Owning a second home abroad (without being rich :)
Posted: Thu May 30, 2024 8:33 pm
As my one remaining parent is getting older I’ve thought more about some of the pros and cons of getting a home in the US in the future. I don’t have siblings and the family home (or funds from sale of it) will go to me. We would either simply invest all of that, or use some of it to purchase a smaller home in the same region of the US. Hopefully this is years off in the future, better to think about something like this earlier rather than at the last minute.
My main reasons for considering this are to maintain a physical connection to our part of the US (including friends and relatives in the area), to have a home there to spend part of the year after we retire, and as a hedge against climate change for our son (I’m from the Great Lakes area in the US, one of the better places to be in terms of temperature, water resources, etc.). A smaller benefit is that having a US address makes investing easier since I can continue to use the US broker I’ve been with for 30 years.
Financially, I’m concerned that this is really just another expense that isn’t worth it. We’re financially stable and are on track to have a very comfortable middle income lifestyle in retirement (we both like our careers and want to work full time until 60ish) but not pay-for-upkeep-of-multiple-homes wealthy.
I’ve seen the posts and videos here about investment properties in the US (from Daniel maybe?) but am curious as to what other possibilities there are for mitigating the expense of having a second house abroad. It’s not something hat we are looking at as an income source as it is more of an emotional and lifestyle decision provided we can afford to keep and maintain a home in the US.
I would love to hear from anyone who has considered doing something similar or who has any actual experience of owning property abroad.
Thanks!
My main reasons for considering this are to maintain a physical connection to our part of the US (including friends and relatives in the area), to have a home there to spend part of the year after we retire, and as a hedge against climate change for our son (I’m from the Great Lakes area in the US, one of the better places to be in terms of temperature, water resources, etc.). A smaller benefit is that having a US address makes investing easier since I can continue to use the US broker I’ve been with for 30 years.
Financially, I’m concerned that this is really just another expense that isn’t worth it. We’re financially stable and are on track to have a very comfortable middle income lifestyle in retirement (we both like our careers and want to work full time until 60ish) but not pay-for-upkeep-of-multiple-homes wealthy.
I’ve seen the posts and videos here about investment properties in the US (from Daniel maybe?) but am curious as to what other possibilities there are for mitigating the expense of having a second house abroad. It’s not something hat we are looking at as an income source as it is more of an emotional and lifestyle decision provided we can afford to keep and maintain a home in the US.
I would love to hear from anyone who has considered doing something similar or who has any actual experience of owning property abroad.
Thanks!