Property
 

Anyone here own extra property, or a cottage, or a summer home or anything like that?

There's a cute tiny little cottage I saw for sale and I'm seriously debating looking into buying it. It's about 45 minutes away, on a lake. I have to do further research regarding condition, location, etc.

But then I wonder - will it just be a big pain in the ass? :shrug: I know real estate almost always increases in value over time, but will it really be worth it?

Thoughts? Advice?

the only thing I can say is I have a friend that has a vacation house in the country and all she does is complain about it b/c it takes a lot of time to keep it up, extra yard to cut and clean, double the appliances to replace and overall maintenance.

^ Great. Thanks. :thumbsup:

JK - that's what I'm concerned about. The place def. needs some TLC, but I need more info on it before I make any moves. It's cheap as hell, though...

yeah. if you've got the money and time to do it, go for it, cause, like you said, it will increase in value. if you can fix it up and keep it for a year or so you may be able to make a good bit off of it.

Buy it now, unless you plan on dramatically increasing your income in the future.
Although I hear the Market right now is expensive, and it's going to come down a bit. I was just talking about this last night. My friend bought her house for about 140,000, then with the new rooms it was about 170,000 about...7 years ago? Now it's worth half a mil.
So, you can repair that thing for the rest of your life when you have some extra cash, and may be able to rent it out as well - I say look at the market trends and try to buy it. :shrug: By that I mean unless it is way overpriced right now (which is possible).

do you guys ever watch flip this house on a&e? it's amazing what they can do with places in need of a little tlc.

yep. I love shows like that.

like amber said too, Paula, maybe you can rent it out and have a little cashflow.

That's what I'm thinking. Of course, it's really small (700 sq. feet - just a cottage) and I have to find out if it's really ON the lake, and make sure that lake is not the polluted lake of death. :laugh:




LOVE those shows!

Be careful with the whole idea of property flipping though. Some areas are easier to do that in than others. In suburban Chicago, for example, it's not as easy to property flip as it is in, say, the San Fransisco Bay area. Some markets don't respond (in price) to upgrades as quickly as others do. In San Fran buyers have more money to burn, and they value style and upgrades more than folks in other areas, etc.

So, if this place you're considering is in an area where people don't buy and sell often, if it's not a "hot" market, you're not as likely to make a big profit by flipping. Not that you're considering flipping, but even if you have to resell in a couple years that's something you'll want to consider. Maybe find out how much comparable places (and places with nice upgrades) have sold for in the past couple years in the immediate area where you're considering buying.

Is this lake anywhere near Rochester - because then you have your answer on whether or not it the polluted lake of death :p

700sq feet IS tiny...that's smaller than my apartment!!!

Yeah, I'm really thinking more of a summer cottage for us, maybe rent it out a few weeks a year too. I know it has electricity & indoor plumbing (don't laugh, I've seen some advertised that don't) and it has a stone fireplace. It also lists "other heat/cooling" which I would hope is a furnace, but for all I know could be a kerosene space heater. :laugh:


You know it, baby! A lot of lakes here are pretty gross, but not literally deadly. I'd just like to prepare before I get typhoid or hepatitis, you know?

Well Paula you aure work hard. From that standpoint you certainly deserve something like this.:nod:

I can't afford one house, let alone two :(

House prices here are ridiculous - you can't buy anything at all for less than £100K and the average is nearer £200K - and when you only earn £20-25K then you've had it. Lots of people here are buying in Europe instead, so I'm hoping to do that. I could work till I'm 150 years old and still never afford a place here. Damn country :distress:

But if you can afford it, I think an extra place is a great idea - especially if you rent it out and perhaps get an agent to deal with collecting rent etc - minimum hassle. That way, it could act like a little pension.

It's the curse of a small land mass my friend.:(

I have a second home and I have never regretted it. If the plan is to keep it as a second home then, yes, be sure you can afford the maintenance costs on both homes. Have you thought about offering as a weekend/weekly rental? Sorry, but I do not recall your location. Is there a lot of activity on the lake?