields, only like 30 minutes from Rehoboth.

That's not really a beach house.

Yes, we've established that only a literal moron would consider buying a beach house in a day and age when they're shortly all going to be uninsurable and/or severely damaged on a regular basis. The idea is a nice family home that can be an escape and a retreat that also has easy/close access to the beach so, while it's all still there, the OP can enjoy what the beach has to offer.

Why all the aggression and name-calling, PP? We have a beach house, and yes, our insurance premiums are increasing. We've also experienced several hurricanes. But we can afford the insurance as I suspect OP can. We didn't buy ocean front (we're deliberately four houses from the ocean) and we looked carefully at the flood zones, so we've never experience even a dollar's worth of damage due to storms or floods. This "literal moron" has seen her beach house value rise by $500K in the 3 1/2 years since we bought with a 3% mortgage. My personal opinion is that, if you have to get in your car and drive 30 minutes to a beach, you might as well drive 2 hours to the beach from DC. It's the same amount of effort to pack everything up and get in traffic. We walk down the lane to a beautiful uncrowded beach.

No one called anyone a name.

I'm glad you're enjoying your beach house, but you've made a disastrous financial decision. Humans, as you're showing us, are terrible at evaluating risk. It doesn't matter what has happened in the past, it matters what will happen in the future. The beach—any beach—is only going to get MORE risky, the question is how quickly. All evidence points to it accelerating in the near future. Insurance rates going up but still affordable is a sign that your investment is going the wrong way—get out before you're uninusrable. Don't think it can happen? Look at Florida, look at California. Hawaii.

NP. Sorry, but you're completely wrong about this. We bought in 2012, cash, for $900,000. House is worth well over $3 million now.

I know you think the sky is falling, but that's not the realty of the beach market.

If you invested the same amount in the S&P 500 for the same time period it would be worth $3.3 million today.

Now, how much do you think you’ve spent over the last 13 years on your beach house for taxes, maintenance, insurance and utilities.

The dividends alone that you’d earn from the stock market would pay for very very nice vacations every year without the hassle of a beach house.

You sound jealous

[Anonymous]

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.

We are in Rehoboth two blocks from the ocean and we absolutely have had people ask us if we would ever be interested in selling, both realtors and people that were renting houses on the same block. We have owned 20+ years though so you’re bound to have someone asking.

[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.

Not PP, but my dad has a place in Fenwick Island and that has happened to him a few times. Not recently that I know of, but this was a few years ago when inventory was pretty low. I'd like for him to agree to sell it soon, and I hope some of those people are still looking.

Sure it has happened to your dad a “few times.” But over how long of a time period? “Twice this week?” I doubt it very much.

Of course, it’s the middle of the summer and you have people in the area vacationing and enjoying themselves and fantasizing about owning their own place, so you can imagine people making fantasy inquiries. But two serious inquiries this week for a house that isn’t on the market? I call bullshit.

Not recently, like I said. It's not people knocking on the door . . . just a few people who sent letters inquiring if he was interested in selling. He does get cold calls from RE agents, but I don't count those. Maybe that's what the PP is referring to?

We did have someone knock on our door and asked if we were interested in selling. We were not. The people that knocked on our door actually did buy about 4 houses down from us. We are in Rehoboth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a beach house at DE beaches and love it. We rent it out in the summers and just block out days or weeks we want to go down. The income pays for the mortgage and most of the maintenance.

We use it year round as a weekend getaway and especially like the spring and fall for that. We don’t vacation there and go elsewhere.

The value has more than doubled since we bought 9 years ago. But no plans to sell. The family time and memories down there are what is priceless to us. Sure, maybe if we had invested the down payment in the market, we might have made more money but the memories and family time is more important to us. Besides, we are already well diversified in stocks, crypto, and own a few other real estate investments that we rent out full time.

So we have not found our beach house to be a money pit and it has worked out well. Lastly, we plan on holding for a long time to continue making more family memories there. We are not near oceanfront to worry about climate change. But if we do lose the house in 50 years for whatever reason, so be it. We can afford the lost. But we cannot afford not having those priceless family time.

No regrets and so happy we bought the beach house.

Yawn. Not near oceanfront? Why bother.

Let me guess, you’re the same troll droning on and on about vacation homes washing away in floods…

Nope. Different poster. I just don't get the appeal of a beach house where you can't even see the ocean from your house.

Says someone who does not have a house down in the DE beaches……..

Yep

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a beach house at DE beaches and love it. We rent it out in the summers and just block out days or weeks we want to go down. The income pays for the mortgage and most of the maintenance.

We use it year round as a weekend getaway and especially like the spring and fall for that. We don’t vacation there and go elsewhere.

The value has more than doubled since we bought 9 years ago. But no plans to sell. The family time and memories down there are what is priceless to us. Sure, maybe if we had invested the down payment in the market, we might have made more money but the memories and family time is more important to us. Besides, we are already well diversified in stocks, crypto, and own a few other real estate investments that we rent out full time.

So we have not found our beach house to be a money pit and it has worked out well. Lastly, we plan on holding for a long time to continue making more family memories there. We are not near oceanfront to worry about climate change. But if we do lose the house in 50 years for whatever reason, so be it. We can afford the lost. But we cannot afford not having those priceless family time.

No regrets and so happy we bought the beach house.

Yawn. Not near oceanfront? Why bother.

Let me guess, you’re the same troll droning on and on about vacation homes washing away in floods…

Nope. Different poster. I just don't get the appeal of a beach house where you can't even see the ocean from your house.

I specifically don't want to be on a beach. Here is why.

I want to have a normal life with access to the beach. I want to be in a neighborhood with a community. I choose to be 5 miles so I can have easy access to the beach but I actually prefer the bay and boating. I'd rather fish, crab, and clam. I spend more time golfing and volunteering. I don't want to be in the middle of chaos for a few months a year. I mostly do the beach early morning for yoga and then in the evening when everybody has gone to dinner.

The beach is great but it's only part of why i'm there.

Boring.🥱

[Anonymous]

I’ve posted a few times offering my honest views and almost every time I’ve been written off as someone who is just “jealous” that I don’t own a beach house in Delaware that’s a five minute drive from the sand. I know I shouldn’t bother responding and that I’m wasting my breath, but what the hell — I’m bored today.

I actually grew up two blocks from the beach in one of the nicest towns in NJ. Candidly, it’s a lot nicer than Rehoboth. I still have lots of family living in and near my home town. Three of my siblings own modest homes there that nonetheless are worth ridiculous amounts of money. They live there year round. Always have. We’re all close. I visit. I understand the beach scene very, very well.

I have absolutely no desire to live there myself, though. The majority of year round residents of small towns on or near the beach — or the shore, as we call it in NJ — are old AF, conservative if not downright MAGA, not well educated, and white. I cannot relate to any of it.

The Delaware beaches are no different and no better.

If you can afford to buy a home in any of those towns, which I can, there are far better and more interesting places to buy elsewhere. If you can afford to rent a (nice) house for a week or two in any of those towns, you can afford a trip to Europe or the Caribbean instead.

The absolute last thing I would want to do is own a beach house in Delaware that I could only use a week or two in the summer, where I couldn’t see the ocean from my front door, where I would have to come in the off season where more businesses are closed than opened, where the majority of the other people hanging around were old fogies and conservative hicks, and when there’s basically nothing to do.

Yes, I have money. Could I afford a $5 million dollar beachfront home in Rehoboth? Nope. Could I afford a place that costs a couple million? Absolutely. I am, however, supremely uninterested — and not even remotely jealous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve always wanted a place at the beach, but it never made sense because of working in an office and busy kid sports schedules. Now I’m in my 50’s and have savings for retirement. I’m not going into the office as often and will probably retire in a couple years. I could afford to pull out $1 million for a place. We would not rent it out. We’d use it more once I stop working. Our kids and siblings could also use it some. We’d have a view.

Downsides are distance - 3 hour drive, cost - $1 million plus pretty high HOA fees (cheaper to rent but hard to find places last minute), crowds and traffic during the summer, potential maintenance hassles, potential climate change, and is it a pain to actually go to your vacation home often?

Do you love having your place?

I wouldn't want to get underwater in that investment!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve posted a few times offering my honest views and almost every time I’ve been written off as someone who is just “jealous” that I don’t own a beach house in Delaware that’s a five minute drive from the sand. I know I shouldn’t bother responding and that I’m wasting my breath, but what the hell — I’m bored today.

I actually grew up two blocks from the beach in one of the nicest towns in NJ. Candidly, it’s a lot nicer than Rehoboth. I still have lots of family living in and near my home town. Three of my siblings own modest homes there that nonetheless are worth ridiculous amounts of money. They live there year round. Always have. We’re all close. I visit. I understand the beach scene very, very well.

I have absolutely no desire to live there myself, though. The majority of year round residents of small towns on or near the beach — or the shore, as we call it in NJ — are old AF, conservative if not downright MAGA, not well educated, and white. I cannot relate to any of it.

The Delaware beaches are no different and no better.

If you can afford to buy a home in any of those towns, which I can, there are far better and more interesting places to buy elsewhere. If you can afford to rent a (nice) house for a week or two in any of those towns, you can afford a trip to Europe or the Caribbean instead.

The absolute last thing I would want to do is own a beach house in Delaware that I could only use a week or two in the summer, where I couldn’t see the ocean from my front door, where I would have to come in the off season where more businesses are closed than opened, where the majority of the other people hanging around were old fogies and conservative hicks, and when there’s basically nothing to do.

Yes, I have money. Could I afford a $5 million dollar beachfront home in Rehoboth? Nope. Could I afford a place that costs a couple million? Absolutely. I am, however, supremely uninterested — and not even remotely jealous.

Frankly, you seem pathologically obsessed with the fact that strangers own and enjoy beach houses. Is this a fixation for you? Why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve posted a few times offering my honest views and almost every time I’ve been written off as someone who is just “jealous” that I don’t own a beach house in Delaware that’s a five minute drive from the sand. I know I shouldn’t bother responding and that I’m wasting my breath, but what the hell — I’m bored today.

I actually grew up two blocks from the beach in one of the nicest towns in NJ. Candidly, it’s a lot nicer than Rehoboth. I still have lots of family living in and near my home town. Three of my siblings own modest homes there that nonetheless are worth ridiculous amounts of money. They live there year round. Always have. We’re all close. I visit. I understand the beach scene very, very well.

I have absolutely no desire to live there myself, though. The majority of year round residents of small towns on or near the beach — or the shore, as we call it in NJ — are old AF, conservative if not downright MAGA, not well educated, and white. I cannot relate to any of it.

The Delaware beaches are no different and no better.

If you can afford to buy a home in any of those towns, which I can, there are far better and more interesting places to buy elsewhere. If you can afford to rent a (nice) house for a week or two in any of those towns, you can afford a trip to Europe or the Caribbean instead.

The absolute last thing I would want to do is own a beach house in Delaware that I could only use a week or two in the summer, where I couldn’t see the ocean from my front door, where I would have to come in the off season where more businesses are closed than opened, where the majority of the other people hanging around were old fogies and conservative hicks, and when there’s basically nothing to do.

Yes, I have money. Could I afford a $5 million dollar beachfront home in Rehoboth? Nope. Could I afford a place that costs a couple million? Absolutely. I am, however, supremely uninterested — and not even remotely jealous.

Great. So you should continue to do you and stop looking down your nose at those of us who love the Delaware beach life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just decided to ... but my HOA fees are not a lot and I plan to rent 6 weeks out of the year. I put the numbers into ChatGPT as well as did my own analysis and in 20 year is will break even.

The house I'm looking at is only $500K and chatGPT did take into account $5K a year for upkeep.

Mortgage, property taxes, insurance, utilities, HOA fees, maintenance/repairs, property mgmt fees

Put your numbers into ChatGPT and see what the cost really is. Would it mean you didn't have money to travel? Would it leave you strapped?

its' a luxury so you need to look at it that way too.

Don't use chat gpt for this. It's not designed to be good at numbers and will give you inaccurate information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve posted a few times offering my honest views and almost every time I’ve been written off as someone who is just “jealous” that I don’t own a beach house in Delaware that’s a five minute drive from the sand. I know I shouldn’t bother responding and that I’m wasting my breath, but what the hell — I’m bored today.

I actually grew up two blocks from the beach in one of the nicest towns in NJ. Candidly, it’s a lot nicer than Rehoboth. I still have lots of family living in and near my home town. Three of my siblings own modest homes there that nonetheless are worth ridiculous amounts of money. They live there year round. Always have. We’re all close. I visit. I understand the beach scene very, very well.

I have absolutely no desire to live there myself, though. The majority of year round residents of small towns on or near the beach — or the shore, as we call it in NJ — are old AF, conservative if not downright MAGA, not well educated, and white. I cannot relate to any of it.

The Delaware beaches are no different and no better.

If you can afford to buy a home in any of those towns, which I can, there are far better and more interesting places to buy elsewhere. If you can afford to rent a (nice) house for a week or two in any of those towns, you can afford a trip to Europe or the Caribbean instead.

The absolute last thing I would want to do is own a beach house in Delaware that I could only use a week or two in the summer, where I couldn’t see the ocean from my front door, where I would have to come in the off season where more businesses are closed than opened, where the majority of the other people hanging around were old fogies and conservative hicks, and when there’s basically nothing to do.

Yes, I have money. Could I afford a $5 million dollar beachfront home in Rehoboth? Nope. Could I afford a place that costs a couple million? Absolutely. I am, however, supremely uninterested — and not even remotely jealous.

This is... quite the soliloquy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve posted a few times offering my honest views and almost every time I’ve been written off as someone who is just “jealous” that I don’t own a beach house in Delaware that’s a five minute drive from the sand. I know I shouldn’t bother responding and that I’m wasting my breath, but what the hell — I’m bored today.

I actually grew up two blocks from the beach in one of the nicest towns in NJ. Candidly, it’s a lot nicer than Rehoboth. I still have lots of family living in and near my home town. Three of my siblings own modest homes there that nonetheless are worth ridiculous amounts of money. They live there year round. Always have. We’re all close. I visit. I understand the beach scene very, very well.

I have absolutely no desire to live there myself, though. The majority of year round residents of small towns on or near the beach — or the shore, as we call it in NJ — are old AF, conservative if not downright MAGA, not well educated, and white. I cannot relate to any of it.

The Delaware beaches are no different and no better.

If you can afford to buy a home in any of those towns, which I can, there are far better and more interesting places to buy elsewhere. If you can afford to rent a (nice) house for a week or two in any of those towns, you can afford a trip to Europe or the Caribbean instead.

The absolute last thing I would want to do is own a beach house in Delaware that I could only use a week or two in the summer, where I couldn’t see the ocean from my front door, where I would have to come in the off season where more businesses are closed than opened, where the majority of the other people hanging around were old fogies and conservative hicks, and when there’s basically nothing to do.

Yes, I have money. Could I afford a $5 million dollar beachfront home in Rehoboth? Nope. Could I afford a place that costs a couple million? Absolutely. I am, however, supremely uninterested — and not even remotely jealous.

You obviously don’t know the DE beaches well. The people and community owning the beach houses are 2nd home owners from DC, Philly, Wilmington, NY, NJ and not conservative. The locals inland sure, but not the ones owning million dollar homes and up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve posted a few times offering my honest views and almost every time I’ve been written off as someone who is just “jealous” that I don’t own a beach house in Delaware that’s a five minute drive from the sand. I know I shouldn’t bother responding and that I’m wasting my breath, but what the hell — I’m bored today.

I actually grew up two blocks from the beach in one of the nicest towns in NJ. Candidly, it’s a lot nicer than Rehoboth. I still have lots of family living in and near my home town. Three of my siblings own modest homes there that nonetheless are worth ridiculous amounts of money. They live there year round. Always have. We’re all close. I visit. I understand the beach scene very, very well.

I have absolutely no desire to live there myself, though. The majority of year round residents of small towns on or near the beach — or the shore, as we call it in NJ — are old AF, conservative if not downright MAGA, not well educated, and white. I cannot relate to any of it.

The Delaware beaches are no different and no better.

If you can afford to buy a home in any of those towns, which I can, there are far better and more interesting places to buy elsewhere. If you can afford to rent a (nice) house for a week or two in any of those towns, you can afford a trip to Europe or the Caribbean instead.

The absolute last thing I would want to do is own a beach house in Delaware that I could only use a week or two in the summer, where I couldn’t see the ocean from my front door, where I would have to come in the off season where more businesses are closed than opened, where the majority of the other people hanging around were old fogies and conservative hicks, and when there’s basically nothing to do.

Yes, I have money. Could I afford a $5 million dollar beachfront home in Rehoboth? Nope. Could I afford a place that costs a couple million? Absolutely. I am, however, supremely uninterested — and not even remotely jealous.

You obviously don’t know the DE beaches well. The people and community owning the beach houses are 2nd home owners from DC, Philly, Wilmington, NY, NJ and not conservative. The locals inland sure, but not the ones owning million dollar homes and up.

I know. Believe me. But those people aren’t there in the offseason. The hicks are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve posted a few times offering my honest views and almost every time I’ve been written off as someone who is just “jealous” that I don’t own a beach house in Delaware that’s a five minute drive from the sand. I know I shouldn’t bother responding and that I’m wasting my breath, but what the hell — I’m bored today.

I actually grew up two blocks from the beach in one of the nicest towns in NJ. Candidly, it’s a lot nicer than Rehoboth. I still have lots of family living in and near my home town. Three of my siblings own modest homes there that nonetheless are worth ridiculous amounts of money. They live there year round. Always have. We’re all close. I visit. I understand the beach scene very, very well.

I have absolutely no desire to live there myself, though. The majority of year round residents of small towns on or near the beach — or the shore, as we call it in NJ — are old AF, conservative if not downright MAGA, not well educated, and white. I cannot relate to any of it.

The Delaware beaches are no different and no better.

If you can afford to buy a home in any of those towns, which I can, there are far better and more interesting places to buy elsewhere. If you can afford to rent a (nice) house for a week or two in any of those towns, you can afford a trip to Europe or the Caribbean instead.

The absolute last thing I would want to do is own a beach house in Delaware that I could only use a week or two in the summer, where I couldn’t see the ocean from my front door, where I would have to come in the off season where more businesses are closed than opened, where the majority of the other people hanging around were old fogies and conservative hicks, and when there’s basically nothing to do.

Yes, I have money. Could I afford a $5 million dollar beachfront home in Rehoboth? Nope. Could I afford a place that costs a couple million? Absolutely. I am, however, supremely uninterested — and not even remotely jealous.

This is... quite the soliloquy.

Like I said, it’s a slow day. At least I’m not so lazy that I just say “you’re jealous” when I disagree with another post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just decided to ... but my HOA fees are not a lot and I plan to rent 6 weeks out of the year. I put the numbers into ChatGPT as well as did my own analysis and in 20 year is will break even.

The house I'm looking at is only $500K and chatGPT did take into account $5K a year for upkeep.

Mortgage, property taxes, insurance, utilities, HOA fees, maintenance/repairs, property mgmt fees

Put your numbers into ChatGPT and see what the cost really is. Would it mean you didn't have money to travel? Would it leave you strapped?

its' a luxury so you need to look at it that way too.

Don't use chat gpt for this. It's not designed to be good at numbers and will give you inaccurate information.

I mean, one thing ChatGPT is good at his math.