HisHersMoney

Lots of people dream of owning a vacation home. Somewhere in the mountains, by the beach or maybe even in another country. But, what are the costs associated with such a property. Previous reading will explain how we came to be 30% owners in such a property. FOr us it was a ski condo right at the base of the mountain, just mere steps from the lift. We made the purchase with cash so we don’t have a mortgage to deal with but there are so many costs associated with it.

A lot of the costs we figured into our buying decision so they weren’t a surprise, but now that we are getting to our fifth month we are getting a look at the grand total.

Utilities / property management/pool, etc. = about $100 a month. This cost is not bad and we knew this going in.

Condo specific bills from the property (cleaning, maintenance to your specific unit, replacing kitchen items) = $500 a year. We really didn’t know about this entire bill. We figured probably around $200 a year as a rough estimate.

Furnishings, updating decor, large maintenance = around $3500 for the first year. This will not be a recurring cost as the unit was definitely outdated and needed all new furniture. Luckily the cost is split between the owners and we only owe our 30%. We knew that things would need to be updated but really didn’t know how much it would cost.

There are some other things in the condo that need updating that require some minor construction that are going to have to come either later this year or next year. I estimate anther $500 for those. This does not include the costs of a major kitchen or bathroom update that will have to be done in the upcoming years.

We had originally thought we could do a total rehab for $10,000 (our portion) but failed to take into account that with the unit being used on a consistent basis by not only the owners but also renters that the items purchased for the condo would need to be of a pretty high quality in order to not fall apart in just a few years.

The renovations and new furniture is complete for the bedroom. It involved some minor construction to move around the heating vents, new dresser, mirror, king size bed, headboard, frame and all new linens. Luckily the resort gets a little bit of a discount because of the quantity they purchase from certain vendors. It really helped us out.

We figure our total out of pocket expenses for the first year will be about $5700! That doesn’t even include a lift ticket or Apres Ski Beer!