What are your thoughts about people who have more than one house?

[Clarita]

I would think "Good for SKL and her friends. And when are we going to have a shindig there." 

As to multiple homes causing affordability crisis, I'm not sold on the fact that people owning second or third homes is the reason for the crisis. Some financial conglomerate holding on to hundreds of properties because they don't want the price of those properties to drop type thing, yes. In my very unaffordable area there is more at play that just people owning more than one home to cause homes to be ridiculously priced. In my neck of the woods it's immensely obvious that certain policies are holding prices up.  

[Happy Camper]

Am I the only one who wants more info about 3 women co-owning 2 houses? I'm picturing modern-day Golden Girls but before retirement. I would love to hear more about how this came to be! You certainly don't have to share that. I guess I mean to say that I think it's awesome! As to the question posed, I think that fixing up an abandoned house is always good for a neighborhood. And I agree with others who pointed out how people at the party probably interpreted your comment. Maybe think of another way to phrase it if it bothers you how others react. But good for you and your friends for being so financially stable that you can do this!

[Heartstrings]

1 hour ago, Clarita said:

As to multiple homes causing affordability crisis, I'm not sold on the fact that people owning second or third homes is the reason for the crisis. Some financial conglomerate holding on to hundreds of properties because they don't want the price of those properties to drop type thing, yes. 

I agree with this.  Its similar to many other topics that corporations have managed to get us to look at individual citizens as the problem and not look at the corporations.  I can shake my finger at SKL for having 2 houses because I know her and she can see my finger waging.  I have no connections to XYZ Corp that owns 1500 houses in each of 10 major cities I may not know about that corporation at all.  So SKL gets the stank eye for daring to own a second home, while XYZ Corp gets a tax break while our attention is diverted.  

 

The problem is always the corporations, not individuals.  If we limited individuals to 1 home and 1 only 1 home at a time, we would do nothing for the housing crisis, because the issue is builders and megacorps.  Same with climate change, food waste, carbon footprints etc. 

[whitestavern]

My BIL and SIL recently bought a beach house about an hour from their home. They spend Thurs to Sun there. Dh and I have been looking to buy a retirement home (early) a few states away to use for vacations and/or airbnb. But now we are reconsidering and thinking a beach house (also about an hour away for us) could be really nice to weekend/vacation at. Come retirement it could stay our vaca house or we could sell or rent. So I don’t think it’s weird at all. I know quite a few people that have lake or beach houses close to where they live. 

Edited May 1 by whitestavern

[prairiewindmomma]

About 15% of all people own more than one home. It’s NBD. If you got looks it’s probably one of a few things:

1. Hate for airbnb

2. Confusion about why you didnt buy someplace awesome with a beach/mountains 

3. confusion about the multiple owner situation instead of personal ownership

But ultimately, meh, who cares? 

[SHP]

9 hours ago, SKL said:

I have a friend who bought a house in the city where her daughter is attending college, because she wanted to make sure her kid had someplace safe to go (and she could afford it).  The original idea was for the daughter to find friends on campus who would be good roommates, and then share the space; and to sell the house after graduation.  Not sure how the cost of that plan would compare to the cost of just renting an apartment or using the dorm during those years.

This was very common here 10+ years ago. Buy a (cheap) bigger older house for your student nearish campus. Get roommates to offset the mortgage and utilities to keep their and their students living expenses very low. Sell after they graduate, often for more than they paid. I don't know anyone who didn't come out ahead doing this. When touring colleges we include looking at houses for this reason. 

 

[SHP]

We have a second home that is in the same area, it will likely be where we move when we downsize in retirement. Now? We have kids renting it for the cost of the mortgage. It is cheaper for them than anyplace else. 

[KungFuPanda]

I’d rather see a regular person buy a second home than an investment company that snaps up several. People need retirement investments and real estate is just a more noticeable one because you have neighbors.  Regular non-uber-rich people are not the problem. 
 

I’ll bet people are afraid you’ll turn it into an AirBnB. Nobody wants that next door.  I know people that have second homes. Sometimes they’re cabins, or condos in Florida, or the old family house back home that they inherited. Nothing ostentatious; just normal small-medium family homes. I’d love to do the investment home for my daughter, but the town she lives in is more expensive than where I live. She’s actually renting my BIL’s investment condo for below the current rental value. It’s two bedrooms but it’s tiny. 

[Lecka]

Since I have a different concern than everybody else….

My concern would be that it will be a “project house” where people do work or pay to have work done in sporadic bursts, with long periods of time where no work is being done and the house is in a strange state of mid-construction.  
 

I would want the owner to look like somebody to have plenty of money to take care of the house all at once, and some timeliness, not just the lowest priority they get to when they have time and money, but it’s no drain on them either and they can pay the monthly expenses without thinking about it.  
 

Edit:  if a lawn service is hired and the street view is good, I would not care.  

 

 

Edited May 1 by Lecka

[Clarita]

18 minutes ago, Lecka said:

My concern would be that it will be a “project house” where people do work or pay to have work done in sporadic bursts, with long periods of time where no work is being done and the house is in a strange state of mid-construction.  

I guess to me that's not such a concern because mid-construction is still better than ill-maintained and/or abandoned.

[Lecka]

Just now, Clarita said:

I guess to me that's not such a concern because mid-construction is still better than ill-maintained and/or abandoned.

If it is changing hands, though, I wouldn’t want the “new” hands to be people who might let it sit again.  
 

Somebody moving in will have more motivation to make it livable.

I know OP said she plans to spend 4x the purchase price on renovation.

 

But how would I know that? 
 

It’s not an investment, either, in the sense of looking to speedily get it in shape for rental or Air B and B income.  
 

I don’t know what I would think if the new owners were saying “Air b and b,” that is outside of my experience.  
 

I do have experience with houses spending years in states of mid-construction, and depending on what work is not done, it gets old.  Especially if — the house and locations are ones where “somebody” would fix the house up.  
 

If it’s overpriced for what was paid plus the price of renovation, it would just make me speculate more about “they are overly optimistic, or they don’t care how long it takes.”  
 

If the house has been winding its way towards a tax sale for x years, people may have been really looking forward to the next owner “doing” something with it.  
 

 

 

 

[Lecka]

Honestly hearing “me and my friends went in on it together” does not give me vibes of “and there’s plenty of money to throw into the renovation.”  

Edit: I mean, I get it!  But if I didn’t know I would wonder.  

Edited May 1 by Lecka

[SKL]

3 minutes ago, Lecka said:

If it is changing hands, though, I wouldn’t want the “new” hands to be people who might let it sit again.  
 

Somebody moving in will have more motivation to make it livable.

I know OP said she plans to spend 4x the purchase price on renovation.

 

But how would I know that? 
 

It’s not an investment, either, in the sense of looking to speedily get it in shape for rental or Air B and B income.  
 

I don’t know what I would think if the new owners were saying “Air b and b,” that is outside of my experience.  
 

I do have experience with houses spending years in states of mid-construction, and depending on what work is not done, it gets old.  Especially if — the house and locations are ones where “somebody” would fix the house up.  
 

If it’s overpriced for what was paid plus the price of renovation, it would just make me speculate more about “they are overly optimistic, or they don’t care how long it takes.”  
 

If the house has been winding its way towards a tax sale for x years, people may have been really looking forward to the next owner “doing” something with it. 

Well ... my friends / stb next-door neighbors spent about 2 years fixing up their house before moving in.

We were actually hoping to have ours done in about 6 months (i.e. by May 2024).  The outside / structural stuff is done.  The inside is better than it was ... no more big holes in the floor etc.  But the people working on the house are a bit flighty.  We may need to find someone else at this rate.

It's definitely not an eyesore.  We've made it look much nicer, but it's nowhere near ready to move in.  Can't expect miracles.  😛

Some folks were given house tours during the party.  So people can at least see something is being actively done.

[SKL]

7 minutes ago, Lecka said:

Honestly hearing “me and my friends went in on it together” does not give me vibes of “and there’s plenty of money to throw into the renovation.”  

That's an interesting take.  One would think 3 professionals would have more money, on average, than 1 professional.

[Lecka]

Also saying “we bought it for the view!” gives me “project house” vibes.  
 

When the general contractor and a bunch or trucks are there — I would think “thank goodness.”  Then it would be really sweet to buy a house for the view! 

[SKL]

26 minutes ago, Lecka said:

Also saying “we bought it for the view!” gives me “project house” vibes.  
 

When the general contractor and a bunch or trucks are there — I would think “thank goodness.”  Then it would be really sweet to buy a house for the view! 

I'm pretty sure everyone on that street bought their house for the view.

We are the general contractor.  😛

[SKL]

Well anyhoo, it's interesting to hear the different takes.  People who know us are aware of the way we do projects.  Our developments are known for giving new life to sad areas.  But most of our new neighbors would not know that.  They will hold whatever stereotypes until the job is done & we throw our first party.  😛

[Lecka]

1 hour ago, SKL said:

That's an interesting take.  One would think 3 professionals would have more money, on average, than 1 professional.

But who’s in charge?  What if nobody takes it on?  If you are busy professionals, do you also have the ability to act as your own general contractor and oversee the project in a timely way?

 

I am seriously just being skeptical for the sake of being skeptical, but these are things I “might” think.  
 

I can “understand” having a timeline to move into a house, and I can understand having a timeline to get a house ready to rent.  I totally get those two things.  It’s predictable to me.

 

I would be thrown for a loop!  But in a good way 🙂. 

[SKL]

14 minutes ago, Lecka said:

But who’s in charge?  What if nobody takes it on?  If you are busy professionals, do you also have the ability to act as your own general contractor and oversee the project in a timely way?

Like who would pay $XXX,XXX for an asset and just walk away and let it rot?

We have a history of being GC and getting projects done faster than average.

But so what if it takes a while?  How long would you expect a major house rescue / renovation to take?  I mean we bought it at the beginning of winter and it only recently stopped snowing here.

If you've ever dealt with a big house project, you know it can take weeks or even months just to get permits to start the work or move on to the next phase.

The neighbors seem to love my friends, despite their taking a couple years between buying and moving in.

Edited May 2 by SKL

[Clarita]

2 hours ago, Lecka said:

I do have experience with houses spending years in states of mid-construction, and depending on what work is not done, it gets old.  Especially if — the house and locations are ones where “somebody” would fix the house up.  

🤷‍♀️I have experience with a lot of scenarios. If a house's outside is immaculately remodeled really quickly, I suspect the house will be used for criminal activities... Short term rentals/flippers are also remodeled quickly but slower than criminal activities because they have to make the inside look "nice" as well as the outside. Homes remodeled for the owners usually take longer because they are doing better construction and the exterior is the last to be remodeled if they live there.

I also have a house down the street from me seems like people have run out of money. And another one that's been condemned and now abandoned because the person who was living there hadn't been able to maintain it for a long time. The mid-construction house is in better condition. 

[SKL]

On 4/30/2024 at 9:59 PM, Happy Camper said:

Am I the only one who wants more info about 3 women co-owning 2 houses? I'm picturing modern-day Golden Girls but before retirement. I would love to hear more about how this came to be! You certainly don't have to share that. I guess I mean to say that I think it's awesome!

I never really watched Golden Girls, so I don't know the background of how they got into that situation.

In my case, the 3 of us were all working in a small business after finishing grad school.  We got to know each other's talents and values and decided to start a side business and a nonprofit together.  Not long after, we decided to invest in a house where we'd run the business outside of our paid work hours.  Why pay rent when you can invest in an asset?  We didn't expect to remain as 3 single women forever, it just turned out that way.  😛  I always thought I'd get married and have kids, but coming off a bad relationship in my late 30s, I decided to adopt and just give up on romance.  😛  So that's how we're 3 households under 1 roof.  😛

I highly recommend individuals / small families sharing a house.  Do we all really need our own kitchens?  We've saved so much money over the years, which has provided so much freedom and so many choices.  Of course it's not without its challenges, but I'll take this over constant financial stress.

[Frances]

On 4/30/2024 at 5:42 PM, Clarita said:

I would think "Good for SKL and her friends. And when are we going to have a shindig there." 

As to multiple homes causing affordability crisis, I'm not sold on the fact that people owning second or third homes is the reason for the crisis. Some financial conglomerate holding on to hundreds of properties because they don't want the price of those properties to drop type thing, yes. In my very unaffordable area there is more at play that just people owning more than one home to cause homes to be ridiculously priced. In my neck of the woods it's immensely obvious that certain policies are holding prices up.  

At least in my state, there are multiple reasons for the housing crisis. People owning second or third homes is not the leading cause, but along with short term rentals it’s definitely a contributing factor because the majority of second and third homes and short term rentals are in areas where regular people live, not just seasonal vacation areas as exist in some other states. And the majority are regular homes, not tiny seasonal cabins or huge estates. Our land use laws are probably the biggest current factor contributing to the housing crisis here, although of course corporate ownership of rental homes is also a big contributor. And in terms of home construction, we’ve never actually completed rebounded from the Great Recession. Despite a significant increase in population since then, we are still building fewer housing until per year than we did before 2008.

That being said, I think SKL’s area is very different than my state when it comes to COL, housing affordability, tourism, etc. It seems like a good thing to me if someone is willing to rehab an older home. 

[KungFuPanda]

7 hours ago, SKL said:

I never really watched Golden Girls, so I don't know the background of how they got into that situation.

In my case, the 3 of us were all working in a small business after finishing grad school.  We got to know each other's talents and values and decided to start a side business and a nonprofit together.  Not long after, we decided to invest in a house where we'd run the business outside of our paid work hours.  Why pay rent when you can invest in an asset?  We didn't expect to remain as 3 single women forever, it just turned out that way.  😛  I always thought I'd get married and have kids, but coming off a bad relationship in my late 30s, I decided to adopt and just give up on romance.  😛  So that's how we're 3 households under 1 roof.  😛

I highly recommend individuals / small families sharing a house.  Do we all really need our own kitchens?  We've saved so much money over the years, which has provided so much freedom and so many choices.  Of course it's not without its challenges, but I'll take this over constant financial stress.

I think with this explanation you’re part of the solution, not the problem. You have THREE HOH’s who own two houses, not three. 

[TravelingChris]

I don' think anything about it.  Why would I?  I know a lot of people who have second homes.  We don't.   But itisn't anythingI object to unless someone wants to become a sluml,ord.

[Faith-manor]

On 4/30/2024 at 10:31 PM, Heartstrings said:

I agree with this.  Its similar to many other topics that corporations have managed to get us to look at individual citizens as the problem and not look at the corporations.  I can shake my finger at SKL for having 2 houses because I know her and she can see my finger waging.  I have no connections to XYZ Corp that owns 1500 houses in each of 10 major cities I may not know about that corporation at all.  So SKL gets the stank eye for daring to own a second home, while XYZ Corp gets a tax break while our attention is diverted.  

 

The problem is always the corporations, not individuals.  If we limited individuals to 1 home and 1 only 1 home at a time, we would do nothing for the housing crisis, because the issue is builders and megacorps.  Same with climate change, food waste, carbon footprints etc. 

Nailed it on the head!

 

[gardenmom5]

I don't really care how many houses someone owns as long as they maintain them. If someone has two in the same town/locality - I'd assume one was a rental.  (mil's dh owned a number of duplexes they rented out.)

that said - I really wish the owner of the rental kitty-corner from us would sell it . . . at least he got rid of the section 8 renters (last one had lots of DoV police calls, drug dealing, people not authorized to be living there . . etc.)    the college students didn't cause half the trouble.  current group of four guys - at least one drives for a limo service so cars are parked ON the street.   Garbage trucks honk a lot for them to come out and move it . . .

(just want to add - this is a commentary on the landlord.  Not a landlord you want in your neighborhood.  We have other rentals on the street, with other owners without those issues.)

Edited May 5 by gardenmom5

[Lady Florida.]

I wouldn't think anything of it even if it was being rented out part of the time. Ignore the negative people and get to work on fixing up that house. 🙂 

 

On 4/30/2024 at 10:31 PM, Heartstrings said:

I agree with this.  Its similar to many other topics that corporations have managed to get us to look at individual citizens as the problem and not look at the corporations.   I have no connections to XYZ Corp that owns 1500 houses in each of 10 major cities I may not know about that corporation at all.  So SKL gets the stank eye for daring to own a second home, while XYZ Corp gets a tax break while our attention is diverted.  

 

The problem is always the corporations, not individuals.  If we limited individuals to 1 home and 1 only 1 home at a time, we would do nothing for the housing crisis, because the issue is builders and megacorps.   

I made some snips in the quote in order to address the corporations part. It's becoming a big problem in Florida. Many HOAs, mine included are looking at limiting rentals in our community. This isn't to prevent individual owners from renting their home or to try and keep renters out. It's to stop corporations from taking over neighborhoods. Each homeowner gets a vote at homeowner meetings. If a corporation owns a large number of homes in a particular HOA neighborhood that means they get a vote for each home they own. Corporations rarely do what's best for the neighborhood and giving them more votes takes power away from individual homeowners.

In my neighborhood community we do have some snowbirds as well as some military people. The snowbirds rent their homes part of the year. The military folks want the home for when they retire so they rent it out with plans to move in themselves eventually. These people are definitely not the problem.

On 5/1/2024 at 5:11 PM, KungFuPanda said:

I’ll bet people are afraid you’ll turn it into an AirBnB. Nobody wants that next door.  I know people that have second homes. Sometimes they’re cabins, or condos in Florida,

Our community doesn't allow AirBnb or any type of short term rentals. We do have people here who have second homes or who are snowbirds who own a place for winter residency. The snowbirds usually rent their house for half (ish) of the year while they're up north. 

I confess I used to love the idea of staying in an AirBnB or VRBO when traveling but after I learned about how they're contributing to the housing problem in many cities I don't know how I'd feel about staying in one again.

[Arcadia]

I live in a condo. When my former neighbors upgrade to a townhome, many choose to rent out their condo instead of selling. The main reason being that they intend to move back as empty nesters, with the secondary reason being that their children might need it. My condo complex is in a masterplan community that is rather favorable to seniors. If someone needs to use a mobility scooter, our sidewalks are smooth enough and wide enough for easy “walking” trips to the grocers, library and walk-in clinics. So people are reluctant to sell because they may not be able to buy in later if they sold. This is especially so if where they bought their townhomes are in a more car dependent area. We are hoping to buy a bigger home and if we do, we intend to keep this one for our kids. 

[KungFuPanda]

2 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

I wouldn't think anything of it even if it was being rented out part of the time. Ignore the negative people and get to work on fixing up that house. 🙂 

 

I made some snips in the quote in order to address the corporations part. It's becoming a big problem in Florida. Many HOAs, mine included are looking at limiting rentals in our community. This isn't to prevent individual owners from renting their home or to try and keep renters out. It's to stop corporations from taking over neighborhoods. Each homeowner gets a vote at homeowner meetings. If a corporation owns a large number of homes in a particular HOA neighborhood that means they get a vote for each home they own. Corporations rarely do what's best for the neighborhood and giving them more votes takes power away from individual homeowners.

In my neighborhood community we do have some snowbirds as well as some military people. The snowbirds rent their homes part of the year. The military folks want the home for when they retire so they rent it out with plans to move in themselves eventually. These people are definitely not the problem.

Our community doesn't allow AirBnb or any type of short term rentals. We do have people here who have second homes or who are snowbirds who own a place for winter residency. The snowbirds usually rent their house for half (ish) of the year while they're up north. 

I confess I used to love the idea of staying in an AirBnB or VRBO when traveling but after I learned about how they're contributing to the housing problem in many cities I don't know how I'd feel about staying in one again.

My town doesn’t allow it either. Air BnB sounded good in the beginning but the more details I hear the more I don’t care for it. Housing issues aside, I don’t like how they’ve exempted themselves from accessibility laws and I think it’s sleazy that they demand so much housekeeping under penalty of fines.  No. I shouldn’t be starting a load of sheets on my way out the door. 

[catz]

I don't have a problem with people owning multiple homes.  My parents did for years.  I doubt we ever will though we could afford it.  I just don't want to maintain 2 houses.  Have enough to do with one.  

That said, I can also see why neighbors in the immediate vicinity might prefer a full time neighbor in the house if it's a traditional neighborhood with long time homeowners.  

[heartlikealion]

I would secretly be thinking how can you be confident it will be shared equally, your long-term goals will align etc. Maintaining, selling, agreeing who moves in. 

But having one is totally your business and I’d be a bit in awe. I agree the air bnb idea was possibly on their minds. 

[Scarlett]

3 hours ago, heartlikealion said:

I would secretly be thinking how can you be confident it will be shared equally, your long-term goals will align etc. Maintaining, selling, agreeing who moves in. 

But having one is totally your business and I’d be a bit in awe. I agree the air bnb idea was possibly on their minds. 

Well they have already agreed on stuff enough in the current house they have owned together for years. 
 

My youngest SIL did something similar. She and her roommate got tired of waiting on a man so they bought a house together.  That was 15 years ago. Neither has married. They extended the concept to take care of their parents/grandmother. 3 homes on one property.  It isn’t perfect ( they just now cleared up a sticky situation with a family member who moved in to the property without collective agreement) 

I think we hear a lot of horror stories about shared living but often it makes a lot of sense. 

[SKL]

3 hours ago, heartlikealion said:

I would secretly be thinking how can you be confident it will be shared equally, your long-term goals will align etc. Maintaining, selling, agreeing who moves in.

I guess this probably played on some of their minds.  People don't seem to have much experience sharing successfully with people who aren't family ... and even some people who are family.  😛

I could see how it could get contentious in some scenarios.  In our situation, there's really nothing to fight about in the grand scheme, mainly because I'm the only one who has kids, or any family that could expect to inherit a house.  Also, we just aren't materialistic in the "that's mine" sense.  Once we have enough, it's enough.  Having lived under the same roof for almost 30 years, we have no reason to distrust each other.

Our ages are also a factor.  I'm the youngest at 57; the others are close to Medicare age.  The only material goal is for my kids to have enough as they embark on life.

We have a lot going on in our work life; we travel; we each have our own extended families, friends, artistic and athletic pursuits, charitable interests.  There isn't much idle mind space for petty squabbles ... not to say we never have them, but they aren't that serious in the grand scheme.  And, if things ever do get nasty, maybe having another address to go to could be useful, haha.

Edited May 4 by SKL

[DawnM]

I know many people with more than one house, none with a 2nd house in the same town really, but many friends have a lake or beach or mountain place.   We do not.

[Reefgazer]

People have 2 homes for various reasons.  We have 2 homes and it seems normal to me.  If you want it, don't worry about what other people will think.

[heartlikealion]

23 hours ago, SKL said:

I guess this probably played on some of their minds.  People don't seem to have much experience sharing successfully with people who aren't family ... and even some people who are family.  😛

I could see how it could get contentious in some scenarios.  In our situation, there's really nothing to fight about in the grand scheme, mainly because I'm the only one who has kids, or any family that could expect to inherit a house.  Also, we just aren't materialistic in the "that's mine" sense.  Once we have enough, it's enough.  Having lived under the same roof for almost 30 years, we have no reason to distrust each other.

Our ages are also a factor.  I'm the youngest at 57; the others are close to Medicare age.  The only material goal is for my kids to have enough as they embark on life.

We have a lot going on in our work life; we travel; we each have our own extended families, friends, artistic and athletic pursuits, charitable interests.  There isn't much idle mind space for petty squabbles ... not to say we never have them, but they aren't that serious in the grand scheme.  And, if things ever do get nasty, maybe having another address to go to could be useful, haha.

It sounds great. I’m glad you found such a cool opportunity 

[Kanin]

Generally, if I hear that someone has a second home, I assume they're wealthy.

Your arrangement sounds so cool and good for everyone!