Do You Have a Second Home, Camper, or Cabin?

My husband comes from a "camping" family (You know, "roughing it" with a furnace, AC, microwave & cable? LOL) It's not for me. I hate the schlepping of clothes, etc back & forth. Just seems like a job.

I would check with your insurance agent to get feedback on price appropriateness.

Plus usually you can look at public property records of nearby places to get an idea of price--they don't have to be ones "recently sold" or currently for sale.

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We have a 32 foot travel trailer that we take to a campground late May and leave it there until mid Sept. We go every weekend, it is about a 40 minute drive and I absolutely LOVE it! We have 3 kids, the camper has 4 bunks and a queen bed for us. We used to go to different campgrounds every weekend, but this is so much easier. We leave everything in the camper, canned food, stuff in the fridge, pots and pans, some clothes, kids bikes and come home on Sunday evening, returning on Friday evening. I bring 2-3 bags of groceries, and whatever clothes we need for the weekend and that's it. So simple and relaxing, no tv, housework, computers etc. We go for walks, have campfires and enjoy the fresh air. We go to a large campground with about 450 sites and we have gotten to know so many nice people, some that are there all summer and others only there for a few days. We pay about $1100 for the summer, includes everything, they even cut the grass on our campsite. I think it is well worth the money. We winterize it every fall for about $75 and store it in a large warehouse until the spring. You could try renting a cabin and/or camper and see what you all think. We have camped when I was a child and started again when our kids were small (they are now 16,14 and 8) and they love it too. It is so much more freedom for them, they make lots of friends, enjoy the pools during the day and being able to do their own thing. My oldest 2 keep in touch with me by texting and my 8 year old drives his bike with a few friends and touches base every so often. This is our 4th year, so our kids know lots of adults and know they can go to security if they have a problem as well. I definitely recommend you try it a few times before buying a cabin, think of any maintenance you have to do and talk to a RV dealer about various campers. We started with a pop up and loved it, until it was too small and we wanted to stay at 1 place, so a bigger camper made sense for us.

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Growing up, we had a cabin in the mountains that my great grandpa had built. We would go almost every weekend, and most of the summer. When we lost the lot we were living on (long story there...) we were able to move into it. I think it was soo worth it... just make sure there is stuff to do if you go with a cabin. Ours has a creek for fishing and swimming, mountiains for hiking, woods for hunting, anything you want to do you can out there. It wasn't unusual for us to camp out at the creek. (it was about 1.5 mile hike from the cabin, so we would drive to the closest part we could and carry the tents and stuff down.) We had friends who would come up with horses or 4-wheelers, we could have parties without disturbing others (not neccesarily crazy parties, but we could get as loud as we wanted...) We were lucky enough to have a huge lot of land passed down (close to 800 acres) so our closest neighbors were just over a mile away. I think that if you are able to find ways to entertain yourself, enjoy more 'traditon', and can afford it, I would go with a cabin. If you prefer to experience new things all the time, I would go with a camper so you can visit other sites. :)

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HI, My huband and I had a camper that stayed at a camper park (Lake) It was equipped with bathroom shower one bedroom. We bought it in Oct of 09 we were so looking forward to using it in the following summer (2010) We went their started it up as soon as the park let us in April 2010. Work...work work..We had to maintain the lawn, outside maintenance, the neighbors were so close....also always in our business!! It was truly a drunk fest!! and I didn't mention I have a 3 year old!! We had to shlep his clothes, and several changes then our clothes and the bedding....Also we had a dog we brought with and the cage!!!!WAY TOO MUCH WORK!!! We ended up getting rid of it in July 2010..whew what a relief!! No don't let that discourage you. Just make sure you check out the place really carefully....like maybe tent campl their over a weekend. Then realize the other things involved with kids and camping. Hope this helps!!

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I have a small lake house. It is in a campground setting so we own the house but lease the land. I absolutely love it. It's only 25 minutes from home so we can go for the day or even just a few hours. It's a nice break for the kids. They can play on the dock at my house or there's a common beach for the campsite only. I highly reccommend it. As for the price. It's tough. Just see what others are selling for in that area or campground.
Good luck.

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we had a camper but had to sell it when we had our first baby. we are looking into getting another one. we dont want a cabin because the cost is alot higher. there is no KBB for cabins,...just an appraisal.
We like campers bcause you can pull them behind and go anywhere on vacation. however you can look for "year round' camper places at lakes and just pay a fee every year...Then you can build a deck or garage next to it and store your boat. we found its much cheaper when you do that, however you will be in a campground with other people like you...so some people like to be more isolated...if you are that way, you prob wouldnt like the campground route
Seems like how much you would use it really depends on how far away it is. My family had a cabin when I was growing up and it was over 3 hours away...we went alot at first and then it turned into only going 4 times a year..mostly just to check on it....
My hubby growing up had a lake place, and they went every weekend (but it was also 45 mins away..easy to go back and forth)
Even though presently we dont have a camper now, we WILL have one in a couple years. Our familys map location is not stable and we will probably be moving next year to another city...so we dont want to purchase somethign we may have to sell next year.
Good luck

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My parents friends owned a cabin in the mountains of New Mexico. They gave us a standing offer to use it. We went once a year when I was growing up. Treasured memories. It wasn't ours, it was offered by friends. I think that blessed the friends to be able to bless us. So, I'd have to say those memories for us and for them being able to do that for us is priceless on top of all the memories they made themselves.

For fair maket value, you could go to the county tax appraisal on line and see what the taxable value is. That will also help you budget what your taxes are going to be each year.

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we used to have a little place on the beach that we shared with family. oh, how we loveloveloved it. we sold it due to family squabbling :::::::sob:::::::::::
i still get upset about that. it was awesome, and i'm still a bit bitter that family couldn't be mature and reasonable. but we couldn't afford it on our own.
i'd love to have a cabin and hope to one day. not sure i'd like one in a campground, though, with people coming and going all the time.
we had a camper for years when the boys were little, and used it until it disintegrated.
i found both beach house and camper to be worth every penny and then some.
khairete
S.

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My grandparents bought a little cabin at a campground several years ago and they are ALWAYS there! As soon as the weather gets nice... they head out for long weekends and take whatever grandchildren and great grandchildren along. It's close to their home (less than an hour) so they can get there easily and we can all come spend the day at their pool and lake w/o needing to spend the night.

They love it, but did a lot of research and visits to make sure that the grounds were well-maintained (they pay an annual fee), the neighbors were family-friendly and that there was a real sense of relaxation.

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Get a realtor to look into the current market price or comparable prices for other homes in the area. Also checking the city records for the prices of homes like the one you are looking at sold within the last year will also help you.

I actually own rental property. From a business stand point it may be worth it for you to consider renting it out when you aren't using it. Also consider your responsibility for upkeep of the property and is the area suited for you and your family? Also consider if it floods in the area, what kind of physical condition the cabin is in from foundation to roof and it's major systems too plumbing, heating, cooling, etc and is is already furnished. What will it cost you to get the place to confortable for you. Also develop a relationship with several real estate agents in the area to get the information you are looking for from different sources and see if there is any variance of information.

Loads of things to consider but if you do the proper research you can make an informed decision. I personally like going to differnet places for vacation and a cabin or timeshare wouldn't work for me.

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