The wife and I are seriously considering getting a beach house. We are total noobs at it.

-We most likely will get a mortgage, but will pay it off within 5 years with my wife's stock options.
-Looking to spend under $750K
-Not sure if we will rent it out or not. We want to use it when we want to and we have no clue how to rent it out, process, etc. I know there are people that help with it.
-People familiar with NJ, we are looking to be as close to the end of 195 as possible, so Bradley Beach to Lavalette area.
-Will be an investment, but possibly a retirement home.
-Doesn't need to be big (2 bedrooms), but don't want a fixer upper.

Any advice for us?

 

You said it doesn't need to be big, but maybe you'd like a duplex setup? That way you could rent out part of it, and then keep the other part for when you want to use it.

 

I think that would exceed the $750k...

 

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...735_1105114931

 

Whiskers, you have to be employed to get a home loan.

ziprealty.com! Plus if you use a zip realty agent you get 20% of their cut.

RE: Renting it out, find a property management company for like $70 a month that will maintain it and repair things up to a determined $$ amount on your behalf, as well as take care of renting/screening/etc. [That's what my aunt is doing w/ my Gma's house]

 

Nice one.

Will check on it...Thx

 

I don't know much about real estate at the shore.

 

No real advice other than I don't know that you'd really want to retire at the shore. It always looked real scary in Tony Soprano's dreams with Big Pussy.

 

^

 

i don't think a duplex runs more than 750k... i know lavalette is expensive, but this market should be in your favor...

 

Options? Play-offs? Practice?

Hmmmm... in the post-greed era, which of the above does not belong. I'd wait to see how much dinero is left after you pay your fair share of Obamacare.

But seriously, I can show you some pimp homes on the Leelanau Peninsula and you don't have to worry about big hair.

 

I like big hair....

 

Michigan is calling you...




Whiskers, come get some!

 

They have beaches in Michigan?

 

^ I was surprised, too! It's a lake that doesn't smell, and it looks like the ocean, but tiny waves and no salt in the water. Threw me off at first.

Good luck on the house hunt. For the money, I might think about renting a house on the shore when you want it, and saving a hell of a lot of money on upkeep. When you both retire, take what you saved and buy a retirement place. Your needs may have changed by then.

 

I think the commute would be a bitch.

850 miles
14 hour drive

Although Whiskers is a baller so as long as they have a landing strip to land a commuter jet, he'll be fine.

 

I have family in Marquette, MI. They have a house right on Lake Superior. It's effing cold, but a huge lake with waves and no salt water. It's pretty nice with the exception of the black flies.

But yeah, I'm gonna have to agree with Stogie regarding the house. I'd just rent a house for the week or however long you want it, and save your money for retirement later on. I also suggest getting the hell out of Jersey, lol. Too expensive to retire here.

 

I 3rd the renting a house instead of buying. Unless you plan on buying the house and renting it out the weeks you aren't there.

 

Prepare to have a lot more friends. My mom bought a beach house 5 years ago, and is constantly scheduling in her friends and family who want time there. Her husband's family who used to treat her like ass are now sickeningly nice in the summer time. All bets are still off over the winter holidays. But I digress...

Unless you plan to spend enough time out there to really make it worth the upkeep, I'd recommend buying a place a mile or so from the water. The salt air right on the shore is a bitch to things like patio fans, and other outdoor fixtures. It's still plenty of upkeep when you're set back a bit, but it's not as bad.

 

It really depends on how much time they plan to spend there. It's so nice to have a place to go where you already have clothes, shoes, beach towels, chairs, umbrellas, surf boards, etc. It's so easy to just load up some food and go. I love being out there in the off season just as much as, if not more than, the regular season. No planning required!

 

i missed that..

W- why the hell would u want to retire in NJ?

 

How about you buy a $4.5 million beach house in Newport Beach, CA and I'll take care of it while you aren't using it?

 

Right if they are using it all the time, or a couple weeks each month then he should buy a house. If they are only using it a couple months a year total then I'd just rent for a couple months.

 

Any decent size lakes around where you are? As wndrlst said the salt air can be a bitch. And other people I know that have beach houses say the sand is ever present. You can never get rid of it. It covers everything in the house.

A lake house offers all the amenities of a oceanfront home like boating / jet ski / tubing etc. but none of the aggravation of a beachfront home. And it's not a bad place to retire as well.

 

and wat is your plan when they come to visit for 2-3 wks? sleep in the shed?

 

You could buy Madoff's house out in the Hamptons... $8.75 million. No biggie.

 

Go wherever the water is warm enough to use for as much of the spring/summer/fall as possible. It sucks to have a great view, the desire to swim or do water sports, but not want to or rarely go in the water because the temp is cold for most of the season. Winter sports are fun too, so perhaps ensure your place is winterized as well (some are not...at least, around here).

 

If we go too far south, we get out of driving range which defeats the point..

 

Of course.

I meant as close as possible/within your criteria....assuming you have a few options of nearby bodies of water.

 

If I could live in a place like that for 80% of the year, I could find a place to crash for a few weeks at a time throughout the year.

Maybe I'll just become a Wells Fargo exec. and move into a foreclosed home in Malibu...

 

A House Is a Home, Not an Investment

Buy as much house as you can afford? Business owners, more than most people, have good reason to question the old adage.

http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/0...ment/?emc=eta1


Neuvo Joisey not on the list...

25 Best Places to Retire

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/...oneymag/3.html

http://absolutemichigan.com/tcff2009/

 

^ LOL. It would be Top 3 Places of Where NOT to Retire.

Don't get me wrong, I like it here. It's just out of the question for retirement, at least for me.

 

That part of the Jersey shore is a little too, um, New York-ish for most of the Philly crowd. LBI (just south of Lavalette) is kind of the end of the earth for my friends/family, so things could be different up there, but I've only seen 2 ways to make a good beach house investment - buy and hold for a LONG time (20+years) or buy a fixer-upper and renovate yourself.

If you'd really consider it a retirement home, that could work out fine - just don't expect rental income to cover expenses in the near term. Most of the shore realty companies do property management - they take care of doing rentals.

 

I don't want to go too fat south. Drive from Trenton should be about an hour or so..

 

As far as setting it up for renting, you can go to www.vrbo.com

Owners rent out their unused vacation homes and you can make a pretty hefty buck if its nice.

 

As far as setting it up for renting, you can go to www.vrbo.com

Owners rent out their unused vacation homes and you can make a pretty hefty buck if its nice.

 

negative for W...

 

If it is in a good area you can make a ton of money renting it while not using it. I have no idea how the east coast is for rentals but here 2-3 bedroom beach houses go for about 1800/wk during the summer, less during the fall/winter.

 

:word:

 

Rent Rent Rent Rent