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“I always wanted to own a second home”, my secretary once remarked. A vacation home by the beach or in the mountains is definitely something special. But dreaming the dream and living the life of double home ownership are very different. When my secretary confided her thoughts on the subject, I had just bought a park model (stationary) trailer in New Hampshire’s seacoast region. The seasonal trailer park was new and my purchase, although a resale, had hardly been used at all. I felt blessed. I had fun personalizing the decor and entertaining friends.

Then I realized that I was doing double duty, because when you own a vacation home you do cleaning, grocery shopping and laundry in both locations. Ladies beware! A woman’s unpaid domestic labor is doubled when a vacation home comes into the picture. That’s two kitchens, two refrigerators and two bathrooms to stock and clean. If you have a full time position outside the home you now have three full time jobs! I kept the trailer neater and cleaner than my winter residence, it was, after all, my solace – my getaway from the busy life of work and home. For men, a second home can mean doubling up sessions behind the lawn mower, constant painting and fixing broken decks and railings. Men who enjoy “puttering around” are the best candidates for vacation home ownership. For others, the extra duties become onerous.

After a few years I slacked off of the excessive cleaning. I found myself doing all the jobs – both inside and outside – because my husband was MIA (missing in action). He had signed on for a lot of on-call work, and call they did. At this point, my vacation trailer was becoming a work site. The bushes seemed to double in size before I finally got to trim them, and I caught a nasty case of poison something or other while trimming shrubs out back. By then I was feeling resentful of the demands made by this piece of property, which was only available to me from May 1st to October 15th of each year.

Did I mention costs? One might think that if the down payment, mortgage, and extra utilities on a second home are manageable, then you can swing it. Think some more. Property taxes, although usually tax deducible, go up each year. The lot rent for my trailer rose from $1500.00 a year when purchased to $3225.00 a year 13 years later. And although my 12 X 35 foot trailer was in excellent condition when purchased, by the time I sold it I had put a new roof on, replaced at least four windows/screens, replaced the AC venting system, repaired, caulked and recaulked a leaking garden window and reconstructed damaged paneling and woodwork surrounding it, painted/stained the deck twice, turned over several main boards on the deck, had new steps constructed, added new lattice to the deck, replaced both glass panels of the patio slider (degraded gaskets caused fogging), restained all kitchen and bathroom cabinets, installed new faucets in the bathroom and kitchen sinks and a new shower fixture in the tub, and purchased custom made bunk bed covers. The day I sold it I still had a custom screen door on order for over $140.00.

The list above would be larger and more expensive for a larger and more expensive vacation home. The other day I took a ride around the streets nearest the beach. They are lined with well kept summer homes of all types, some expansive and reeking of “boom” money, others just cute little cottages. My favorite one had always been a small pink house on a corner. “If I ever own a real cottage”, I said to my friend as we drove by one summer not too long ago, “that would be my ideal. Cute and not too hard to take care of”. I drove by the same cottage just last week. Its bright pink shingles had faded to nearly white. A paint job is clearly needed. There goes the summer!

My advice is to add up not just the immediate changes or repairs that you need or want to do to your proposed vacation property, but think ahead. Find out how old the roof is and take a good look at all window frames for dry rot. If the windows have it you’re sure to lose many panes. Have some one you trust evaluate the life of any decks or sheds. Use these inspections to formulate future repair and painting costs, and then add inflation for each year plus a 10% contingency to each repair, replacement or improvement. You might then come near the actual cost of what it may take to maintain your investment

If you think you are still a candidate for a second home, then, good luck and enjoy it to the fullest!

MarJean Hillman has been a summer resident of the New Hampshire seacoast since 1995. She rents her Seabrook Beach studio condo through http://www.shoreclubrental.com

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