Vacation Home - Help me think $$ through

[mswax]

So I posted a few weeks ago about maybe buying a vacation home in the spring.  I've inherited a large sum of money, and while I'd much rather this $$ still belong to the person I've inherited it from, it's a wonderful gift.  DH and I have been talking about buying something for a few years, and we'd started saving $1300/month toward that goal.

This would be a place that we'd like to use nearly year-round, on the weekends and for longer vacations when we have the time off.  It would be about 2.5 hours from our primary residence, in the mountains but ideally, also on a lake, so there would be plenty to do in both the winter (skiing) and summer (hiking and lake stuff).

Taxes on the homes we are looking at are $5k-$8k/year.  Including monthly expenses and insurance, I figure we'd be paying about $1k/month before we even consider a mortgage.  This is within the $1300/month we've already been putting away for a vacation home, but it's possible (likely) we'll have a small mortgage on this house as well.  DH and I have talked about renting the place out for a few weeks/year to cover that cost.  Other places in the area go for $2k-ish/week, so it's not unreasonable.  We have a large enough network of friends/family/coworkers that we can probably rent it to some we know, or someone once removed, rather than a complete stranger.

On the flip side, spending $15k/year on a vacation home could go a long way to some really cool family trips.  By owning a 2nd home, we are locking in most of our vacation to 1 location.  Plus there are all the potential downsides of 2 homes...more stuff that can go wrong and break.

I'd love hear MM thoughts on this.  And yes, I know we are incredibly fortunate to be in this position.

[ECB]

If you like to travel and don't want to stop exploring the world, that would factor into this for me. This is one reason why I don't know that I'd ever want a 2nd home. unless it's one that I can truly use on the weekends a/ relative ease. But if it ALSO became the ONLY place we vacationed, I'd be unhappy. I mean - if we can do 2 vacations a year, sure, I'd do one there, but I'd also want to do another one somewhere else.

I have too much desire to see more of the world to REALLY be stuck to ONE location.

I'd just factor that into my budget and if I can still afford to do ANOTHER vacation too.

[Susie]

My parents wrestled with this for a couple decades. My dad really wanted a beach house (in a town an hour from where they lived), and shopped real estate listings off and on for over 20 years. They made a bunch of lowball offers, but none that were close enough to asking to be likely to succeed.  My mom was just too worried about the finances, the commitment, the opportunities to do other things with the time and money that it would preclude, etc. to go through with it.  She was happy to have the freedom to travel other places or do something totally not-travel-related with the money.  OTOH, my dad was really big into the idea of the sentimental place that our family would always go to for vacation to build memories.

The compromise over the years was that we rented the exact same house for 2 weeks a year, for almost 30 years.  It became like another home.  We stayed there for the last time in 2015 I think.  Our first summer staying there was 1987!  Eventually, it got to no longer be the right fit:  my dad wanted to bring his dogs, and it was a pet free rental.  Our family grew.  Etc.  He kept shopping.

Long story short, my mom died in April.  At the end she told one of my cousins that she knew he really wanted to do it, knew their financial advisor had green light it up to a certain purchase price, and that he hadn't done it because of her.  So she told my cousin to tell him to go ahead and do it.  After he figured out what his widower budget really looked like with his pension, investments, spousal social security, etc., he made an offer on a house he's been watching since late winter.  He's currently under contract with closing set for January.  

I have mixed feelings.  I had been planning to buy a lake house myself someday (near me ... this beach house is 4-5 hours from me).  I am not sure we will now, because too many vacation properties in the same family.  The beach house also isn't exactly the location I'd have chosen (it is bayfront, but you'd have to drive a few mins to go to the actual beach), and I know part of my dad's whole purpose was to make it a family place.  But it (including the bay access) is something he really wants, so it doesn't matter what I think anyway, lol.  And it will be pretty awesome to have a pretty-much free house at the shore to visit for low key family vacations.  

He is planning to rent it out for part of the season, because prime summer rental season is slightly offset from prime fishing time, when he really wants to be there.  We have been going over everything with him, as he goes through the decision and purchase process.  I will know a lot more about the ups and downs by a year from now.

[Deleted]

mswax, I am sorry for your loss.

Here are a few questions I suggest you consider:

1) How much do you need / value financial flexibility in the next decade? (Buying a home limits that.)

2) If you had unlimited resources, how would you travel? Same place all the time or visit new places, a mix of both? (If you prefer going to the same town, having the same experience, property may be worth it.)

3) Do you have the time / patience or money to deal with vacation home maintenance and upkeep?

4) What financial goals do you have? Could this generous gift be better used (in whole or part)?

5) How long have you previously been vacationing at this locale, and how much does that cost you? (If you have been visiting twice a year for 10 years, likely a better idea for you to consider.)

6) What are your plans for current home? (Might you live there until retirement, then move to second home?)

I'm so curious what you decide to do, please update! I love the idea of a second home but adore traveling to new places too much to consider it in the near future. Good luck with your decision.

[awick14]

DH and I have been approached by my ILs about buying a vacation property jointly and using it as a family vacation place. This would make it cheaper for us and it would be nice, as we've talked about maybe someday getting a vacation home. But to me I don't know if it would be worth it. We camp a lot in the summer as we like to try new places and explore. This can't be done as easily with a vacation home as I would feel like we needed to go there.

I also want to travel the world and the $$ spent on the vacation home would take away from that.

If your ok with the home being your primary vacation destination then I can see moving forward with it.

[sfy]

I see the primary factors as being how often you will use it and whether you can make the finances work. While I completely understand that it will limit your other travel, I think it's hard to do much exploring with three young children anyway. With an all-season destination that's less 2.5 hours away, you will probably get a ton of use from owning and I think it's a great way to make memories for your children. So, if you'd be using this place enough that owning makes it cheaper than going as often as you'd like and renting, then I think it could be worth doing.

Wrt to the finances, given that anything above an extra ~$60K or so will exceed the additional $300/mo. you've been saving, I'd give careful consideration to how much mortgage you'd be signing up for and also, whether going a year without a single rental would cause you any financial stress. While I think the plan for rentals is a good idea, that often leads to its own set of expenses. I'd also consider whether you will you manage it on your own? There are things you can do to make that easier even from a distance (a lock/keypad you can access and change via internet for guests and your cleaning service, a yard service, etc.), so managing it from afar should be possible, but I'd still want someone looking in on it at least every month/every other month. And that could be you or your DH, given the proximity, but I would prepare to be there more often than a few times a year if you don't use a management company. Also, because of the desirability of vacation destinations, I'd look not just at current taxes, but the increase of taxes in recent years. I'm sure this goes without saying, but of course, consider the budget for maintenance and repairs.

[Marmee]

We have a vacation home that was given to me.  Even though I virtually pay nothing, sometimes I wish we didn't have it...because I feel obligated to go there at least for a few weeks a year.  But I'm very, very emotionally attached to mine because I've been going there for 30yrs and honestly I have so many great memories of going there as a kid and want my kids to have the same.  My parent's sold the home we grew up in 20yrs ago, so this is the closest place I have to "home" as far as my childhood.  It's a nice change of pace, we live in the city with thousands of cars going by our house every day, a small yard & busy lives.  Our vacation home is in a tiny mountain town with infinite room to explore behind it & streams & woods all around.  But, but, I'm actually getting lazier in my old age.  I rather not do work on my vacations (I cook, clean, do yard work, maintain, etc) while on vacation.  I often go there without my DH so I'm solo parenting.  I worry about my kids and the water (we have ponds within 15' feet of the cabin).  It's very off the beaten path in Northern WY and honestly I have lifelong friends up there but no skiing or shopping or "activities" much.  But alas, I'll never sell it.

That being said, we seriously looking for some land closer to home (within 2 hours) in the mountains nearby to build our 2nd vacation (& possibly) retirement home.  So I'm not anti vacation homes.  I just want one we design...It's straight up too expensive to buy a house, tear it down & then rebuild a house anywhere we like in our city.  So that is our only hope of designing our own home (we are both Architects so it's a big goal).  Also I want one near cooler places...within easy drive to nice ski areas, maybe some hot springs, some boutiques, restaurants which is much easier here in CO than in WY.  But I will have low maintenance landscaping & a lower maintenance design.  I think renting out is feasible but only if you hire a company because you need someone there to clean it before/after people & nearby if there is an issue.  That cuts into profit.  I am not really a fan of that because I want it to feel like "ours" and have personal stuff (photos, art work, food) there.  But it works for a lot of people and a good option if you don't care about that.  

But all that being said, we still go on a few vacations a year but we aren't jet setting across the world.  At this stage in life, I have zero desire to do that with little kids & almost as little desire to leave my kids for any extended period of time.  So domestic vacations and a cabin it is.  I'm totally happy with that.  If having a vacation home meant that was ALL we did--I'd probably pass.  I want my kids to see the country at least.

[Pom]

Well, this is a topic I spend a ton of time thinking about. We have a vacation home but ours is way too far away. In your case, this seems more do-able, but consider the following in addition to all the good advice up thread:
1. I get bitter because it sucks up most of our vacation time. Yours will be closer for use on the weekends, but still. I like sfy's point that with little kids, more extensive long trips might not be as appealing now anyway.
2. Maintenance, taxes, repairs on multiple houses can get out of control fast. Not to mention doing stuff yourself. As a child, my parents owned a lake house and all they did was work at home and then work at the vacation house. My motto is, if you can afford to throw money at a caretaker, lawn maintenance, winterizing (taking out docks in winter, putting in for spring, etc...) then life is much nicer and it will feel like more of a fun getaway, rather than another place to do work. We pay for all that stuff because we really only get less than 2 weeks at ours.
3. If renting, other people never treat your property like you do. Even if you know them. You have to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best. This can ruin relationships.

Whatever you think it's going to cost or what you want to budget, add 20%. Trust.
Regardless, I'm sorry for your loss. Whatever decision you come to, I wish your family the best.

[dochas]

We have a vacation home and it's similar to what you describe. We bought it when we got married and we loved it. When our son was first born I was a little worried, thinking it was a mistake to spend all our entertainment dollars on the house. But as he's gotten older it is really fantastic. There is a large lake with a swimming beach, great town nearby, and ski hills so it's year round fun. It does limit the vacations we can take to other places but it's much nicer having the house and the room to hang out with privacy at night. Plus we are 'on vacation' more than anyone we know. We go away 1 or 2 weekends a month where we're hiking, biking and just having a blast together.

It might be harder than you think to rent it though. We're in a popular vacation destination but there are many rentals available. It would also be hard to have people in our "home" because we're really attached to it. So keep that in mind. Also make sure there is a lot to do. We have not come close to seeing and doing everything and we've owned it 12 years. Another fun thing we're looking forward to doing is traveling from the vacation house. Going up for a week and then driving to a destination for a night or two from there. There really are a lot of possibilities. We bought a ranch house and they're very economical to heat and maintain. We didn't go too big either so we're not spending a lot for extra room that's only used when have guests.

[imojoebunny]

Our house is 1.5 hours away, with traffic. It is close to a grocery and restaurants, so we can go up on Saturday, after sports, and come home on Sunday, without a lot of hassle. Any further, and that would be difficult, but everyone has their own tolerance for driving. It is on two acres, on a river, which is completely different from out in-town house. The dog can run without a fence. The kids can roam the woods (an additional 10 or so acres next to us is not developed). They can fish, Kayak and swim in the river in summer, but there are also indoor and outdoor community pools, which are well worth it to us. It is also near a lot of hiking, which we all enjoy, a short drive to two tourist towns that have a lot of activities and event, wineries, and the kids ride horses at a stable nearby without a lot of advanced notice. It is close enough for friends to come for one night, and big enough (3/2 with a loft and a playroom) for them to comfortably stay with their kids. It cost us $1800 a year in taxes, and $700 a year in HOA fees, which include a manned gate, the pools, and road maintenance, plus utilities which vary, but run $100-$250 a month. We do not have a mortgage.

We bought at the bottom of the market for the area, a foreclosure, and had equity to really make it exactly how we want. I love being up there, always having a place to get away, and being able to have friends come, without a lot of planning, or cost on their part. I do not find the maintenance to be hard. We have a lock box and people we trust to help out with repairs and things. It is 14 years old, so not ancient, which makes it easier.

The downside... We do not rent it out, but we auction it off for charity a few times a year. It is kind of a pain to do all the cleaning, wash all the sheets and towels, for someone to use it, yet it is more of a pain to find someone else to do it for the few times a year we need it. There are tax rules around renting that make it difficult to rent for more than X weeks a year (I think 2, but can't remember), but not all the time.

My kids almost never get to go to birthday parties, since if we are here on weekends, we usually have things to do. We don't get invited to things, as much as, we used to because people assume we are not in town. We have become closer with families who like to come to the vacation place, but do not see friends who do not enjoy the outdoors, as much. At my kid's ages (7 and 10, 3 and 6 when we bought), I am unwilling to take other people's kids for the weekend, without their parents, but I assume that will change as they get older. This means that my kids bestie's from school, don't come because I don't want to entertain their whole family all weekend. This might be different, if we were more laid back, extroverted people, but I am not. The friends we have up on the regular, I can enjoy, they help out, they bring food, they like to read on the porch, and don't expect me to entertain them constantly. I don't want to be hostess with the mostess for a whole weekend.

I do love being there, and we have a lot of great times.

Hope you find something you really enjoy, that suits your family and lifestyle.

[mich1]

DH 's family had a cabin on the lake for about 40 years. As the kids in the family grew up the cost for maintaining the cabin was split between the parents and kids, so the last year that they owned it it cost each person about $4000/year. We used it for a long week and a few weekends each year, and it was pretty inhabitable once the real cold weather came in. It has since sold, as the costs were just increasing too high.

A few years ago, dh and I considered buying a condo in a great development in a resort town. As much as we enjoyed vacationing there, we just couldn't make the $$ work out, and it would wind up hampering where we vacationed each year. It was also across the country from us, so a hefty plane trip.

[mswax]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone! This is an area we love and already visit multiple times every year. We currently spend $4-5k/year visiting for weekends. This winter we are renting a house for the whole winter (with friends) and will get to try out the location before we buy.

It's about 25 minutes from 2 different ski mountains (pretty good ones), and lots of hiking trails (our summer activity). There are some cute towns 15-20 minutes away with local shops but also decent grocery stores and restaurants.

If I'm being honest, I really want to do this. I'm also VERY financially conservative, so huge investments like this scare me. We are on track (maybe even ahead of the curve) for retirement, doing ok (though maybe a little behind the curve) for college savings, and I think we'd still be able to do some travel elsewhere (just not as much...think plane trip every other year). It sounds like based on your experiences, this could be a good fit for our family. I'll continue to listen to any other thoughts/suggestions/recommendations you have.

Thanks again.

[azalea]

Now I'm curious as to where area you are looking and which mountains are "good" Pretty sure we're in the same general area (I recently changed my name from another purple flower and know a few folks from the Boston board).

One of my buddies is in the process of buying a really nice 3/2 condo near Cannon/Loon for under $200k (fully furnished!!) and we are are a little jealous. He has been casually browsing listings and came across one that was too good of a deal to pass up. The bright side is that we'll (hopefully) be visiting for lots of skiing this winter!

So my advice is to think about what you really want in a vacation home and watch real estate listings. It may take awhile for something perfect in your price range to come up, but if you aren't looking, you'll never know!

[mswax]

azalea, We are looking at homes that would put us within 30 minutes of Cannon or Bretton Woods, and an hour away from places in ME and VT. We've been watching the market for about a year, and will certainly be patient, though there are a few that I'd love to buy NOW. At the very least, we need to try out the rental house this winter and be sure we really like that particular area.

[Deleted]

Here's another way to think about it-
I inherited XXXk, and with my sister and parents (who also inherited xxxk) thought about buying a vacation home (as part of a wider portfolio).

We quickly realized that investing in an area with a high cap rate (but not a desirable vacation location) would net us more than enough money yearly to be able to be able to have a nicer vacation rental In our desired vacation areas (mountains), not be tied to one area, and be able to travel around the world. Vacation areas don't have high cap rates, typically, and are very poor investments from a cash flow perspective.

Happy to talk details over PM if you want.

[lolo]

I'm intrigued by the assumption that kids limit travel. Yes, it's more expensive and obviously changes the type of trip we take right now, but I've loved traveling with my daughter (now 3.5y) and am looking forward to exploring with my son. We've stayed domestic so far but that's mostly been due to lots of weddings. DD has been to our familial hometown, Portland, Seattle, southern Maine, Boston, Orlando etc, mostly in her first 2.5 years.

Anyway, everyone is different in what they prefer.

OP, it sounds like you love the idea and have a good plan to confirm that it will work for you. For me, I would need to be able to travel elsewhere also--have enough leftover funds and be confident enough that the vacation home was still financially 'worth it' given the other travel.

[sfy]

Nov 2, 2016 6:37:16 GMT -5 lolo said:

I'm intrigued by the assumption that kids limit travel. Yes, it's more expensive and obviously changes the type of trip we take right now, but I've loved traveling with my daughter (now 3.5y) and am looking forward to exploring with my son. We've stayed domestic so far but that's mostly been due to lots of weddings. DD has been to our familial hometown, Portland, Seattle, southern Maine, Boston, Orlando etc, mostly in her first 2.5 years.

Anyway, everyone is different in what they prefer.

OP, it sounds like you love the idea and have a good plan to confirm that it will work for you. For me, I would need to be able to travel elsewhere also--have enough leftover funds and be confident enough that the vacation home was still financially 'worth it' given the other travel.

I'll respond since I was the one who initially mentioned this. I don't think one child changes anything for people who want to make it work. That has been my personal experience as well as what I've observed among friends and family who were well-traveled before children. Even two seems to be manageable for many. Three has been the tipping point, in my observation, when people typically go from things like trips to Asia to things like trips to Florida instead. I'm not saying it's impossible to continue to travel similarly with three as with 0-2, just that it seems to be rare to me.

[Pom]

Having traveled with my BFF when her 3 sons were young, it was rough. I also traveled with her with just one and then two and that was way more doable then...going to their lake house was less painful than long trips with all three.

[Marmee]

My kids are actually great travelers and I have 4. But it's the cost of international travel plus just the logistics. I lived in Europe & from what I remember, GENERALLY much of it was not stroller (or wheelchair) friendly, public bathrooms could be very dicey to say the least, lots & lots of walking required, carseat/renting a (big enough) car seems like a nightmare, dealing with meltdowns (on long flights & train rides), etc. Hell even in this country, I walk in with 4 kids and I wouldn't say we are happily met in lots of shops, restaurants, etc. I mean we could all fly to a beach in another country, stay in a resort and have a relaxing vacation with the kids but to me, there are plenty of nice beaches I can fly to domestically and not deal with the currency, language, logistic issues. My kids have seen much of this country and been to tons of National Parks and we still have tons left to see. It's all easily doable with little ones. When they are bigger, we will probably take them to Europe and maybe a few other places. But it's not a big priority yet. Even my world traveler brother hasn't taken his child (almost 4yrs old) out of the country yet.

[Wanderista]

Neither of my parents ever had any serious interest in vacation property. My mom keeps talking about wanting to acquire a horse farm which makes me nervous because neither my sister nor I have any interest in that in the longer term. I like horses but I don't want a horse farm nor does my sister and I think it is really impractical. Anyway, that's another story. 

Getting a vacation home doesn't really interest me right now and isn't a priority. I prefer to explore new areas. I do see the benefit of it in some situations though. I know people who really make use of collectively owned beach homes, operating like a time share but within the family/close-knit group. I am sometimes invited in the summer to visit a property like that and I look forward to it.

In your situation, I would do more research but it does sound like a good idea. If you plan to vacation a lot in one area, that's ok and then a vacation home can make sense. I think there are just different ways that people approach traveling and vacation time. I don't think there's anything wrong with that especially if you feel committed to the area where you will buy and do research like you are.

[mrsd2006]

We have a second home about 1.5 hours away, 78 miles from home. We go quite frequently, average about three weekends a month. It's a log cabin on a river in the mountains, so there's a lot to do around the area (no skiing). It was a rental when we bought it, so it always has the potential to go back to that. When we retire we will probably split time between here and the beach (where we already own property but will need to build a house)

We still take a couple of vacations every year also domestic and international, so it hasn't hampered that.

My struggle is the maintenance part. DH is cheap and hates to pay people to do stuff around there, but then he doesn't want to do it himself. He says he will, but it just doesn't get done. I've been wanting it power washed for a year now, but he won't get it done (even though he owns a power washer!). And a couple of fence posts have needed to be replaced since the summer. But I kind of get it, if we don't get up there until Saturday and come home Sunday, he doesn't want to spend the whole time on chores. But then if you don't want to do it, cough up some cash dammitt!!

[lolo]

Hmm it could be that three is the tipping point. Obviously it's harder but I guess my point was more that it doesn't always happen for folks who find travel important and OP should take that into consideration if it's relevant for her.

Most of my friends who still travel frequently only have two, although some of my ex pat friends have 3-4 and still do a lot of travel (though I think that's somewhat different).

[soso]

We just purchased a small place about 20 minutes away on the beach. We plan to spend a few long weekends there a month. We won't rent it due to the hassle vs income and really wanting to be able to use it. We may in the future rent it a month at a time. We can still easily get to work and school or weekend activities. I travel but not with my child so this isn't impacting my vacation budget. She's at an age where this will be awesome for her for the next 7 years or so. Much of what you are asking depends on your particular lifestyle. I can only really relax "away" so after a few trial runs we made the leap. We wanted to be close enough to be able to go anytime without taking time off. While we are on track financially, it is a luxury but meh... We do plan to sell our primary home (no mortgage) and this place (will be mortgage free in about 12 years) in about 15to 20 years and purchase a single larger place on the beach. Best wishes in what you decide.

[House4Me]

If I had multiples of millions then yes I would buy a second home for a vacation home. But if my inheritance was a million or less then no I would not buy a second home as a vacation home. Think of how far that money could go by renting every time you wanted to visit the same location or how many other places you could go visit. I you are looking to sink your money in to something with a hopeful ROI via real estate then I guess it makes sense. Good luck in your decision. 

[magpie]

I think I would only buy a vacation home if I could rent it out when I wasn't (or didn't want to be) using it. Is it feasible for you to rent it out for longer on those years when you find yourselves wanting to follow that wanderlust and explore other parts of the world? I wouldn't want to be tied down to one single vacation destination, but if you can rent out the place, I feel like that gives you more flexibility.

[dochas]

mswax I forgot to mention another great benefit. Sometimes one of us takes our son there. Alone. Technically, yes, we could do the same with a hotel but we're not going to because one of us would be missing out on that. I also do a weekend with my sisters there without having to worry who can afford the cost of a trip.

[aurora]

Nov 1, 2016 20:54:13 GMT -5 mswax said:

Thanks for all the feedback everyone! This is an area we love and already visit multiple times every year. We currently spend $4-5k/year visiting for weekends. This winter we are renting a house for the whole winter (with friends) and will get to try out the location before we buy.

It's about 25 minutes from 2 different ski mountains (pretty good ones), and lots of hiking trails (our summer activity). There are some cute towns 15-20 minutes away with local shops but also decent grocery stores and restaurants.

If I'm being honest, I really want to do this. I'm also VERY financially conservative, so huge investments like this scare me. We are on track (maybe even ahead of the curve) for retirement, doing ok (though maybe a little behind the curve) for college savings, and I think we'd still be able to do some travel elsewhere (just not as much...think plane trip every other year). It sounds like based on your experiences, this could be a good fit for our family. I'll continue to listen to any other thoughts/suggestions/recommendations you have.

Thanks again.

I think renting this winter is the perfect plan. We rented a room in a house with friends for 8 years so that we could ski on weekends consistently, and that gave us the certainty to know that we would use a house if we bought one. I really do think that the time is as big an issue as the finances. Of course it is scary to take on more financial obligations, but sometimes there you just have to take the leap after you've done the research and the numbers work out.

That said, many of our friends in the rental who had young kids found that they weren't able to use it as often as the kids got older because they had more weekend activities. So, that's something to consider, as well.

[whisperingalene]

Nov 3, 2016 10:27:52 GMT -5 aurora said:

Nov 1, 2016 20:54:13 GMT -5 mswax said:

Thanks for all the feedback everyone! This is an area we love and already visit multiple times every year. We currently spend $4-5k/year visiting for weekends. This winter we are renting a house for the whole winter (with friends) and will get to try out the location before we buy.

It's about 25 minutes from 2 different ski mountains (pretty good ones), and lots of hiking trails (our summer activity). There are some cute towns 15-20 minutes away with local shops but also decent grocery stores and restaurants.

If I'm being honest, I really want to do this. I'm also VERY financially conservative, so huge investments like this scare me. We are on track (maybe even ahead of the curve) for retirement, doing ok (though maybe a little behind the curve) for college savings, and I think we'd still be able to do some travel elsewhere (just not as much...think plane trip every other year). It sounds like based on your experiences, this could be a good fit for our family. I'll continue to listen to any other thoughts/suggestions/recommendations you have.

Thanks again.

I think renting this winter is the perfect plan. We rented a room in a house with friends for 8 years so that we could ski on weekends consistently, and that gave us the certainty to know that we would use a house if we bought one. I really do think that the time is as big an issue as the finances. Of course it is scary to take on more financial obligations, but sometimes there you just have to take the leap after you've done the research and the numbers work out.

That said, many of our friends in the rental who had young kids found that they weren't able to use it as often as the kids got older because they had more weekend activities. So, that's something to consider, as well.

Just as an aside, we were toying with the idea of a beach house as well, and will continue to do so. Where we struggle is we would not want to rent it out in the future because if we do purchase a home, we want it to be our own and not a place where strangers move our things around.   However, my parents and other people have mentioned that as our kids grow, they won't want to be away from their friends, activities, etc. for an entire summer. To which I say: TOUGH! I'm the parent! You do what I say! But then I remember being 13 and missing two weeks of summer back home and how miserable I was, even though I was at our family house at a beautiful beach. That wasn't even an entire summer.  So if we were to go forward, it would only make sense in our case as a rental property, and that's something we have to really consider.  For now, even a costly weekly rental is much cheaper than a down payment and monthly fees associated with buying our own place.

[ssmjlm]

We have a family beach house, but in our case it does not have a mortgage. I will say the first year was a bit expensive as we purchased a previous rental that had not been maintained beyond whatever they paid the rental company to do. But my parents got a great deal on it and it was more about location and size than interior finishes.

We definitely have not spent as much time there as we would have liked this year, but we just renovated the entire top floor and that was started in July after our big family vacation.

I will say, if kids are afraid to "miss out" bring a friend once they're old enough! It's your house, why not invite some friends to come along.

[birdmom]

When my in laws died, we also inherited a large sum of money, and also a vacation home. We sold the beach house and we bought a camper. We didn't want our vacation spot to be tied down to the same place all the time. DH camped all over the US with his parents when he was young, so our camper is kind of "dedicated" to my in laws. I don't know what kind of vacationers your family is, but our camper has by far been our best investment!

I realize this probably isn't helpful to you. But I'm very sorry for your loss. I know the bittersweet feeling of having money that you wished was still someone else's.