Buying a second home in your 60s

[QueenoftheNights]

What the verdict? We are financially able now to buy a 2nd home . We are not typical for our ages- are very fit and people mistake DH for being late 40s :)

We have always wanted a 2nd home in a national park. But the nearest is 2.5 hrs away and anywhere nr the coast is 4-5 hours ( where we'd prefer and properties are cheaper too.)

But I'm wondering how much we'd use it- maybe 10 years? Before the drive became a chore.

It would be for weekend use initially as we aren't retired yet, then longer stays of a week or two.

It's been a pipe dream as we both come from semi rural areas but have worked and lived in a crowded commuter belt for 40 years.

Won't make much money on it as an investment so that's not a consideration, children could use it when we are too old to travel, or sell.

OPinions?

Have you got family and or friends that you would be happy to use it?
Why will it be weekends ? Once you retire you could spend weeks there or do you have other major commitments?

I said it would be weekends only (mainly!) until we retire.

We have family who could use it ( adult children) but not sure about friends. Possibly. I think one of the attractions is it is JUST for us - having had countless self catering hols in the UK, the thrill of having no one sleep in your bed except you is part of the appeal!

I just can't really envisage if it would be a millstone round our necks with the upkeep ( of another house) because everyone we know who has a 2nd home complains a lot about all the repairs that need doing on them as well as their main home.

I wouldn't do it. Problems:
You'll get bored going to the same place all the time, but having bought it, you'll want to get your money's worth.
Cost of upkeep
Worry about it when it's empty -.
(vandals/squatters)

But if people get bored with the same place, why do they buy holiday homes?

I think some people don't mind the responsibility of 2 homes - positively like laying down roots twice. I have sisters who are like this.

Whereas I would worry about the house and any upkeep if I wasn't there. You need to sort out which sort of person you are.

I mean obviously lots of other considerations, but that is the one I have thought about.

We run two homes and if I’m honest it is a lot of work. The cost of heating (you can’t just heat the house you are in during the winter months unless you want to walk into an icebox when you arrive at the other one), keeping two kitchens stocked and council tax x2 plus all other bills x2 (parking permits, tv licence, phone rental etc - all of which need to be paid for whether you are actually there or not) does add up. There is also the self-imposed feeling of guilt if you don’t get there often enough, the getting settled feeling that takes a day or two when you walk into a house that hasn’t been lived in for a few weeks, and there is always something that needs to be sorted out before you can relax... I could go on.

BUT I do love it. It has a lot of positives and I don’t feel bored by it, but we do travel elsewhere throughout the year as well so it’s not as if it’s the only place we go. Try renting for a year in the area you are interested in first. If you enjoy it and get use of it look into buying. It will also let you get to know a place before you commit.

Oh and get HIVE for both places, it is a life saver!!

If you don’t have a specific location in mind I’d get a nice motorhome instead!

I'd just go on lots of lovely holidays.

We have a lovely holiday cottage.
What makes it easy for us:
A tiny patio garden with easy care plants but no grass
Parking for two cars
It's small so very cheap to run even though we leave the heating on low all winter.
It's just over an hour from where we live so go for lots of weekends and odd overnight as we're not retired yet either. I like how we can decide to go last minute and can take our dogs.
We never get bored going to the same place as we visit lots of different nearby places/pubs/cafés/walks and we are there a lot so have made friends. Plus we still go on other holidays.
We bought it several years ago, I'm now late 40's and will hopefully pass it on to dc. The novelty hasn't worn off and it is pretty simple maintenance wise as we spent the first couple of visits getting it set up. So far it's not become a pain.

Pils did what you're planning. They planned originally to retire there but as they've got older, they're more committed to their primary home. The house is now only used c. 5 weekends a year, property prices are going down where they bought and it's too far for their children to go regularly - 3 hour drive each way for us, 30 hour flight plus 3 hour drive for sil!

We do use it for the odd weekend, it's lovely but DH and I have agreed we won't do it. If can kill village life - it has to be very robust to cope with lots of people only there st weekends, anf most of the resident villagers will hate you! It's also a lot of upkeep.

Annabelle yours sounds great, low maintenance and not too far from home. The idea has never really appealed to me having various friends with second homes who we’ve been to stay with and who are constantly having to do jobs and maintenance so they are not actually on holiday when the are there. Fine if your idea of a holiday is lots of diy and lawn mowing, less so if you actually want to go out and do stuff or sit around and relax. DH and I periodically have a discussion about whether we should get a place, but invariably come to the conclusion that for the price of the upkeep we can easily rent somewhere wherever takes our fancy (going back to the same place or trying somewhere else) and when we are there we are actually on holiday. How often would you realistically go if it was five hours away? I would maybe think of renting somewhere for six months and seeing how much you use it. You can use it while you go up to stay while house hunting and you’ll find out how much you really want a place of your own there.

It can kill village life
The village ours is in has lots of holiday cottages which are used all year round.
We have made friends and overall it is a really welcoming place so probably don't hate us.
When we're there we use the pubs, cafés, restaurant, shops and other amenities as much as possible. If they have any special events we always try to get involved. I think that's the key.

We have done it, 10 years ago we bought a run down property in a small seaside town. We gutted the property, replaced all utilities and put in high spec insulation.
DH is now semi retired, and we live there 50% of our time. It’s a 5 hour drive, ( with a stop of 30-40 mins) mostly motorway, but we don’t mind driving and often stop off at interesting places.
We always buy provisions in the local shops and use local trades for building work.
I’d do it, a relative of mine has just bought a second property ( holiday House) and she’s in her 70s.

I am in mine atm. We love the area and have absolutely gotten to know people. Go to church here etc. It feels more like "home" than our weekly place. We do rent it out - occupancy isn't high high but it means you have help looking after it tbh. We don't find it invasive. We loojed at relocating here permanently - that part hasn't worked out but we basically said to ourselves, sod it we aren't waiting until we retire to have a bit of home here.

DH is a treasurer of a local event.

I wouldn't do it. I had a holiday home in a place I loved. We went a lot and I was never bored of the area but the constant work and bills and sorting things out really got me down. For the money we spent we could have gone to five star hotels and had a proper break.

DH wanted it in the divorce and I was glad to not have the responsibility any more although I do sometimes miss it and my old neighbours.

not for me but i do live in a great holiday large town

i would rather go and stay in a luxury hotel and relax