Can we afford this cabin?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are 9 and 12 now, and k really wish I’d bought a vacation place when they were toddlers. We would have used it so much back then. If you think you’ll use it, then go for it. I really regret not buying a place when we could enjoy it. Now they are in sports literally 46/52 weekends a year.

I'm so glad we didn't when we talked about it as we'd never use it.

[Anonymous]

I would do it. Having a “compound” as a PP said above is nice, so that you can spend vacations together but still have your own space. If you and spouse have WFH flexibility you can spend a lot of vacation time and long weekends there. Your salaries are growing and if it feels tight maybe you can ask your parents to help and you pay them back after your daycare expenses reduce or salaries increase.

[Anonymous]

Can you already stay at your parents' place? I'd say get a place somewhere else so you have two places to go to.

Do you LOVE it there? Does your spouse LOVE it there?

I agree that distance from your primary home is key. We have a second place just under an hour away, and that's HUGE. So we use it 2-3 weekends a month, and in the summer more. If it was further away, wouldn't go so much. Have had it 10 years, and kids are now teens. They like it okay. I use it sometimes to just get away. I LOVE it there. It hasn't been a great financial investment (we don't rent it out) - costs about $20k a year with maintenance, taxes, travel, yard, pool people, yadda yadda. Some years more, some less, just like your primary home. Our HHI is lower than yours.

[Anonymous]

Do it. You can always airbnb it or offer as long-term rental if you need to. You can afford it.

[Anonymous]

I would !!

[Anonymous]

Distance is KEY! We have a second home 2.25 hours away and we are out there twice a month and I love, love, love it. But if it was just a summer place or harder to get to or even 3 hours away, I would feel totally different.

[Anonymous]

A few things here. My family has had a cabin for the last 35 years.

Make sure it is within 2.5 hours drive or else you wont able to use it efficiently or make day trips up for inevitable maintenance and breakdowns. Cabin's tend to have a lot more wear and tear due to cold weather, animals, trees, snow/ice, and renters. 1% seems too low to reasonably cover all this as especially if you plan to rent. If renting you need to replace a lot of items, furniture, hot tubs, etc. more often than at your personal home.

A lot of people buy cabins and then regret it later due to the hassle and money involved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How far is the cabin from your primary home? Close enough to use regularly? Are your jobs flexible enough to use it? How often are your parents at their lake house? Often enough that they can look after the cabin if your kids decide to play soccer or something, so you can get there for a few months at a time?

These are the right questions to ask.

Yes, you can afford it, but do you actually want to buy a second home?

+1 use, upkeep, local full service rental management company available. Yes, you can afford it.

[Anonymous]

depends where it is, a relative had a place at deep creek, once the kid reached the age of having lots of weekend activities it was empty 90% of the time and was more of a hassle than not.

You seem to be making an emotional decision and that's not a good thing but it is a fun thing.

Your primary home has not appreciated much, what area is it in? If it had I would say yes but I am concerned it hasn't appreciated and it doesn't seem like the cabin will either.

kids cost a lot more as they get older, a lot.

[Anonymous]

I would buy it. You’ll use it more when kids are young. The kicker for me is that grandparents are directly across the street.

Any chance you have a sibling that will go in together with the purchase? That would be ideal in terms of affordability.

[Anonymous]

Where's the 20% down payment coming from, OP? If you're clearing out your emergency fund for that, you can't afford the place.