Buy or Not

[toughgirl]

My DH and I have thrown around the idea of purchasing a Condo at Attitash in NH. So I found a one room condo for 50K at River Run (base of attitash across the street). Its a room w/a efficancy kitchen and a bathroom. I wanted to get the Diva's thoughts on this.

Is it too small? Will people rent this space when we aren't using it? Should I wait and buy something bigger where friends and family can join us? Sigh such important life decisions

 

[pinto]

My DH and I have thrown around the idea of purchasing a Condo at Attitash in NH. So I found a one room condo for 50K at River Run (base of attitash across the street). Its a room w/a efficancy kitchen and a bathroom. I wanted to get the Diva's thoughts on this.

Is it too small? Will people rent this space when we aren't using it? Should I wait and buy something bigger where friends and family can join us? Sigh such important life decisions

Well, there are a lot of factors that go into that. It sounds great to me! It isn't too expensive ... $300 a month, about? Small is good if you're just using it as somewhere to sleep, eat, and change clothes while you ski. Not much upkeep.

I don't know about renting it out. Don't know your market, or any of that.

We have a 2 bedroom condo at Copper. We don't rent it out, we own with family, and get basically a week or two every month. It works well, except when you want extra friends and family members. We can squeeze a few in, but usually we just find something for rent in the building or somewhere nearby, which might work even better. :D. With an efficiency, you'd definitely have to do that. It just depends on how badly you want (a) company, or (b) to be alone!

Everyone's financial situation is different, of course, but it sounds pretty low risk to me. I wish I could buy anything in Colorado for $50K! The ones like that at Keystone are still $190K ... yikes.

 

[abc]

I'd say divide the number of weeks you'll use it each year and see if it's at least breaking even with renting. If you use it enough, it's worth it. Otherwise, I would be a bit hesitating. It's not a well-known mountain, I don't know what percentage you can renting it out.

There's also the condo fee each year, isn't there? And if you rent it out, you'll have to substract the agent fee if you can't be there to clean it and hand over the key to the guest yourself.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Look at the small print very, very carefully. Ask for rental history of the specific unit, also take a look at the past years' condo maintenance fees. See if there have been any special assessments in recent years. Find out as much as you can about the building/structure/condo association. Age of building? Repair history?

Some resort rental programs/condo associations have pretty major restrictions regarding the unit and its contents. READ THE FINE PRINT! You will also be responsible for replacing any/all items that are worn or damaged. You'll also be paying the utilities - and renters have a tendency to abuse the privilege.

Find out if you can "black out" certain dates voluntarily. Is there a minimum rental requirement for days on the rental market? How many? Specific holidays required for it to be available to renters?

Renting out also will affect your taxes. It will comprise a separate source of income, thus another form required.

Traditionally, in the New England ski resort region, studios do not appreciate as well as 1-bedrooms. Get some comparative data from a realtor re: values and appreciation.

 

[toughgirl]

thanks all for the advice. I did get a bit more info and the renter program takes 50% of the income. So when you break it down, it would probably only cover the costs of taxes, utilities,and association fee. I'm pretty sure the area gets heavy traffic, but I did not get the rental history.

I'm thinking we will decide to hold out and focus on moving to a bigger home first, then consider the second property when I'm more informed.