Second-home costs do not scale with use — a property occupied six weeks costs nearly what one occupied twenty-six weeks costs, and some costs rise with absence. Buy assuming no rental income, arrange a reliable local person before you need one, and rent in the area first if you can.
The property is usually the easy part. The decisions around it determine whether the thing turns out to be a pleasure or an obligation.
People buy second homes for a place they love and then spend several years discovering what that actually involves. The property is usually the easy part. The decisions around it are what determine whether the thing is a pleasure or an obligation.
The honest answer is almost always fewer times than the answer given at purchase.
Travel time is the strongest predictor. A property within a couple of hours gets used most weekends. One requiring a flight and a connection gets used for holidays and school breaks, and the difference is not marginal — it changes the cost per night of use by a large multiple.
Before anything else, look at the last two years honestly. How many weekends did you actually take? That number, not your intention, is what to plan around.
A property occupied six weeks a year costs close to what one occupied twenty-six weeks costs.
Systems still need servicing, grounds still need maintaining, insurance is annual, and property tax does not care whether you visited. In cold or coastal climates an empty property needs active management — freeze protection, humidity control, storm preparation.
Some costs actually rise with absence, because you are paying someone to do things you would otherwise do while there. Caretaking, security checks, and someone able to attend when a pipe fails in February.
Many buyers assume they will offset costs by renting. Some do. Many discover the constraints late.
Verify first whether it is permitted at all — municipal rules, association rules and recorded covenants each have to allow it. Then look at what management costs, what the property will need in furnishing and wear, and what tax treatment applies.
The more consequential question is whether you actually want to. A property you rent is a property that must be neutral, that you cannot leave things in, and that you may not be able to use on the weekend you want it. Plenty of owners try it for two seasons and stop.
Buy on the assumption of no rental income. Treat any as a bonus rather than a plan.
The single most useful thing a second-home owner arranges is a reliable local person.
A caretaker, property manager or trusted neighbor who checks the property, meets contractors, handles what goes wrong and knows who to call. Owners who have this find the arrangement relaxing. Owners who do not find that every problem requires a flight.
Establish this before you need it. The good ones are known locally and are usually already busy.
Second homes carry a different treatment from primary residences on both the interest deduction and the capital gains position, and renting the property introduces further complexity.
Spending significant time in another state can also raise residency questions, particularly where that state has income tax and you are established elsewhere.
None of this is a reason not to buy. All of it is a reason to have a tax advisor look at the plan before rather than after.
The final and most useful point.
Second homes are bought for a place — a town, a coast, a mountain, a body of water. The house is how you access it. Buyers who fall for a house in a location they do not love end up with a beautiful property they visit reluctantly.
Rent in the area first if you possibly can, ideally outside the season everyone visits. The number of second-home regrets that would have been prevented by two weeks in November is considerable.
Look at the last two years honestly rather than at your intentions. Travel time is the strongest predictor — a property two hours away gets used most weekends, one requiring a flight gets used for holidays.
Barely. Systems still need servicing, insurance is annual and tax does not care whether you visited. Some costs rise with absence, because you pay someone to do what you would otherwise do while there.
Sometimes, but verify that municipal rules, association rules and covenants all permit it, and consider whether you want to. A rented property must stay neutral, cannot hold your things, and may be unavailable when you want it.
A reliable local person — caretaker, manager or trusted neighbor who checks the property, meets contractors and knows who to call. Without one, every problem requires a flight. The good ones are already busy.
Buying a house in a location the owner does not actually love. Rent in the area first, ideally outside the season everyone visits.
A select network of the nation's most accomplished luxury real estate professionals.