Island property prices

[LakeTimes]

Originally Posted by WeLoveTheLake

Why would you want to buy a vacation home with borrowed money, especially now that stable genius took all the incentives away.

Originally Posted by WeLoveTheLake

I personally would never go into debt for pleasure. That’s just me.

I hope your comment is more about financial responsibility (which you are demonstrating I suppose) vs financial IQ, which seems to be questionable at best...

If you can't afford a second home, then one shouldn't buy one. Not sure who would disagree with that. Those are the ones who lose their homes. None the less, you are also 'investing' in a property that should appreciate over time and build you additional equity (however I would technically say houses that don't produce positive cashflow via income are actually liabilities and not assets which I'm sure will start a firestorm of debate here).

That being said, most people (and by most I'm guessing 99%+ of people) can not afford to buy a second home on Lake Winnipesaukee with just cash. If you have financial IQ, I would argue why you would ever do this anyways. With rates (not just current, but for the past 10+ years at least) you would be FAR better off putting your money into other investments getting a much higher rate of return. Call me crazy, but I even contemplated borrowing against the equity in my house and dumping that into the market weeks ago (was targeting AMAZON when it was down around $1700, but then I decided against it due to timing to get the money, busy with work. etc. etc. etc.). I know Amazon is only going to go up up and up quite a bit over time - IE: now at $2300 per share. Should have put my money where my mouth is as I would have been somewhat happy right now and VERY happy in a few years :-)

Back to the main point - I just bought on the lake a few years ago. Could I have paid cash - sure. Did I - no. I put down what I needed to get the lowerst rate I could and to of course avoid PMI and then fixed it up with cash (Studs on up - I did all the work myself and created a solid amount of equity in doing so). That being said, I am very thankful and fortunate for the position that my wife and I have put ourselves in and that we were able to do so.

The memories we will make with our friends, family, extended friends are priceless in our eyes. Who knows the future of the house generationally (we want a bigger one with more BR's when we can afford it), but it was one of the best decisions we could have made Worth every penny in our eyes.

For anyone questioning if it's the right decision to buy a second home with 'borrowed money,' if you can afford it and you love the lake, you will look back as it being one of the best decisions you could have made. Worst-case scenario - the lake wasn't for you or you need to get out of it - lake properties are rather desired and I'm confident you will make money on the sale of the home and move on without any major issue years down the line.

CHEERS to what will hopefully be another amazing summer with family and friends!