Great information TiltonBB. That's the hard choice, is it a business or a vacation home.
Sorry for the very long reply, but we learned a lot in the past few months
As was mentioned: Taxes. Yes it varies from Town to Town, but it is a chunk of change. A 2-bed 1- bath in Sanbornton will be over $10K in taxes this year. Add a mortgage to that and everything else….
We had been looking at a lot of houses while we rented the past three years and you can look at it a few ways.
1) buy a condo, association or very congested part of the lake and keep the price down.
2) Water front or non-water front AND LOCATION on the lake
3) Older 3 season camp (more on that later)
4) Or the dream: ˝ acre or more on the water and already updated or newer 4 season (for this you will start at $750K ….. maybe)
Now look at it from the renter’s side: I want some privacy, my own dock and beach, 2 bathrooms, parking (for the extra “day-guest” I won’t mention). Nice outdoor space and amenities. Funny that’s what we wanted when we looked for a house, we got most of it, but not all of it.
I don’t want to be a “Donnie downer” but just go in with eyes wide open; use the internet, the amount of information you can get from town tax sites too the Registry of deeds is amazing. You will also find the turnover rate is very high, especially in the years following a crash like 2008. (2 of the people we rented from have HAD to sell their houses).
We had hoped to rent ˝ the summer. but knew we lost the first year before we even closed. We have some issues that need to be addressed before we allow someone in our new home. I would recommend browsing the Community forum on “Home-a-way or VRBO” same one. There is a lot of good information there. Also it gives you an idea of the cliental you may get. I grew up renting Lake houses, with one bath, BYO sheets and don’t count on a fancy kitchen fully stocked with spices and All-Clad pots and pans. That still works with most New Englanders but not if you have people flying in from other parts of the country.
Now on the flip side if you have the money and are looking for a long term “investment” other than the stock market, Lake front may not be a bad choice. but make sure you won’t loose it after a bad rental year, expensive septic system, or a “small renovation” that gets way out of hand due to old wiring or waterfront permitting issues.
..................... And We really did just do this??
Good Luck with your decision