About to buy second home on Eastern shore

[Anonymous]

Near Easton. Waterfront.

I think we can afford it. Two middle-schoolers, so I am not sure we will get there too much in the Spring and Fall when they have games, but hoping we can use if for much of the summer with vacations and working remotely. Plus, in a few years they will be gone and maybe we can spend more time there.

Are we making a terrible mistake?

[Anonymous]

Do you think you can rent it out when not in use? Our older kids are in college now, and we head to our condo in Bethany all the time during the off season for our youngest's sports, but it's a lot easier if you are just balancing once person's activities. You also obviously need to think about climate change and how likely your place is to be underwater in a few years.

[Anonymous]

Only you can determine if it's a financial burden. I have had a beach house much farther away for 15 years and it definitely wasn't a mistake. In fact I am sitting in it right now. There were years when the kids spent the whole summer here and years where they spent 4 days here (internships, summer travel, etc.). Still worth it. Don't underestimate the costs of maintenance, although ours is maybe a little higher since we really have to outsource nearly everything since we aren't close by. I also consider that a plus because it means we don't spend our time here doing chores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Only you can determine if it's a financial burden. I have had a beach house much farther away for 15 years and it definitely wasn't a mistake. In fact I am sitting in it right now. There were years when the kids spent the whole summer here and years where they spent 4 days here (internships, summer travel, etc.). Still worth it. Don't underestimate the costs of maintenance, although ours is maybe a little higher since we really have to outsource nearly everything since we aren't close by. I also consider that a plus because it means we don't spend our time here doing chores.

What exactly do you mean by outsourcing? Do you hire a property management company or just the individual services as you need them? What do you do about cleaning?

The house is let out as a vacation home at the moment. Looks like they make quite good money. I think we won't go that route for the first year - I want to see how much we would use it without any constraints, and then think about doing it. The advantage would be that the company takes care of everything - maintenance, cleaning etc. But the disadvantage would be not just popping over whenever you felt like it.

Climate change/rising sea levels is something I worry about. On the other hand, it is out of the 100 year flood plain and hasn't had any issues so far. So I am hoping that any problems are far enough down the road that it won't impact my lifetime. If this house goes down then so will much of the East coast....

[Anonymous]

I would NOT. We have a second home and it's one of the biggest regrets we have.

[Anonymous]

What a waste of money. I would never do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only you can determine if it's a financial burden. I have had a beach house much farther away for 15 years and it definitely wasn't a mistake. In fact I am sitting in it right now. There were years when the kids spent the whole summer here and years where they spent 4 days here (internships, summer travel, etc.). Still worth it. Don't underestimate the costs of maintenance, although ours is maybe a little higher since we really have to outsource nearly everything since we aren't close by. I also consider that a plus because it means we don't spend our time here doing chores.

What exactly do you mean by outsourcing? Do you hire a property management company or just the individual services as you need them? What do you do about cleaning?

The house is let out as a vacation home at the moment. Looks like they make quite good money. I think we won't go that route for the first year - I want to see how much we would use it without any constraints, and then think about doing it. The advantage would be that the company takes care of everything - maintenance, cleaning etc. But the disadvantage would be not just popping over whenever you felt like it.

Climate change/rising sea levels is something I worry about. On the other hand, it is out of the 100 year flood plain and hasn't had any issues so far. So I am hoping that any problems are far enough down the road that it won't impact my lifetime. If this house goes down then so will much of the East coast....

Re outsourcing - we have a property manager who handles the cleaning, checking regularly on the house when we aren't here, and minor repairs and painting. They can also provide access to the house when needed. We have a separate landscaping company who handles lawn maintenance and sprinkler maintenance. If we are doing any kind of renovation project we typically give the contractor a key, although I am planning to go to a lockbox for any future projects because there are too many keys to my house out there.

[Anonymous]

I have friends who purchased in St. Michaels when their oldest was in 6th grade - they sold a few years later.

It wound up being a big stressor - they felt like they needed to go as opposed wanted to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only you can determine if it's a financial burden. I have had a beach house much farther away for 15 years and it definitely wasn't a mistake. In fact I am sitting in it right now. There were years when the kids spent the whole summer here and years where they spent 4 days here (internships, summer travel, etc.). Still worth it. Don't underestimate the costs of maintenance, although ours is maybe a little higher since we really have to outsource nearly everything since we aren't close by. I also consider that a plus because it means we don't spend our time here doing chores.

What exactly do you mean by outsourcing? Do you hire a property management company or just the individual services as you need them? What do you do about cleaning?

The house is let out as a vacation home at the moment. Looks like they make quite good money. I think we won't go that route for the first year - I want to see how much we would use it without any constraints, and then think about doing it. The advantage would be that the company takes care of everything - maintenance, cleaning etc. But the disadvantage would be not just popping over whenever you felt like it.

Climate change/rising sea levels is something I worry about. On the other hand, it is out of the 100 year flood plain and hasn't had any issues so far. So I am hoping that any problems are far enough down the road that it won't impact my lifetime. If this house goes down then so will much of the East coast....

Re outsourcing - we have a property manager who handles the cleaning, checking regularly on the house when we aren't here, and minor repairs and painting. They can also provide access to the house when needed. We have a separate landscaping company who handles lawn maintenance and sprinkler maintenance. If we are doing any kind of renovation project we typically give the contractor a key, although I am planning to go to a lockbox for any future projects because there are too many keys to my house out there.

How much do you pay the property manager for this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would NOT. We have a second home and it's one of the biggest regrets we have.

What is the nature of your regret?

[Anonymous]

This is so so personal.

Reasons I wouldn't do it:

I don't want to sit in traffic. Any traffic.
Kids have stuff going on during the weekends pretty much whole school year.
When I have vacation time, I don't want to go to the same place over and over.
Home maintenance is not something we (spouse and I) are particularly good at or enjoy. My spouse is not handy.

But some people love it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have friends who purchased in St. Michaels when their oldest was in 6th grade - they sold a few years later.

It wound up being a big stressor - they felt like they needed to go as opposed wanted to go.

I think if we end up feeling this way we will sell. I know we will be out transaction costs and all the other expenses, but that won't be the end of the world. And it might be something that we really enjoy and get a lot of value out of...

[Anonymous]

Buy a waterfront property if you want it to literally be under water in a few years. Don't be stupid and get something that is prone to flooding constantly and may flood irreversibly.

[Anonymous]

We have a waterfront condo on the eastern shore and love it. Some years we are there a lot and others of so much. Middle and high school years are busy for kids so that has taken away from beach life. For us it’s part of our retirement plan. As soon as the last kid finishes high school we’re selling our house here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only you can determine if it's a financial burden. I have had a beach house much farther away for 15 years and it definitely wasn't a mistake. In fact I am sitting in it right now. There were years when the kids spent the whole summer here and years where they spent 4 days here (internships, summer travel, etc.). Still worth it. Don't underestimate the costs of maintenance, although ours is maybe a little higher since we really have to outsource nearly everything since we aren't close by. I also consider that a plus because it means we don't spend our time here doing chores.

What exactly do you mean by outsourcing? Do you hire a property management company or just the individual services as you need them? What do you do about cleaning?

The house is let out as a vacation home at the moment. Looks like they make quite good money. I think we won't go that route for the first year - I want to see how much we would use it without any constraints, and then think about doing it. The advantage would be that the company takes care of everything - maintenance, cleaning etc. But the disadvantage would be not just popping over whenever you felt like it.

Climate change/rising sea levels is something I worry about. On the other hand, it is out of the 100 year flood plain and hasn't had any issues so far. So I am hoping that any problems are far enough down the road that it won't impact my lifetime. If this house goes down then so will much of the East coast....

Re outsourcing - we have a property manager who handles the cleaning, checking regularly on the house when we aren't here, and minor repairs and painting. They can also provide access to the house when needed. We have a separate landscaping company who handles lawn maintenance and sprinkler maintenance. If we are doing any kind of renovation project we typically give the contractor a key, although I am planning to go to a lockbox for any future projects because there are too many keys to my house out there.

How much do you pay the property manager for this?

$50/hour. I think the cleaning crew is a little less per hour and the painting/handyman work is a little more per hour. Frankly it's a bargain and I wish we had a similar service in DC.