Lake house usage

[toolz]

The wife and I are considering buying a small lake house- very affordable (as in cheap), and very well kept with many recent upgrades. I would have bought it today, but what held me back is that the land is leased, at around 4k per year. Because of that, taxes are next to nothing, so there is a trade off. I just can't decide if I'll use it enough to justify nearly $400/month lease. Wife and son really like it, but we also agreed that we could do a couple of weekends a month at various rental houses, with no expenses during the off season. So my question is- how often do you use your lake house, and do you feel it's worth the expense and convienience, compared to renting?

[epnault]

We had been shopping the last couple of years and have gone through every scenario possible. 3 season cabin vs 4 season cabin, purchasing with relatives, cabins with roads between residence and shore line, renting a slip, driving 60 to 80 miles, 200-500-1000 acre lakes,etc.... Although we had not run into a scenario in which the land was leased. This was our first cabin purchase too and we trying to find something that wasn't too expensive. I am not sure how I would feel about my property being on a lease. If you are financing you might want to ask your banker how they feel about this and ask your insurance agent to see if there are complications with this type of purchase. Another thing to consider is resale and how this will complicate things if/when you need to sell down the road. Although the cost of the lease versus taxes will be similar, most people will want to own there land.

This is what we did. We found a 3 bedroom, 4 season cabin on a smaller lake-200acres, private seller, 15 miles from our house, and we are moving in for the summers. I got a lot of good advice from people on this site. We love our place and I will get to ski every night.

Good luck with your cabin search. It is so much fun.

[2RLAKE]

we bought our property in 1991 and built in 1994. we go down at least every other weekend through the summer and try about a weekend a month in the offseason .. kids sports and my work travel have affected that this year. Linda and the kids also stay for a couple weeks several times in the summer ... we love having the lake house

Our good neighbors are not neighbors ... they are our lake family ... and they really are family ... that's probably the best part

[jafo9]

having a place to call our own on the lake really expanded our lives as a family. before then, we were relegated to day trips and the occasional overnight stay with friends. we never faced a lease option so i can't comment there. my wife and i did agree that we didn't want to share the place with anyone else, family or otherwise. not that we don't like company and family. we just didn't like the idea of having to coordinate our trips with anyone else. if we want to get away, we just go. we spend a great deal of the summer at our place which is only about 1.5 hrs door to door. we know folks who share their lake houses and it seems to work for them, so its not impossible. it just wasn't what we wanted. obviously money is the root factor here and we had to settle for "less" of a house than the ones that friends or families shared. we were also surprised how much we use the place in the off season just to "get away" and do some hiking or relaxing.

bottom line, if the money is right, its a great investment for your family.

[tim79mc]

we live on a lake and would not have it any other way. We're in NY, so summers are short, but winters on the lake are just as fun with 4 wheelers and ice skates. And of course, VT is just up the road for snow skiing.

We bought an old camp for about the price of property (in other words, the house came free) because it needed to be torn down and was actually a liability in some ways. We used the house while we planned our tear-down and saved up some dough. 11/2010 we tore down and 5/11 we moved into a beautiful 3000 sq ft house with a great view of the lake. Obviously, this is our full-time residence.

I agree with 2R lake. We have over 100 neighbors. Our best friends live on the other side of the lake & there's nothing like having 8 ski boats on the lake that you can bum ski rides if yours is in the shop : )

[BWB-745-]

We're pretty spread out and use the lake house as a gathering spot for family functions, not just for the lake.

Parties during football season, holidays, just a place to be out in the woods and relax for a weekend.

[wheelerlake]

I would be very leery of any "easements", "leases" or any other variances of outright owning what you're going to use and probably grow to love. We've found easements can be reversed, too bad so sad. And how would you feel if after a couple of years your lease were terminated, again, too bad so sad, and you would have to leave everything behind. Think of trailer parks in FL where the owner of the land sells to developers-land gone. You don't own the land which sets up all sorts of situations. I would rather pay taxes on it and know I own the land and the rights and peace of mind that go with it. Check on what you can put in for a dock, etc., if you don't own it. Can you build a boathouse if you want? Liability insurance if something happens? Can the landowner use the property as he wishes, coming onto your little piece of heaven? How easy to sell in that situation? I have all kinds of questions for that scenario, none I would wish to conquer. I'm sure our attorney friends on our site could add a few pros/cons, also. Buyer beware!

[CottagerGreg]

Find out the t&c's on the leased land.

[wheelerlake]

That said, we use ours whenever I'm not working (12 hr shifts-3/wk RN). Hubby is retired Kids & grandkids don't come up as much as we'd like, organized sports even on the weekends, etc. Be prepared to do maintenance on both houses, work a lot and play HARD!! It's a lifestyle, memory building, life changing place in you and your kids' mind. Our lakehome is my peace, my place to go, even if just in my mind, when I'm stressed. I have lifelong friends on our lake as my parents had a place on the lake when I was growing up, so I know what's it's like. We still ski together, pontoon together, go to Packer games, etc. You will never be sorry you purchased a piece of heaven. It enriches your life in so many unexpected ways.

[Latin Flyer]

Finally my game! I,m a Realtor specialized in investment properties, so here we go.
First, if you lile it or not or should you or not has nothing to do with the real estate part of it. I have a week end house on the beach and we love it!!!!!

Now, land leade. First wuestion i have is how much longer is the lease?

And land lease is a depreciable investmet, it means that the value of your investment actually goes down the closer you are to the end of the lease. It could be worh $0 aon the last 10 years if the no renewal guarantee!

How much is the house? How much would it cost to rent?
If you really wnat to do rent to own comparasion i need all this data.

I even have a program that can do all this for you. Call me at 954-274-2274 and i,ll be happy to help you. No prospecting here, just helping a fellow mc owner!