Second home tips?

[marinkitty]

Congrats! I really like the design/decorating process so that clearly influences my attitude toward approaching the task - but I think you'll enjoy it when you actually get going vs. now when it is just an overwhelming amount of stuff to tackle.

I have now furnished two vacation homes from scratch and refreshed one that we bought fully furnished/equipped and am soon going to be furnishing another rental property if it ever gets built (two beach/two ski homes). It is a little shocking how much you need to fill and empty place and have it be functional for yourself and renters - things like knicknacks and art really add up and places don't feel complete without those touches.

As other PPs have said, how much you'll be renting and at what price point will definitely influence what you put into the house in terms of cost and durability. When i furnished my first place I didn't think we'd ever rent it so I furnished it just for us and with everything I loved, but thanks to not being able to set foot there for over two years during the pandemic, we did end up renting it on a limited basis, and have definitely have suffered some damage and wear and tear that I would not have if I'd furnished with renting in mind. Think hard about how things will wear and don't get fragile/precious things. With a beach house, you'll want hardy stuff anyway as it's inevitable that people sit in wet suits and sand gets everywhere.

If you are going to use a management company to help with your rentals/cleanings/maintence etc. I'd look for that right away as they can be invaluable in helping you navigate outfitting the house - they will have a list of what they consider the necessary items (mainly kitchen but the basic furniture each room should have and other extras renters will expect to have provided). And then from there you can put your own personal touch on it and add things that your family will use and enjoy.

Make sure you have lock offs to hide the more fragile/special things. I have closets at each house where I keep gear (located in the garage or an out building for easy access), nicer kitchen stuff and pantry staples and clothing basics etc. that we leave there that aren't accessible to guests (located in an interior closet). We added locks to certain closets at the already built places and designed them into the ones we built/are building.

I may have a list that we got from our management company for one of our ski condos that I could send you if you're interested. In that case we were leasing the newly built condo back to them for three years so they provided a list of everything we were required to have in the home when the lease commenced. But even the management company for the house we bought furnished and equipped did a walk through and gave us a list of things they felt needed to be added or upgraded.

We do lend our houses to friends but not to just anyone. We enjoy letting people we care about use the places if we aren't there but we limit that use to off peak times (usually) so that we can still maximize rent and to people we trust to care for the places as we would. We haven't been burned yet - friends usually take way better care of the places than renters do and are usually super appreciative. We pass out of pocket cleaning fees through and that's it. We have tiny families so family asking to use it hasn't been a massive problem. We usually can say yes but have had to say they weren't available here and there.

As far as your kids inviting everyone they know - I think that's great! It won't be forever and it's huge that they are so excited to spend time there. We got our first place when the kids were in early middle school/elementary and it has definitely fluctuated over time how much they want to go. Having friends is always a surefire way to get them excited. And we have created wonderful memories of houses full of people enjoying downtime together, so I say embrace it! You'll still get enough time just you and your family, especially as the kids grow up.

[Twoboos]

Congrats! I really like the design/decorating process so that clearly influences my attitude toward approaching the task - but I think you'll enjoy it when you actually get going vs. now when it is just an overwhelming amount of stuff to tackle.

I have now furnished two vacation homes from scratch and refreshed one that we bought fully furnished/equipped and am soon going to be furnishing another rental property if it ever gets built (two beach/two ski homes). It is a little shocking how much you need to fill and empty place and have it be functional for yourself and renters - things like knicknacks and art really add up and places don't feel complete without those touches.

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As far as your kids inviting everyone they know - I think that's great! It won't be forever and it's huge that they are so excited to spend time there. We got our first place when the kids were in early middle school/elementary and it has definitely fluctuated over time how much they want to go. Having friends is always a surefire way to get them excited. And we have created wonderful memories of houses full of people enjoying downtime together, so I say embrace it! You'll still get enough time just you and your family, especially as the kids grow up.

Thanks for the btdt tips! It really is overwhelming to start completely from scratch - like you don't even know what you don't know lol.

The thing about the kids is they are 17 & 19 so think they will have the run of the place! They're planning to go down whenever and with whoever they want, and expect we will let them and won't be there. They're thinking less "downtime" more "party time."

[KpbS]

Congratulations! That sounds wonderful.

Have you decided if you will rent it out? That would influence my purchase plans for furnishings.

Regardless, I would keep it as simple as possible and try to keep in mind things will get damaged/broken and also wet/sandy near the beach.

[erosenst]

Erosenst did up a 2nd home and I remember following along with her posts about all they needed to buy.

Sorry - was locked out for a couple weeks and just catching up!

Happy to answer questions in more detail/feel free to PM me...but a few thoughts:
* If you need to "just furnish now" go cheap, and be ok with replacing. Amazon Basics brand items are really well priced and quality is 'totally fine' or better. Happy to share some things we've been happy with/kept.
* If you're in an area with a lot of resale shops, make a few visits there - they can have some amazing finds. Having said that - a lot was "not at ALL my style" and I was happier buying inexpensive new
* Really try to focus on the essentials at first, with the knowledge you can buy as you go. Five years in we are still buying a few kitchen things as we need them - but also avoided buying some we just haven't wanted.
* If you're willing to spend time, Amazon, Ikea and Wayfair all have some nice RTA furniture. If you're not willing to spend time - TaskRabbit or a local handyman can be worth their weight in furniture assembly!!

I know a lot are big fans of Costco for household things - I find it really hit or miss. Beach towels? Absolutely. Kitchen stuff - not so much - just not enough selection for me.

Again - please feel free to DM if I can help with specifics or with what we did/didn't get!


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[arivecchi]

Congrats! We love having a second home at a lake.

The most essential thing is to have someone local who can watch your home. We had a giant pine tree fall on our cabin weeks after we got it and we got lucky that a neighbor saw it and tracked the realtor who sold the cabin to us. This same neighbor now watches our cabin for us and knows how to work everything in our cabin. We pay him a monthly fee. The peace of mind I get from this is huge as we live 19 hours away.

We bought everything on amazon for the cabin and all furniture at a local outlet. This was very helpful as they delivered and set everything up for us.

Agree with others that you will need to set up rules re guests. IME, most people - especially family members - are not so gracious guests. We only lend our cabin to a friend of mine that takes better care of it than we do! We do not lend it to family members or anyone else. IMO, that is a recipe for disaster. We also do not rent our home as we do not want to deal with a management company and wear and tear of our place.

Another thing I would do day one is buy many cameras and a nest thermostat and smoke detector which you can monitor from your primary home. Again, lots of peace of mind.

Also, change your locks to combination locks if possible and give the code and keys to your local caretaker. This can be super helpful when you need people to access the home while you are not there.