Where is your vacation house? Where would you get one?

[Anonymous]

We have a place in Sea Pines in Hilton Head. It’s not a bad drive, but there’s also a little airport right on the island.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a place in Basye (Bryce Resort). I bought it a long time ago when my kids were in middle school. I use it as a weekend place. I wouldn’t even consider it a vacation place because I really never spend more than 2-3 nights there at a time. I live in Loudoun so it’s under 2 hours away. I never rent it out. I toyed with the idea during COVID but I don’t want to deal with other people in my space.

Honestly I’ve been on the fence as to whether to sell it for about the last five years. Some years I only get down there three or four times for a weekend. I still love it but the house itself was poorly constructed so there are issues as it ages.

I keep it because I do l enjoy it when I make it there and it doesn’t cost much (paid for it in cash).

The opportunity cost of all that money IS "much." Just because you paid in cash doesn't mean it's free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok, let's make one thing clear: if you rent it out, it's not a "vacation house." It's an investment. If you "have a condo in Rehoboth" and "block out a week" for yourself, it's an investment.

Got it?

I’m the pp. can’t it br both? All homes purchased are considered an investment aren’t they? We go one weekend a month approx year round, few days at Thanksgiving and Christmas. And yes block out a week in August. It’s both.

Nope. It's an investment property that you make personal use of on occasion. We've been there, and done that. If you have to have an "owner's closet" and can't leave your personal stuff out in the open and need to empty the fridge before you go, it's an investment property.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:We have a home in Bethany. The people claiming it isn’t an easy drive to the DE beaches are they knew who don’t own there - one of the huge benefits of owning is that you can time your travel to non-peak times because there is no check-in day or time. Only once this summer did we hit any traffic delay of more than 15 minutes, but we often head there Friday morning and return Monday night.

Yeah people who claim there is a ton of traffic really don’t go there often. I can’t remember the last time we hit any traffic of significance (more than a 15 minute delay) and even then it has been due to an accident.

Maybe true, but it's still a pretty long ride . . . to a mediocre beach.

In Rehoboth now, took us 3 hours to get here on Sunday from Fairfax. Maybe too much for you, but works for us.

And on that note, beautiful day for boating at this mediocre beach, so I’m out….

I actually really like Rehoboth/Bethany, but the difference between 2 or 2.25 and 3 hours turned out to be incredibly important to me when scouting a location for a second home. But I really measure by what feels like a short/easy drive and how bad things get on the worst traffic days. The other piece about the Rehoboth drive that I don't like is that a long part of the last hour is on surface roads - but that may be personal preference.

-my 2nd home is in the foothills of the mountains

What exactly do you mean by surface roads? Trying to imagine the alternative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a home in Bethany. The people claiming it isn’t an easy drive to the DE beaches are they knew who don’t own there - one of the huge benefits of owning is that you can time your travel to non-peak times because there is no check-in day or time. Only once this summer did we hit any traffic delay of more than 15 minutes, but we often head there Friday morning and return Monday night.

Yeah people who claim there is a ton of traffic really don’t go there often. I can’t remember the last time we hit any traffic of significance (more than a 15 minute delay) and even then it has been due to an accident.

Maybe true, but it's still a pretty long ride . . . to a mediocre beach.

My biggest issue is the traffic once you are there. If you need to run out for a "quick" errand you can get stuck in a massive traffic jam.

Depends on location, time of year and day of week. But tourist season can be tough on Coastal Highway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a home in Bethany. The people claiming it isn’t an easy drive to the DE beaches are they knew who don’t own there - one of the huge benefits of owning is that you can time your travel to non-peak times because there is no check-in day or time. Only once this summer did we hit any traffic delay of more than 15 minutes, but we often head there Friday morning and return Monday night.

Yeah people who claim there is a ton of traffic really don’t go there often. I can’t remember the last time we hit any traffic of significance (more than a 15 minute delay) and even then it has been due to an accident.

Maybe true, but it's still a pretty long ride . . . to a mediocre beach.

My biggest issue is the traffic once you are there. If you need to run out for a "quick" errand you can get stuck in a massive traffic jam.

Depends on location, time of year and day of week. But tourist season can be tough on Coastal Highway.

Yeah, we stop for groceries on the way in, then don’t use the car again until we leave.

[Anonymous]

One suggestion... rent a place for the year/3-6 months to see if you like the area. We did that in Canaan Valley and have since 2017. We love long-term renting, but ended up deciding not to buy. Renting gives you an idea of how the home will fit into your everyday life. If your kids play sports or have other activities, you can see if you realistically will use it enough to make it worth it. You can see what the drive is like at all times of the day/year. Our drive is 2 hours, 45 minutes. That is the longest I would ever want for a weekend home. We go out every weekend in the winter to ski. We use it other times of the year, but the kids are too busy now to go out on weekends consistently. Anyway... just an idea to evaluate an area before buying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a home in Bethany. The people claiming it isn’t an easy drive to the DE beaches are they knew who don’t own there - one of the huge benefits of owning is that you can time your travel to non-peak times because there is no check-in day or time. Only once this summer did we hit any traffic delay of more than 15 minutes, but we often head there Friday morning and return Monday night.

Yeah people who claim there is a ton of traffic really don’t go there often. I can’t remember the last time we hit any traffic of significance (more than a 15 minute delay) and even then it has been due to an accident.

Maybe true, but it's still a pretty long ride . . . to a mediocre beach.

My biggest issue is the traffic once you are there. If you need to run out for a "quick" errand you can get stuck in a massive traffic jam.

Depends on location, time of year and day of week. But tourist season can be tough on Coastal Highway.

Yeah, we stop for groceries on the way in, then don’t use the car again until we leave.

Yeah, sounds like a great "vacation" if you have to plan your entire stay around avoiding everybody and everything.

[Anonymous]

Our place is in rural Maine (lake area). Beautiful and remote - a complete getaway from the summer heat & dystopic politics of DC. Not easy to get to (1.5 hr flight + 2-hr beautiful drive) but doable for an extended long weekend or longer. We decided against a beach place because of climate change - not worth the flooding/storm risk, insurance costs, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One suggestion... rent a place for the year/3-6 months to see if you like the area. We did that in Canaan Valley and have since 2017. We love long-term renting, but ended up deciding not to buy. Renting gives you an idea of how the home will fit into your everyday life. If your kids play sports or have other activities, you can see if you realistically will use it enough to make it worth it. You can see what the drive is like at all times of the day/year. Our drive is 2 hours, 45 minutes. That is the longest I would ever want for a weekend home. We go out every weekend in the winter to ski. We use it other times of the year, but the kids are too busy now to go out on weekends consistently. Anyway... just an idea to evaluate an area before buying.

This is a great point. I think about a vacation home but, really, we have 3 young kids and as they years go by their schedules get busier and busier and they want to be in town with their friends. I think it likely makes more sense to rent for now and maybe buy down the road.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a home in Bethany. The people claiming it isn’t an easy drive to the DE beaches are they knew who don’t own there - one of the huge benefits of owning is that you can time your travel to non-peak times because there is no check-in day or time. Only once this summer did we hit any traffic delay of more than 15 minutes, but we often head there Friday morning and return Monday night.

Yeah people who claim there is a ton of traffic really don’t go there often. I can’t remember the last time we hit any traffic of significance (more than a 15 minute delay) and even then it has been due to an accident.

Maybe true, but it's still a pretty long ride . . . to a mediocre beach.

My biggest issue is the traffic once you are there. If you need to run out for a "quick" errand you can get stuck in a massive traffic jam.

Depends on location, time of year and day of week. But tourist season can be tough on Coastal Highway.

Yeah, we stop for groceries on the way in, then don’t use the car again until we leave.

Yeah, sounds like a great "vacation" if you have to plan your entire stay around avoiding everybody and everything.

I guess raining on someone else’s parade is one way of justifying your own choices and preferences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a home in Bethany. The people claiming it isn’t an easy drive to the DE beaches are they knew who don’t own there - one of the huge benefits of owning is that you can time your travel to non-peak times because there is no check-in day or time. Only once this summer did we hit any traffic delay of more than 15 minutes, but we often head there Friday morning and return Monday night.

Yeah people who claim there is a ton of traffic really don’t go there often. I can’t remember the last time we hit any traffic of significance (more than a 15 minute delay) and even then it has been due to an accident.

Maybe true, but it's still a pretty long ride . . . to a mediocre beach.

My biggest issue is the traffic once you are there. If you need to run out for a "quick" errand you can get stuck in a massive traffic jam.

Depends on location, time of year and day of week. But tourist season can be tough on Coastal Highway.

Yeah, we stop for groceries on the way in, then don’t use the car again until we leave.

Yeah, sounds like a great "vacation" if you have to plan your entire stay around avoiding everybody and everything.

I guess raining on someone else’s parade is one way of justifying your own choices and preferences.

NP I know plenty of people who go on vacation just to do this; they enjoy nature and avoid everybody and everything.

[Anonymous]

We bought a townhouse in Fenwick Island (admiral's bridge) a few years back. It takes us just shy of 3 hours on Saturday mornings during the summer. We leave the house around 6am and are on the beach by 9am. It's great. Plus everything there is walkable. We bring some basic food items but we can pickup anything we're missing from either Harris Teeter as we're driving in or Royal Farms once we're there. Even just a night there is fantastic and de-stressing. Yes we rent it out but do block out time for ourselves.

If you're considering having this home when you're older and possibly living there full-time make sure you're near good medical care, solid roads (you don't want to be going up a steep incline on a dirt road in the snow in January) and supplies nearby. You don't want to have to drive 30min to get gas/food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a home in Bethany. The people claiming it isn’t an easy drive to the DE beaches are they knew who don’t own there - one of the huge benefits of owning is that you can time your travel to non-peak times because there is no check-in day or time. Only once this summer did we hit any traffic delay of more than 15 minutes, but we often head there Friday morning and return Monday night.

Yeah people who claim there is a ton of traffic really don’t go there often. I can’t remember the last time we hit any traffic of significance (more than a 15 minute delay) and even then it has been due to an accident.

Maybe true, but it's still a pretty long ride . . . to a mediocre beach.

My biggest issue is the traffic once you are there. If you need to run out for a "quick" errand you can get stuck in a massive traffic jam.

Depends on location, time of year and day of week. But tourist season can be tough on Coastal Highway.

Yeah, we stop for groceries on the way in, then don’t use the car again until we leave.

Yeah, sounds like a great "vacation" if you have to plan your entire stay around avoiding everybody and everything.

I guess raining on someone else’s parade is one way of justifying your own choices and preferences.

NP I know plenty of people who go on vacation just to do this; they enjoy nature and avoid everybody and everything.

+1 When I go on vacation, it's to relax and get away from traffic, noise, phone. I have no interest in spending my vacation driving, cooking for guests, shopping for groceries. Hence our vacation home in the middle of nowhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok, let's make one thing clear: if you rent it out, it's not a "vacation house." It's an investment. If you "have a condo in Rehoboth" and "block out a week" for yourself, it's an investment.

Got it?

I’m the pp. can’t it br both? All homes purchased are considered an investment aren’t they? We go one weekend a month approx year round, few days at Thanksgiving and Christmas. And yes block out a week in August. It’s both.

Nope. It's an investment property that you make personal use of on occasion. We've been there, and done that. If you have to have an "owner's closet" and can't leave your personal stuff out in the open and need to empty the fridge before you go, it's an investment property.

We have an "investment property" beach house then. Spent 3 glorious weeks down there this summer. Also made $90k in rental revenue for the other 10 weeks. That paid for all expenses of ownership for the year plus a new roof plus a new boat for the kids to use at the beach. Love those investment properties that we can make personal use of.