Should I buy a beach vacation home?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

+1000

we had a real estate agent basically tell us in Maui that unless you plan to actually use the place yourself, it rarely is financially worth it. Insurance and HOA fees (which include much of your insurance for a condo and TH) make it not worth it. Then if you rent it out, you are paying 25-30% for a good management team, still have to pay for all repairs and utilities, etc. It's stressful and you rarely make $$. And if you rent it out, the times you make the most money (Hawaii it's xmas and Jan-March), you need to have it rented, not use it yourself or you wont' break even. And if I have to plan 1 year in advance when I want to use my own place (and when I will have it rented), I might as well just rent a place to use for 10-14 days. Much cheaper, leaves me choices of visiting other areas, other islands and seeing the world and I don't have to worry about all the added costs and stresses whenever there is a storm or fires or tsunamis etc.

It’s a way to build equity in something that - if climate change hadn’t come along - would’ve appreciated. I mean, if you even get some return it can help you buy an asset otherwise beyond your means that you can later sell, right?

or you can just invest in the stock market/SP500 and do the same, without the stress of managing a rental. And if you had bought in HI before covid you might have had trouble paying your bills for 18 months when you couldn't rent it out. My market investments bounced back and are way up since then. Most people I know have not made much from a rental home. Most have had losses and tons of stress. Especially from ones you are renting on a weekly basis.

We still take other vacations. But what we can’t do without our second home is host others and spend time with family and friends in a vacation area. We are able to spend a lot of time with friends and family that we wouldnt otherwise.

Well, you could rent a similar sized house and take whoever you want. Or go to Paris. Or the Vineyard, etc

We’ve done that kind of trip a couple times and for us, it’s not the same as being in our own place. Also we host all throughout the year, no way we can do that in far flung locations

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

+1000

we had a real estate agent basically tell us in Maui that unless you plan to actually use the place yourself, it rarely is financially worth it. Insurance and HOA fees (which include much of your insurance for a condo and TH) make it not worth it. Then if you rent it out, you are paying 25-30% for a good management team, still have to pay for all repairs and utilities, etc. It's stressful and you rarely make $$. And if you rent it out, the times you make the most money (Hawaii it's xmas and Jan-March), you need to have it rented, not use it yourself or you wont' break even. And if I have to plan 1 year in advance when I want to use my own place (and when I will have it rented), I might as well just rent a place to use for 10-14 days. Much cheaper, leaves me choices of visiting other areas, other islands and seeing the world and I don't have to worry about all the added costs and stresses whenever there is a storm or fires or tsunamis etc.

It’s a way to build equity in something that - if climate change hadn’t come along - would’ve appreciated. I mean, if you even get some return it can help you buy an asset otherwise beyond your means that you can later sell, right?

or you can just invest in the stock market/SP500 and do the same, without the stress of managing a rental. And if you had bought in HI before covid you might have had trouble paying your bills for 18 months when you couldn't rent it out. My market investments bounced back and are way up since then. Most people I know have not made much from a rental home. Most have had losses and tons of stress. Especially from ones you are renting on a weekly basis.

We still take other vacations. But what we can’t do without our second home is host others and spend time with family and friends in a vacation area. We are able to spend a lot of time with friends and family that we wouldnt otherwise.

Well, you could rent a similar sized house and take whoever you want. Or go to Paris. Or the Vineyard, etc

We’ve done that kind of trip a couple times and for us, it’s not the same as being in our own place. Also we host all throughout the year, no way we can do that in far flung locations

And where is your place?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

+1000

we had a real estate agent basically tell us in Maui that unless you plan to actually use the place yourself, it rarely is financially worth it. Insurance and HOA fees (which include much of your insurance for a condo and TH) make it not worth it. Then if you rent it out, you are paying 25-30% for a good management team, still have to pay for all repairs and utilities, etc. It's stressful and you rarely make $$. And if you rent it out, the times you make the most money (Hawaii it's xmas and Jan-March), you need to have it rented, not use it yourself or you wont' break even. And if I have to plan 1 year in advance when I want to use my own place (and when I will have it rented), I might as well just rent a place to use for 10-14 days. Much cheaper, leaves me choices of visiting other areas, other islands and seeing the world and I don't have to worry about all the added costs and stresses whenever there is a storm or fires or tsunamis etc.

It’s a way to build equity in something that - if climate change hadn’t come along - would’ve appreciated. I mean, if you even get some return it can help you buy an asset otherwise beyond your means that you can later sell, right?

or you can just invest in the stock market/SP500 and do the same, without the stress of managing a rental. And if you had bought in HI before covid you might have had trouble paying your bills for 18 months when you couldn't rent it out. My market investments bounced back and are way up since then. Most people I know have not made much from a rental home. Most have had losses and tons of stress. Especially from ones you are renting on a weekly basis.

We still take other vacations. But what we can’t do without our second home is host others and spend time with family and friends in a vacation area. We are able to spend a lot of time with friends and family that we wouldnt otherwise.

Well, you could rent a similar sized house and take whoever you want. Or go to Paris. Or the Vineyard, etc

We’ve done that kind of trip a couple times and for us, it’s not the same as being in our own place. Also we host all throughout the year, no way we can do that in far flung locations

And where is your place?

I certainly won’t be telling you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

+1000

we had a real estate agent basically tell us in Maui that unless you plan to actually use the place yourself, it rarely is financially worth it. Insurance and HOA fees (which include much of your insurance for a condo and TH) make it not worth it. Then if you rent it out, you are paying 25-30% for a good management team, still have to pay for all repairs and utilities, etc. It's stressful and you rarely make $$. And if you rent it out, the times you make the most money (Hawaii it's xmas and Jan-March), you need to have it rented, not use it yourself or you wont' break even. And if I have to plan 1 year in advance when I want to use my own place (and when I will have it rented), I might as well just rent a place to use for 10-14 days. Much cheaper, leaves me choices of visiting other areas, other islands and seeing the world and I don't have to worry about all the added costs and stresses whenever there is a storm or fires or tsunamis etc.

It’s a way to build equity in something that - if climate change hadn’t come along - would’ve appreciated. I mean, if you even get some return it can help you buy an asset otherwise beyond your means that you can later sell, right?

or you can just invest in the stock market/SP500 and do the same, without the stress of managing a rental. And if you had bought in HI before covid you might have had trouble paying your bills for 18 months when you couldn't rent it out. My market investments bounced back and are way up since then. Most people I know have not made much from a rental home. Most have had losses and tons of stress. Especially from ones you are renting on a weekly basis.

We still take other vacations. But what we can’t do without our second home is host others and spend time with family and friends in a vacation area. We are able to spend a lot of time with friends and family that we wouldnt otherwise.

Well, you could rent a similar sized house and take whoever you want. Or go to Paris. Or the Vineyard, etc

We’ve done that kind of trip a couple times and for us, it’s not the same as being in our own place. Also we host all throughout the year, no way we can do that in far flung locations

And where is your place?

I certainly won’t be telling you!

I mean generally … Jersey? Ocean city? Obx? Obx seems like it would be too far to host regularly.

[Anonymous]

I totally understand the desire to get a beach house. We did it as soon as I got a major promotion at work and started making real money. And whenever we were actually there, we loved it. It was so great. And it was a large house with beautiful views and was a great place for family gatherings.

But strictly from a financial standpoint, it was without question the dumbest investment we ever made. There was no way of knowing it at the time, but we bought when prices were too high and they fell off the cliff a few years later. Wear and tear was insane. We rented the place out about 16 to 20 weeks a year and the renters were brutal. The harsh winters were really tough on the HVAC systems. Management fees were insane. And during hurricane season we were on edge during every storm.

In the end, we sold the place for far less than we paid for it.

It didn't kill us financially since we were and still are highly diversified but we learned our lesson. We'd never in a million years do it again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Since you're so interested, I'll tell you that we've broken even on all of that, due to the hefty rental income we take in each year.

And we do manage very very nice vacations every year on top of owning a beach house, as well.

What you're also not accounting for is the personal value of the enjoyment of the house that my close and extended family has enjoyed for all of these years. We would not all travel together on these very very nice vacations, but it's nothing for 12 or so of us to gather at the beach house for holidays or other occasions.

Ah, ok, so you're one of those people who calls an investment property a second home. It isn't. I owned one in OBX myself. You're underestimating the cost involved. Ask me how I know,

Do you have to lock all of your personal items away when you're gone? Can you leave food in the fridge? Nope.

And when you go to sell, get ready for a nasty depreciation recapture tax!

DP but we definitely consider our second home a second home and not an investment. Rather than upgrade our primary home, we stayed in our smaller extremely affordable primary house and bought our vacation house. Our peers have all upgraded to much more expensive home houses. We just have done things differently and we’ve been happy with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I totally understand the desire to get a beach house. We did it as soon as I got a major promotion at work and started making real money. And whenever we were actually there, we loved it. It was so great. And it was a large house with beautiful views and was a great place for family gatherings.

But strictly from a financial standpoint, it was without question the dumbest investment we ever made. There was no way of knowing it at the time, but we bought when prices were too high and they fell off the cliff a few years later. Wear and tear was insane. We rented the place out about 16 to 20 weeks a year and the renters were brutal. The harsh winters were really tough on the HVAC systems. Management fees were insane. And during hurricane season we were on edge during every storm.

In the end, we sold the place for far less than we paid for it.

It didn't kill us financially since we were and still are highly diversified but we learned our lesson. We'd never in a million years do it again.

And that was before climate change which just intensifies the wear and tear and hurricane system.

Also most renters are animals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

+1000

we had a real estate agent basically tell us in Maui that unless you plan to actually use the place yourself, it rarely is financially worth it. Insurance and HOA fees (which include much of your insurance for a condo and TH) make it not worth it. Then if you rent it out, you are paying 25-30% for a good management team, still have to pay for all repairs and utilities, etc. It's stressful and you rarely make $$. And if you rent it out, the times you make the most money (Hawaii it's xmas and Jan-March), you need to have it rented, not use it yourself or you wont' break even. And if I have to plan 1 year in advance when I want to use my own place (and when I will have it rented), I might as well just rent a place to use for 10-14 days. Much cheaper, leaves me choices of visiting other areas, other islands and seeing the world and I don't have to worry about all the added costs and stresses whenever there is a storm or fires or tsunamis etc.

It’s a way to build equity in something that - if climate change hadn’t come along - would’ve appreciated. I mean, if you even get some return it can help you buy an asset otherwise beyond your means that you can later sell, right?

or you can just invest in the stock market/SP500 and do the same, without the stress of managing a rental. And if you had bought in HI before covid you might have had trouble paying your bills for 18 months when you couldn't rent it out. My market investments bounced back and are way up since then. Most people I know have not made much from a rental home. Most have had losses and tons of stress. Especially from ones you are renting on a weekly basis.

We still take other vacations. But what we can’t do without our second home is host others and spend time with family and friends in a vacation area. We are able to spend a lot of time with friends and family that we wouldnt otherwise.

Well, you could rent a similar sized house and take whoever you want. Or go to Paris. Or the Vineyard, etc

We’ve done that kind of trip a couple times and for us, it’s not the same as being in our own place. Also we host all throughout the year, no way we can do that in far flung locations

Hey, if having the cousins down to Myrtle Beach is more your thing than visiting France… well… bless your heart!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

+1000

we had a real estate agent basically tell us in Maui that unless you plan to actually use the place yourself, it rarely is financially worth it. Insurance and HOA fees (which include much of your insurance for a condo and TH) make it not worth it. Then if you rent it out, you are paying 25-30% for a good management team, still have to pay for all repairs and utilities, etc. It's stressful and you rarely make $$. And if you rent it out, the times you make the most money (Hawaii it's xmas and Jan-March), you need to have it rented, not use it yourself or you wont' break even. And if I have to plan 1 year in advance when I want to use my own place (and when I will have it rented), I might as well just rent a place to use for 10-14 days. Much cheaper, leaves me choices of visiting other areas, other islands and seeing the world and I don't have to worry about all the added costs and stresses whenever there is a storm or fires or tsunamis etc.

It’s a way to build equity in something that - if climate change hadn’t come along - would’ve appreciated. I mean, if you even get some return it can help you buy an asset otherwise beyond your means that you can later sell, right?

or you can just invest in the stock market/SP500 and do the same, without the stress of managing a rental. And if you had bought in HI before covid you might have had trouble paying your bills for 18 months when you couldn't rent it out. My market investments bounced back and are way up since then. Most people I know have not made much from a rental home. Most have had losses and tons of stress. Especially from ones you are renting on a weekly basis.

We still take other vacations. But what we can’t do without our second home is host others and spend time with family and friends in a vacation area. We are able to spend a lot of time with friends and family that we wouldnt otherwise.

Well, you could rent a similar sized house and take whoever you want. Or go to Paris. Or the Vineyard, etc

We’ve done that kind of trip a couple times and for us, it’s not the same as being in our own place. Also we host all throughout the year, no way we can do that in far flung locations

Hey, if having the cousins down to Myrtle Beach is more your thing than visiting France… well… bless your heart!

Ha don’t worry! It’s a very upscale location. We are very very blessed
And managed to get to Paris this year too!

[Anonymous]

From a numbers perspective, it’s not a good investment. But there are lots of rich people out there with more money than they know what to do with. They aren’t doing it for the investment. Hell, a lot of them hardly even use their vacation house. They just sit there empty. My Ex’s parents were this way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From a numbers perspective, it’s not a good investment. But there are lots of rich people out there with more money than they know what to do with. They aren’t doing it for the investment. Hell, a lot of them hardly even use their vacation house. They just sit there empty. My Ex’s parents were this way.

I'm the previous poster who said that it was a huge mistake for us and I agree with you. I only take issue with those who DO insist that it is somehow IS a great investment. Relatively speaking, from a strictly financial standpoint, it isn't. It just plain isn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

+1000

we had a real estate agent basically tell us in Maui that unless you plan to actually use the place yourself, it rarely is financially worth it. Insurance and HOA fees (which include much of your insurance for a condo and TH) make it not worth it. Then if you rent it out, you are paying 25-30% for a good management team, still have to pay for all repairs and utilities, etc. It's stressful and you rarely make $$. And if you rent it out, the times you make the most money (Hawaii it's xmas and Jan-March), you need to have it rented, not use it yourself or you wont' break even. And if I have to plan 1 year in advance when I want to use my own place (and when I will have it rented), I might as well just rent a place to use for 10-14 days. Much cheaper, leaves me choices of visiting other areas, other islands and seeing the world and I don't have to worry about all the added costs and stresses whenever there is a storm or fires or tsunamis etc.

It’s a way to build equity in something that - if climate change hadn’t come along - would’ve appreciated. I mean, if you even get some return it can help you buy an asset otherwise beyond your means that you can later sell, right?

or you can just invest in the stock market/SP500 and do the same, without the stress of managing a rental. And if you had bought in HI before covid you might have had trouble paying your bills for 18 months when you couldn't rent it out. My market investments bounced back and are way up since then. Most people I know have not made much from a rental home. Most have had losses and tons of stress. Especially from ones you are renting on a weekly basis.

We still take other vacations. But what we can’t do without our second home is host others and spend time with family and friends in a vacation area. We are able to spend a lot of time with friends and family that we wouldnt otherwise.

Well, you could rent a similar sized house and take whoever you want. Or go to Paris. Or the Vineyard, etc

We’ve done that kind of trip a couple times and for us, it’s not the same as being in our own place. Also we host all throughout the year, no way we can do that in far flung locations

Hey, if having the cousins down to Myrtle Beach is more your thing than visiting France… well… bless your heart!

Ha don’t worry! It’s a very upscale location. We are very very blessed
And managed to get to Paris this year too!

So you’re a different poster from the one who said they tried Paris but would prefer to feel obligated to host people at their Myrtle beach house?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

+1000

we had a real estate agent basically tell us in Maui that unless you plan to actually use the place yourself, it rarely is financially worth it. Insurance and HOA fees (which include much of your insurance for a condo and TH) make it not worth it. Then if you rent it out, you are paying 25-30% for a good management team, still have to pay for all repairs and utilities, etc. It's stressful and you rarely make $$. And if you rent it out, the times you make the most money (Hawaii it's xmas and Jan-March), you need to have it rented, not use it yourself or you wont' break even. And if I have to plan 1 year in advance when I want to use my own place (and when I will have it rented), I might as well just rent a place to use for 10-14 days. Much cheaper, leaves me choices of visiting other areas, other islands and seeing the world and I don't have to worry about all the added costs and stresses whenever there is a storm or fires or tsunamis etc.

It’s a way to build equity in something that - if climate change hadn’t come along - would’ve appreciated. I mean, if you even get some return it can help you buy an asset otherwise beyond your means that you can later sell, right?

or you can just invest in the stock market/SP500 and do the same, without the stress of managing a rental. And if you had bought in HI before covid you might have had trouble paying your bills for 18 months when you couldn't rent it out. My market investments bounced back and are way up since then. Most people I know have not made much from a rental home. Most have had losses and tons of stress. Especially from ones you are renting on a weekly basis.

We still take other vacations. But what we can’t do without our second home is host others and spend time with family and friends in a vacation area. We are able to spend a lot of time with friends and family that we wouldnt otherwise.

Well, you could rent a similar sized house and take whoever you want. Or go to Paris. Or the Vineyard, etc

We’ve done that kind of trip a couple times and for us, it’s not the same as being in our own place. Also we host all throughout the year, no way we can do that in far flung locations

Hey, if having the cousins down to Myrtle Beach is more your thing than visiting France… well… bless your heart!

Ha don’t worry! It’s a very upscale location. We are very very blessed
And managed to get to Paris this year too!

So you’re a different poster from the one who said they tried Paris but would prefer to feel obligated to host people at their Myrtle beach house?

I’ve never been to Myrtle beach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

+1000

we had a real estate agent basically tell us in Maui that unless you plan to actually use the place yourself, it rarely is financially worth it. Insurance and HOA fees (which include much of your insurance for a condo and TH) make it not worth it. Then if you rent it out, you are paying 25-30% for a good management team, still have to pay for all repairs and utilities, etc. It's stressful and you rarely make $$. And if you rent it out, the times you make the most money (Hawaii it's xmas and Jan-March), you need to have it rented, not use it yourself or you wont' break even. And if I have to plan 1 year in advance when I want to use my own place (and when I will have it rented), I might as well just rent a place to use for 10-14 days. Much cheaper, leaves me choices of visiting other areas, other islands and seeing the world and I don't have to worry about all the added costs and stresses whenever there is a storm or fires or tsunamis etc.

It’s a way to build equity in something that - if climate change hadn’t come along - would’ve appreciated. I mean, if you even get some return it can help you buy an asset otherwise beyond your means that you can later sell, right?

or you can just invest in the stock market/SP500 and do the same, without the stress of managing a rental. And if you had bought in HI before covid you might have had trouble paying your bills for 18 months when you couldn't rent it out. My market investments bounced back and are way up since then. Most people I know have not made much from a rental home. Most have had losses and tons of stress. Especially from ones you are renting on a weekly basis.

We still take other vacations. But what we can’t do without our second home is host others and spend time with family and friends in a vacation area. We are able to spend a lot of time with friends and family that we wouldnt otherwise.

Well, you could rent a similar sized house and take whoever you want. Or go to Paris. Or the Vineyard, etc

We’ve done that kind of trip a couple times and for us, it’s not the same as being in our own place. Also we host all throughout the year, no way we can do that in far flung locations

Hey, if having the cousins down to Myrtle Beach is more your thing than visiting France… well… bless your heart!

Ha don’t worry! It’s a very upscale location. We are very very blessed
And managed to get to Paris this year too!

So you’re a different poster from the one who said they tried Paris but would prefer to feel obligated to host people at their Myrtle beach house?

I’ve never been to Myrtle beach.

Right. And your extended family really enjoys you nagging them to please come for thanksgiving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

+1000

we had a real estate agent basically tell us in Maui that unless you plan to actually use the place yourself, it rarely is financially worth it. Insurance and HOA fees (which include much of your insurance for a condo and TH) make it not worth it. Then if you rent it out, you are paying 25-30% for a good management team, still have to pay for all repairs and utilities, etc. It's stressful and you rarely make $$. And if you rent it out, the times you make the most money (Hawaii it's xmas and Jan-March), you need to have it rented, not use it yourself or you wont' break even. And if I have to plan 1 year in advance when I want to use my own place (and when I will have it rented), I might as well just rent a place to use for 10-14 days. Much cheaper, leaves me choices of visiting other areas, other islands and seeing the world and I don't have to worry about all the added costs and stresses whenever there is a storm or fires or tsunamis etc.

It’s a way to build equity in something that - if climate change hadn’t come along - would’ve appreciated. I mean, if you even get some return it can help you buy an asset otherwise beyond your means that you can later sell, right?

or you can just invest in the stock market/SP500 and do the same, without the stress of managing a rental. And if you had bought in HI before covid you might have had trouble paying your bills for 18 months when you couldn't rent it out. My market investments bounced back and are way up since then. Most people I know have not made much from a rental home. Most have had losses and tons of stress. Especially from ones you are renting on a weekly basis.

We still take other vacations. But what we can’t do without our second home is host others and spend time with family and friends in a vacation area. We are able to spend a lot of time with friends and family that we wouldnt otherwise.

Well, you could rent a similar sized house and take whoever you want. Or go to Paris. Or the Vineyard, etc

We’ve done that kind of trip a couple times and for us, it’s not the same as being in our own place. Also we host all throughout the year, no way we can do that in far flung locations

Hey, if having the cousins down to Myrtle Beach is more your thing than visiting France… well… bless your heart!

Ha don’t worry! It’s a very upscale location. We are very very blessed
And managed to get to Paris this year too!

So you’re a different poster from the one who said they tried Paris but would prefer to feel obligated to host people at their Myrtle beach house?

I’ve never been to Myrtle beach.

Right. And your extended family really enjoys you nagging them to please come for thanksgiving.

Ha ha. DP here and I thought the same thing.