Lake cottage hidden costs?

[h2oskiluvr]

Hello Team Talkers!

I am looking into the possibility of purchasing a lake cottage. Aside from the mortgage and the property taxes what other costs should I be considering? I would have gas/electric but that would be minimal because I wouldn't live there full time. I wouldn't have phone or cable etc. for the same reasons. I have owned my own home for twelve years so I think I got this nailed down but what could I be missing?

I figured there were a lot of lake cottage owners on the board so I thought it would be interesting to see what people had to say. I do not want to get myself into a "money pit" type situation.

Thanks!

[bbymgr]

Septic System? More and more city's are "annexing" and putting in city or county sewer lines around lakes for pollution reasons. If your cottage has a finger system or something similar now, check to see if the community is going to be putting in a sewer system. They did this at our house and it cost $4000 per house plus my sewer bill is $74 a month. That bill is just for sewer.....we still have our own well and have to pay for trash service separate.

[TX.X-30 fan]

Septic System? More and more city's are "annexing" and putting in city or county sewer lines around lakes for pollution reasons. If your cottage has a finger system or something similar now, check to see if the community is going to be putting in a sewer system. They did this at our house and it cost $4000 per house plus my sewer bill is $74 a month. That bill is just for sewer.....we still have our own well and have to pay for trash service separate.

Sh!tty post.

[woody]

Sh!tty post.

As the farmer down the road from where I grew up said "where there's muck there's brass"

[WishIWasSkiing]

Dock/lift if there isn't one already, & taxes are higher on the water too.

[russlars]

Owning your own lake house is the best, but as you mentioned there are hidden costs that most people don't consider. In addition to those mentioned have you considered yard maintenance, driveway maintenance and all of the other things that have to be maintained with the house and dock, etc? Also, take into account your additional fuel costs getting back and forth to it, which of course may be offset by the cost of fuel you used to use to drag your boat to various lakes. Another cost is for entertaining. You will likely get some new friends that just love to hang out at your place at the lake. Some come with empty wallets and empty stomachs and of course they are always thirsty. Don't get me wrong, we love our place at the lake and we enjoy sharing it with others but most of all the luxury of having your boat in the water and ready to go in a moments notice offsets all of the negatives.
I was given a bit of sage advice before we purchased our lake house from a friend. He told me that what you are buying is another place to work and maintain. It isn't all fun and recreation like you think it will be. This is so true. There have been many days I have been working on projects at the lake staring at glass water with no one to drive the boat. The amazing thing though, is that working at the lake is much more enjoyable than working at my other house for some reason. Has anyone else noticed that? Just my

[thatsmrmastercraft]

Owning your own lake house is the best, but as you mentioned there are hidden costs that most people don't consider. In addition to those mentioned have you considered yard maintenance, driveway maintenance and all of the other things that have to be maintained with the house and dock, etc? Also, take into account your additional fuel costs getting back and forth to it, which of course may be offset by the cost of fuel you used to use to drag your boat to various lakes. Another cost is for entertaining. You will likely get some new friends that just love to hang out at your place at the lake. Some come with empty wallets and empty stomachs and of course they are always thirsty. Don't get me wrong, we love our place at the lake and we enjoy sharing it with others but most of all the luxury of having your boat in the water and ready to go in a moments notice offsets all of the negatives.
I was given a bit of sage advice before we purchased our lake house from a friend. He told me that what you are buying is another place to work and maintain. It isn't all fun and recreation like you think it will be. This is so true. There have been many days I have been working on projects at the lake staring at glass water with no one to drive the boat. The amazing thing though, is that working at the lake is much more enjoyable than working at my other house for some reason. Has anyone else noticed that? Just my

You were given very good advice, and you couldn't be more correct about working at the lake place. A labor of love would be getting a little carried away, but you hit the nail on the head.

[beatle78]

Check is there is a Lake Association. There could be annual dues. Our lake is ~$350/year. It's private so our dues are higher for yearly maintenance.

[brucemac]

russlars where's your place? pendo?

[Ole Miss Rebels]

insurance, and filling the house with furniture and appliances. added cost for services rendered a distance from town. still, my wife and i love our lake house and it has added unmeasurable joy to our lives. if it blew up tomorrow we would get another immediately. do it and don't look back. you will not regret it. good luck and keep us posted. gthlsu.

[tph]

Lake home expenses

Our water and sewer rates were much higher than we expected.

[russlars]

russlars where's your place? pendo?

It's a small public lake in Western Washington.

[mattsn]

Added cottage costs

I have had a cottage for many years, then tore it down and built my full time home. For the cottage, here are some things to consider: Dock and lift costs, not only purchase, but in and out each year. Property taxes will be higher, because it is your second home and no homestead exemption. Consider a security system to monitor the heat and water.

Of course boat, gas, etc and entertaining expenses. Also, unless you like to haul them back and forth, plan on another set of tools. (More power...)

Septic and well upkeep. We are ready to put in sewers. Looks like $7,800 to hook up and $50 / month, but that is a few years off. Be sure to check on well and septic before purchase. Realize that on some weekends you will have a number of guests and your septic will receive a FULL LOAD.

Best advice, build your home on the lake and then you only have one house to maintain.

[TX.X-30 fan]

russlars where's your place? pendo?

Que??????????

[h2oskiluvr]

Thank you all so much. Good advice in your posts. Once again proving that Team Talk is the place to go for answers! ;0