Had some money fall in our hands unexpected. I thought of purchasing a vacation home at White Lake , NC . I like White Lake and thought the property would hold value. Is this a safe way to hold on or invest the money? We would use it often and wife and kids would be in the position to spend all summer there. What do you think ? Also thought of buying a couple of cheap condos to rent out ? Are condos to rent out a good investment ? Thanks for any replies !
Looking for some opinions on an investment
- Thread starter ClarktonHeel
- Start date
Good for you that you came into some $ . . . !
No banks were robbed in Elizabethtown I hope . .
No banks were robbed in Elizabethtown I hope . .
Without knowing more about you I would suggest some low cost index funds and let it grow until you can retire.
Go with the White Lake vacation home if you really want to enjoy time with your family it should appreciate nicely in the long run. My son and his wife bought a place at Lake Gaston and got a great deal and I'm not really familiar with White Lake real estate so I would do some investigation.
I have family in the White Lake area and the property is about a mile from Goldston's Beach where my wife and I met in 1987. Work and Family have prevented us from spending time at White lake but the kids are getting older and I miss being around White Lake and extended family.
Are you a cop or what ?
LOL . . no freaking way, my Bro'. .
I am not familiar with this but thanks I am going now to google it. BTW I am 47 yr. old , I don't know if that would make it more or less of a good investment.
Set up an account with Vangard. Buy only index funds and forget about it for a few years. During this time you can spend all the time you want at White Lake (renting) in a few years you will know if you want a place there or not. During that time your money will be growing
Blow it all off on something really expensive that you don't need.
I would also recommend this. I do an IRA through my employer and use Vanguard. I'm only 27, have only had the account for a couple of years, only put a modest amount of each paycheck in, and I'm already up to $10,000+ in my IRA.
But I would also recommend buying the lake house. It's a place that holds sentimental value to you and your wife. You can generally never go wrong with real estate, especially on a lake or beach. Not as sure about the condos to rent. That can be dicey.
Hookers and blow.
I can't believe that none of you other slapdicks have advised this yet.
ETA- Cool sort of did.
I can't believe that none of you other slapdicks have advised this yet.
ETA- Cool sort of did.
On a serious note, I would advise that if buying vacation property, buy it at a place where you can rent it when not using. That way you won't feel nearly as guilty when not there every free minute.
Where is White Lake anyways?
if you look at a North Carolina map in the center of these four towns is White lake. Clinton is to the North about 30 minutes or less , Whiteville is to the south about 30 min. and Fayetteville is to the west about 40 minutes and Wilmington is to the east about 1 hour.
Don't buy anything there unless you aren't worried about recouping your investment.
even in a small resort town that gets an estimated quarter of a million visitors each summer?
I would get those numbers validated.
My dads family is from Richmond County, my mom's from Alamance County, I was born in Orange County and until this thread have never heard of this lake.
my wife talked of taking 7 of us to Hawaii for a week. And other vacations. That is when I thought a vacation property would be a better buy if she was going to spend a lot of money. She could take my teenage girls to the lake for the summer and I could enjoy it on the weekends. My Uncle would have a place to come over and trade words with me.
Probably would work out to be a break even at the worst and you would get to enjoy it in the meantime.
How big is this lake? Can you sail on it with a boat larger than a Sunfish? How about power boats?
I can't recall where I read that number but I will look it up. My wife is from Greensboro, nc and was on vacation at White Lake when we met.
Also there is a a company White Lake real estate that rents houses on the waterfront at White Lake that are nice. I don't know if they actually get them rented out at the prices quoted on the website but it quotes prices from 1800 per week to I think there was one for around 2600 for a week ! That is a lot of money to me.
White Lake Is a body of water in Bladen County containing some 1,200 acres and is a commercial resort area.
Climate - White Lake has an average temperature of 63 degrees and an average rainfall of 49.06 inches.
White Lake's first commercial operation opened in 1901. The town was incorporated in 1951 and has a population of approximately 500 year-round with about 200,000 tourists visiting the Lake each summer. White Lake offers excellent swimming, boating, wake boarding, jet skiing and water skiing opportunities that help make that perfect family vacation. In addition, the lake has amusement parks, and numerous other recreational facilities. Motel, cottage, and campground accommodations are available as well as permanent home sites. A beautiful 18-hole golf course is located between White Lake and Elizabethtown. White Lake is unique in that it has a white sandy bottom and is blessed with crystal clear waters. This is because it is fed by subterranean springs. It is truly a child's paradise in that there are no currents, no tides, no hazardous depressions or real dangers of any kind to swimmers. It has been labeled "The Nation's Safest Beach". Some of the accommodations are open all year round. It is a choice resort area for southeastern North Carolina and one can spend an active and exciting day on the beaches and in the arcades, or a leisure time in the deep cool shade. White Lake is proud to be the home of the annual "White Lake Water Festival which is held the third weekend in May each year." Phone: 910-862-4368.
That's a good number, no doubt. Question is does that apply to all summer long or just 4th of July week? And how much does the management company take as their cut? What is off season like?
It's easy to research though. Just call up as if you want to rent and see what the numbers really are. Then call up the next day and ask them what they charge to manage.
My guess is that you probably won't lose money at White Lake, but probably won't make too much either.
How many of those 200k are day trippers as opposed to renters? What are taxes? POA fees?
I'm just trying to play devils advocate here.
Also check VRBO to see rental amounts year round.
Good things to think about I chose White Lake because I was born and raised just minutes down the road from there and have many family members in the area. The older I get the more I want to go home some also. Something I currently don't do much of.
Be wary of letting sentiment influence an investment decision. Maybe rent for a week during the next few summers and see if you still want to buy.
That being said, there is nothing wrong with making a sentimental decision with found money. That's why I originally suggested hookers and blow, but to each their own.
If you plan to both use and rent the property be sure you understand the consequences of doing so. Look up "personal use of rental property" and read through some of the results. Tax and expense deductibility issues arise when the ratio of personal use to rental use gets too high.
Great advice. Lyles, you ever hear of Bogleheads.org? Pretty solid investment forum that espouses similar advice.
Yes, this is important. My parents had to look into this when they bought a beach house. They rent it, so they can only stay there themselves X number of days a year.
Double your money right away!Why has no one mentioned the obvious answer?
I've heard annuities are the way to go.
Seriously though, have you thought about doing something nice for your online friends? I'd really like a Hobie Cat so I can get the girls into sailing, and @BillyL could use some help with the cost of that fancy rehab center we're about to check him into.
Hell I live in Nash , grew up in Edgecombe and I've known about White Lake since I was a kid. It is a sandy shore and bottom lake with crystal clear water , much like a beach. It's only about 2.6 miles so it's not that big(nothing like Gaston).
As far as index funds , you need to take into account that we have been in a market that has risen dramatically for 8 years based on fed manipulation. Stocks are trading at nose bleed EPS's. At some point they must trade on fundamentals. LOL are the Chinese money manipulators? No more so than our fed.
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