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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

If I could manage the property easily this would be my dream.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

We very close to buying something last month at HH in the condo building we have been visiting for 15 plus years.

The SC property taxes, building fees and other expenses didn't offset the rent we could get, let alone mortgage cost. Property taxes alone are 1.5% of purchase price each year.

We decided not a good move until we are ready to live there more than 2 weeks in summer.

And prices are out of control, although coming down.

[Anonymous]

eastern shore, on the water, oxford or cambridge md are great. I have a house in town but would like a house on the tred avon or choptank or trappe creek with a boat dock. If i could afford to not rent it out.

[Anonymous]

Bar harbor - summer
OBX - winter

[Anonymous]

Investment beach front condo in North Myrtle Beach. We usually go in December and a couple weeks mid to late June. Quick flight or 8 hour drive. Makes great money and we aren't sit at the beach all day people so a few weeks a year where we can see and hear the ocean from inside or walk down works for us.

Vacation house at Lake Anna. Friday traffic is bad, but other days a quick trip.

I would get a another home in Colorado, but at this stage of life we would not be able to use it much.

[Anonymous]

PP in West Virginia. Also would add, which someone pointed out, that healthcare is huge wherever you buy. I assume you will want to use it in retirement. WV has terrible healthcare - almost non-existent where we are. I would never buy there for that reason. We essentially have to go back to Northern Virginia.
And also look at infrastructure. Do they have good roads? Do you have to plow in the winter? Do we need a well or septic (big deal in rural areas)? How far to the grocery store? How far to a hardware store? Are there any restaurants? Do I have to bring in all my food every time I go?

[Anonymous]

We bought on the Eastern Shore on the Chesapeake. I don't love driving, so the beaches were just too far for us. Plus I am not really a beach person.

We love kayaking, cycling, nice waterfront bars and restaurants. And I love that we can be there in 90 minutes door to door from DC. I guess near Annapolis might have been even more convenient, but I am not sure we could have afforded to be on the water there. Plus I think the Eastern Shore maybe has a bit more of a relaxed vibe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We own a cottage on the Vineyard, Inkwell and we go twice in the summer and once in the fall for Thanksgiving. It was my Grandmother's cottage and I assumed her home as was in her will. To honor her, we have family come up in the fall. I sometimes let me cousins use it as we like to vacation elsewhere most of the summer and I am just not that into the house and location. I want to buy a river home ini Maryland or W. Virginia. I want a shallow, tubing and swimming type of river to visit most warm weekends so I can do what I love most.[/quote]

This is what i want. Is the Youghigheny River any good?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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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.

We usually try to do that too but a few weeks ago we ended up having to run a few errands because we forgot some birthday supplies at home and needed to make a minor repair. Driving a few miles there and back was PAINFUL.

We try to avoid errands but sometimes they are inevitable.

[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.

No, it’s still a vacation house.

They own it and decide when they want to vacation there.

[Anonymous]

The Yough is great for whitewater. Not sure about hanging out in tubes. You could look at the Cheat River in WV. Parsons, WV has homes with river access.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Investment beach front condo in North Myrtle Beach. We usually go in December and a couple weeks mid to late June. Quick flight or 8 hour drive. Makes great money and we aren't sit at the beach all day people so a few weeks a year where we can see and hear the ocean from inside or walk down works for us.

Vacation house at Lake Anna. Friday traffic is bad, but other days a quick trip.

I would get a another home in Colorado, but at this stage of life we would not be able to use it much.

Good for you. Other posters would insist this is a "vacation" property. Which, as you know, it isn't.

Why so hung up on labels, PP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Investment beach front condo in North Myrtle Beach. We usually go in December and a couple weeks mid to late June. Quick flight or 8 hour drive. Makes great money and we aren't sit at the beach all day people so a few weeks a year where we can see and hear the ocean from inside or walk down works for us.

Vacation house at Lake Anna. Friday traffic is bad, but other days a quick trip.

I would get a another home in Colorado, but at this stage of life we would not be able to use it much.

Good for you. Other posters would insist this is a "vacation" property. Which, as you know, it isn't.

Why so hung up on labels, PP?

The PP is jealous as hell, that’s why.

[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.

You sound like a truly miserable person!

[Anonymous]

Yea, I agree. We did the same thing as you. We bought a really nice place on 7 beautiful acres with a pool about 90-100 minutes west of the DMV just outside of a small historic town. Not only is it far more convenient than the DE/MD beaches, it's a nice area to visit regardless of the season. Unlike a beach town, it's not jam packed in the summer, dead in the winter, and focused exclusively on tourism.

It’s great that a sleepy town in tge middle of nowhere works for you. We love visiting our beach house year round - all the restaurants are open, and it’s cozy to sit by the fire and watch a game or read in the winter. Our house is on a private beach, so not packed at all even on holiday weekends, and being able to swim in the ocean and gaze at it is so relaxing. We enjoy our pool, too. Different strokes, right?