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Old 02-05-21, 10:40 AM  
muggle
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Off topic: Thinking of becoming a snowbird

Please delete with my apologies if not allowed.

My husband and I have talked about doing this for a while now. We live in New York and would like to purchase a vacation home near a beach. I want to rent it out during spring, summer & early fall. He wants a house, not a condo or co-ownership. Does anyone else do this? Is it worth it? Pitfalls? Advantages? This is a new venture and we're not sure of anything. Any comments are appreciated.
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Old 02-05-21, 01:04 PM  
wendug
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Chicago burb
My parents are snow birds, but they rent instead of own. I asked them why they didn't want to buy, and they just don't want the hassle. The place they originally rented in Gulf Shores, Alabama was damaged in a hurricane a few years back, so they had to change locations. My dad had surgery last year, so they didn't travel last winter. And with covid, they definitely didn't want to travel this year. Sometimes they rent a house with friends if their schedules work out, or sometimes they rent a condo for just themselves, depending on the year. My point is, they like to go south in the winter, but don't own so they can keep their options open.
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Old 02-05-21, 01:08 PM  
unfetteredpast
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
DH and I have discussed this option, but I'm reluctant to leave a place empty for any length of time. Plus I don't want to have to either move everything I want to be able to use in the second location, or buy duplicates. We could probably rent something but with 3 cats, that could be difficult.
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Old 02-05-21, 01:12 PM  
Gams
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Two things I can think of - renting out property can be a major pain in the neck and you’d have to make sure you have a reliable caretaker for your place in NY while you are gone for the winter. I think it’s doable, but I’d be careful. I know several people here in northern Wisconsin that own places in Florida and head south for the winter and they make it work.
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Old 02-05-21, 02:14 PM  
BunnyHop
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
The hassles of owning/repairing a home in a region that's vulnerable to hurricanes only get worse after a storm moves through. (I'm still waiting for an insurance estimate from Zeta)

Insurance rates are ridiculously high, and the reason I'm planning to move.

On the other hand, real estate management type situations are not uncommon, so if you have someone local to manage the property, it might not be so bad.
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Old 02-05-21, 02:15 PM  
Demeris
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
I live in South Eastern Arizona, which is Snowbird Central. Some people own condos, some rent houses or apartments, and some travel here in RVs and have a wide array of sites from which to choose.
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Old 02-05-21, 02:27 PM  
BigBadBetty
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Madison, WI, USA
My parents and my fiance's parents are snowbirds with single family homes. We are thinking of following suit closer to retirement. Both my parents homes are in gated communities. His parents' Florida home is in a gated community, but their northern home is not. Neither of them rent it either of their homes.

I would not consider renting out any place that I owned. His parents rented out a house and it was constant nightmare. They had renters ruin stuff. A couple of renters refused to leave on time. Later, they hired a property management company to help them, but they were almost useless. You also have to think about where you will store your possessions that you don't want ruined/stolen. I had to live the second hand stress of their renters. I wouldn't want to deal with it.

Neither of our parents have a management company to help while they are away. However, my parent's summer home is near my sister so she can help. We live near his parent's summer home so we help maintain their place in the winter. My parents and his parents both found responsible neighbors who have a spare key in case of an emergency (like a hurricane, router that needs to be restarted, etc.)
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Old 02-05-21, 07:26 PM  
Hazel Porter
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Colorado
My parents did a couple winters as snowbirds and always rented. to avoid the hassle of how to keep up with the property at a distance. They had a friend look in on their house in NJ periodically while they were away and never had any problems (but if they had, someone would have alerted them, I guess).

Their neighbors actually bought property in Florida, but only because they wanted to (and eventually did) move down there once they both fully retired.
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Old 02-05-21, 08:03 PM  
bee
VF Supporter
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
I can sort of relate to this pondering, though for a different reason. I live in fire country (in California) and we were planning to buy a place we could stay during fire season so we can get a decent night of sleep. Where we live we don't have to worry about crime hardly at all, so I forget that such a thing exists (how lucky are we?). We were going to buy a place in town that maybe we would airbnb for the time we don't need it. A friend cautioned us to be really careful where we buy because of the crime factor. I think we've decided not to go that route after all.... now we are thinking about buying a Sprinter van RV so that we can leave with the dogs when we need to. That's the current idea we're mulling about.
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Old 02-05-21, 08:09 PM  
DCW
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Join Date: Dec 2016
This has me imagining renting a home for a few months in another country.

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