REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-Sharing a Vacation Home Can Be Trouble

OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Search REALTORMag...

OR FOCUS YOUR SEARCH

NEWS & COMMENTARY

Inside For Brokers

Connect

Social Networking

Follow, fan, or friend us online.

Your Magazine

Magnifying your voice and celebrating your accomplishments

CURRENT ISSUE

PAST ISSUES

Daily Real Estate News | January 22, 2007 | Sharing a Vacation Home Can Be Trouble
Buying a lake house, ski cabin, or other vacation home with good friends could ease the financial burden for all parties involved. However, without clear-cut rules, thorny situations likely will arise.

James Grossman, a Rochester, NY, lawyer and former chair of the real estate section of the New York State Bar Association, offers these tips for what to consider before buying a vacation home with other people:

Decide upfront what will happen if someone decides to sell or dies. One good approach is to provide remaining owners with right of first refusal.

Spell out financial arrangements. Require an owner who stops making payments to sell his share back to the other partners.

Decide how and when the property will be used. Create a schedule of when each party will be allowed to use the property. If you feel strongly about not having a schedule, then put in writing that it will be open-ended.

Set rules for when problems arise. What are your guidelines for parties, pets, broken furniture, and maintenance needs? Will you allow family members to visit by themselves?

What happens when you don't agree? Especially when there are more than two owners, it's important to include a procedure for handling disputes, for example, a majority vote rules.