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New financial goal?

August 19th, 2008 at 10:55 pm

I think there may be a new financial goal in our future - a vacation home. In the past, we had considered buying a home in Florida to use for our Disney trips and to rent out the rest of the time. After looking into it, speaking with a realtor, a property management company and some other owners in the area, we decided against it.

Now, though, we are thinking about getting a place much closer to home in a location that we actually visit regularly, multiple times per year. It is close enough that we could use the place just for an overnight or weekend stay. We wouldn't be looking to rent it out, though we would consider offering it to a select group of friends and family for a modest charge (well below the going rates in the area) just to help defray our costs a bit.

I've just started to look into it and run numbers to figure out what we can afford, what places are going for in the area, and when we can seriously consider it - we can't at this point in time. Maybe in 5-10 years or so, though, we would be in a position where we could make it a reality. Just something to dream about right now.

4 Responses to “New financial goal?”

  1. Ima saver Says:
    1219245507

    I have always wanted a vacation home, but my dh always talks me out of it. I would never rent it; I have had rentals and that was a bad decisioin.

  2. disneysteve Says:
    1219251736

    Yes, we wouldn't openly rent it either. We'd just share with close friends and family who we could trust to take care of the place and not trash it, have wild parties, smoke, bring in animals, etc.

  3. jIM_Ohio Says:
    1219270999

    Something to think about which others I know have done- buy the vacation house in a location where you would consider retiring to, or moving to once kids are out of house (as part of downsizing current house).

  4. disneysteve Says:
    1219273727

    Jim, the problem with that is that the area where we would most likely consider retiring to is a 17-hour drive from our home. That's why we ruled out buying a vacation home there. We'd only use it for a week, maybe two at most, per year.

    This would be a 1-hour drive from home. We'd be able to use it for at least a night or two probably every month with some longer stays during the year as well. We wouldn't have to worry about getting someone else to handle keeping an eye on it. My work partner has a home in the same area and I'm sure he wouldn't mind checking in on it when he is down at his place. It would be a place that we'd actually get regular usage out of.

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