Anyone own a second house in another state?

[Randi]

I may be nuts, but I am seriously thinking of doing this.

Story: My dad passed away in Jan, and I have been traveling once a month to clean everything out. I live 200 miles away. My son is on oxygen 24/7 and his equipment is a pain to cope with. We finally rented on a monthly basis the concentrator to leave there as it was too heavy for me to load into the car each time. Staying in a hotel is out of the question with the equipment needed, so we use the house as our base while cleaning.

I just simply don't know how to handle all that is needed to sell the house. It is in good condition, but I would have to be there to clean once the estate sale is over, dispose of anything not sold, and list with a realtor. I don't think this would be possible with my son, and I can't leave him alone here.

So, since I will be retiring in 3 years, I am thinking of keeping it and going occasionally for a vacation to get away and then moving in permantly once I retire.

Expenses are doable, I just wonder if there are any pitfalls to owning a house when you are not there all the time.

Thanks.

 

[Evil Queen]

If you will be going on some sort of regular basis you can probably take care of the inside upkeeping. Ask neighbor's, that your Dad knew for reliable lawn service, etc. And if there was anyone he really trusted, ask them to just keep an eye on it and if anything looks out of place to call you.

Myparents had a house built for them in Tenn., by my Dad's best friend, but still had the house in Florida. I moved back into their house, because they wanted someone there, especially for yard and pool work. And to put up shutters etc for hurricane's.

 

[justhat]

A lot of people have vacation homes in other states so I'd think it's a good idea. My mom has a condo in another state (SC and she lives in NJ) and has never had any problems. Granted, a condo is easier to maintain from a distance, but same sort of idea.

 

[kendall]

Randi,
to you and your family during this difficult time. My Mom passed away in November, and she lived in Arizona (1500 miles away). We (myself, DH, DS, and DD) too had to travel to deal with her house and all its contents, and have been making almost monthly trips since December. It will take lots of time to sort, decide what to keep, what to sell, what to donate - don't rush it. You will have lots to do before the estate sale - first determining what you have and what you are going to keep. Go through everything! We found family photos in the middle of unfinished craft projects and cookbooks. You never know.....

If you can keep the home for a few years and take care of it bit by bit, how fortunate for you to have the luxury of time. In order to maintain my Mom's house during the past 6 months, we contacted a landscaping company - they will automatically do the landscaping maintenance and send us the bill. Utilities and services were switched to our billing address. We found the name of a couple handyman type services who could go to the house and do work if need be.

On our last trip last week we finally emptied the house, cleaned carpets, and listed with a realtor who is experienced in handling long-distance clients like us. She too will now help in keeping an eye on the house, watching the upkeep, etc.

Good luck!

 

[ducklite]

We owned a vacation home in another state (FL) and then decided to sell our house in NJ and move to FL permanently.

We have two trusted friends who live nearby who we gave keys to. They would check on the place now and then--our neighbors down here also ahd our numbers and our nearby friends numbers incase the alarm went off or something like that.

We hired a lawn service, put timers on the lights, and had the people a couple doors down check the mailbox every now and then.

I now return the favor for the people who live on the other side, they live in the UK and are only here for a week every other month or so. They use the same lawn service as we do, and I bring in their mail every few days, and e-mail her if anything that looks like a bill or important comes. (It's mostly junk mail). I've got the key if there's an emergency, and walk around the house once a week or so just to make sure it all looks like it should.

Anne