Weikertgal
Active member
- Joined
- May 3, 2021
- Messages
- 123
1) if you have a second place, would you do it over again? Did you find it to be a maintenance/financial burden, or did you not use it as much as you anticipated?
Yes, I would do it over again.
We bought it when our son was a toddler and we are glad we did. We often hosted his friends and their families back when the kids were little and full of "wonder" and enjoyed simple things like playing in the creek, making mountain pies, etc.
We use is all the time, at least twice a month and sometimes more.
We out source the mowing. I did not want my husband to be stressed out about getting the mower out 5 minutes after arrival, something he would have obsessed about all summer long.
Maintenance will depend on the structure. Ours was built in the 1800s, updated in the 1950s and again by us over the years. Any improvements were done to be as maintenance free as possible - vinyl siding, composite decking, etc.
Carrying costs are $6,000ish a year. We heat it year-round becuase we go in the winter.
If you have a mortgage and are located in a flood zone, flood insurance will run thousands of dollars alone.
2) How far is it from your primary residence?
When searching for a place, our drive time limit was 3 hours each way. I never wanted to wake up on a Sunday morning and immediately dread a long drive home. We ended up 45 minutes from our "real" home and its perfect. Drive time is never a deterent to visiting even for a one night stay. I would recommend 2 or less hours.
3) I am hesitant to go too cheap on a bare-bones no running water kind of place, because id like this to be collectively about family outdoor time and not just dad's fishing the entire weekend. Also, like above, i think it would get more use if it had decent amenities and the ability for me to work half a day on fridays.
Definately something to consider. Back when we started looking, I thought I would be ok with bare bones.
20 years later, I know we would not have used our place as much if it was too rustic. I would not have the patience or energy to deal with a wood stove as primary heat, outhouse, cleaning upon arrival and such that a rustic place requires.
Like it or not, life has changed and "getting away from it all" is harder. We broke down and got internet after a few years so we could watch movies and do work occasionally and this contributes to us being there more than if we didn't have it. Our son and his friends love getting a fire going in the fire place and watching movies when they aren't outside.
Our son didn't develop an interest in competitive sports and enjoyed his weekend time at our place. However, we have plenty of friends whose lives are dictated by the kids' teams. One of those things you won't know until it happens.
4) Anything i am missing that i should definitely be thinking about?
How important to non-cabin activities to you? Location to off-site activities, grocery shopping, restaurants, etc. can be a positive. Because we are at our place often, we like being able to have something to do off-site. We are in the Bald Eagle State forest with immediate access to hiking, biking and driving the DCNR roads. We are an easy drive to towns if its a rainy weekend and we want to escape our four walls.
If you are thinking of renting a future place out - During/after COVID, there was an explosion of people buying properties for STRs/AirBnBs/VBROs in our area. There was a line of thinking they could ues the rental income to offset the cost of ownership. Some of these are now up for sale, I think the demand is waning except the ones that have very good stream access. From the people I have talked to, the cost of turnovers, cleaning and tenant expectations as it relates to maintenance was more than they envisioned.
Yes, I would do it over again.
We bought it when our son was a toddler and we are glad we did. We often hosted his friends and their families back when the kids were little and full of "wonder" and enjoyed simple things like playing in the creek, making mountain pies, etc.
We use is all the time, at least twice a month and sometimes more.
We out source the mowing. I did not want my husband to be stressed out about getting the mower out 5 minutes after arrival, something he would have obsessed about all summer long.
Maintenance will depend on the structure. Ours was built in the 1800s, updated in the 1950s and again by us over the years. Any improvements were done to be as maintenance free as possible - vinyl siding, composite decking, etc.
Carrying costs are $6,000ish a year. We heat it year-round becuase we go in the winter.
If you have a mortgage and are located in a flood zone, flood insurance will run thousands of dollars alone.
2) How far is it from your primary residence?
When searching for a place, our drive time limit was 3 hours each way. I never wanted to wake up on a Sunday morning and immediately dread a long drive home. We ended up 45 minutes from our "real" home and its perfect. Drive time is never a deterent to visiting even for a one night stay. I would recommend 2 or less hours.
3) I am hesitant to go too cheap on a bare-bones no running water kind of place, because id like this to be collectively about family outdoor time and not just dad's fishing the entire weekend. Also, like above, i think it would get more use if it had decent amenities and the ability for me to work half a day on fridays.
Definately something to consider. Back when we started looking, I thought I would be ok with bare bones.
20 years later, I know we would not have used our place as much if it was too rustic. I would not have the patience or energy to deal with a wood stove as primary heat, outhouse, cleaning upon arrival and such that a rustic place requires.
Like it or not, life has changed and "getting away from it all" is harder. We broke down and got internet after a few years so we could watch movies and do work occasionally and this contributes to us being there more than if we didn't have it. Our son and his friends love getting a fire going in the fire place and watching movies when they aren't outside.
Our son didn't develop an interest in competitive sports and enjoyed his weekend time at our place. However, we have plenty of friends whose lives are dictated by the kids' teams. One of those things you won't know until it happens.
4) Anything i am missing that i should definitely be thinking about?
How important to non-cabin activities to you? Location to off-site activities, grocery shopping, restaurants, etc. can be a positive. Because we are at our place often, we like being able to have something to do off-site. We are in the Bald Eagle State forest with immediate access to hiking, biking and driving the DCNR roads. We are an easy drive to towns if its a rainy weekend and we want to escape our four walls.
If you are thinking of renting a future place out - During/after COVID, there was an explosion of people buying properties for STRs/AirBnBs/VBROs in our area. There was a line of thinking they could ues the rental income to offset the cost of ownership. Some of these are now up for sale, I think the demand is waning except the ones that have very good stream access. From the people I have talked to, the cost of turnovers, cleaning and tenant expectations as it relates to maintenance was more than they envisioned.
