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?

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.

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

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.

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....

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.