Snowbird Expense Question
 

Can anyone offer up an expense (ballpark figure) on being a snowbird?

I know it Very's with property values etc., but we had my sister visit last week (just retired) and her daughter, (a doctor) from Wisconsin and the subject was talked about.

What do you mean -
Are you here for 2 weeks, a month, 4 months?
you need a place to live (buy or rent)
Do you drive or fly
Do you rent a car

All the rest is food and drink and what you want to do.
gonna vary person to person. - could cost $2,000 could cost $10,000

C'mon, man...that's like asking how much it costs to dine out.

If you really want to know, shop around for rentals, the time of year, the number of months, and factor in the variables (transportation, and lifestyle come to mind).

I’ll start. For a 3 bedroom villa Jan - March, ~$16,000.

OK, I am assuming you mean BUYING a house and only using part of the time. If so, you can search public records for similar houses and get most if not all of the typical monthly costs. NOTE: you cannot turn off the electricity or irrigation water without nasty results. Add in your mortgage, etc., and you will have the APPROXIMATE cost. You will also need to consider a home watch, landscape maintenance, etc.

If you are asking for the RENTING of a house, look into the classifieds.

Thanks..... Some things to consider

How much does a henway or what does a piecost?

Depends on how big the hen is or what kind of pie it is. :shrug:

If they buy an average say 10 year old designer house, nothing special no pool, not on golf course etc. with no mortgage no bond, expenses including electricity, gas, irrigation, minimum internet for security cameras and smart thermostat when they are away etc, including property tax (no homestead declaration) and property insurance, and home watch services, pressure wash house, lawn care mow grass, trim bushes, weed and fertilize, and termite bond - total annual cost about $15,000. (Could be more expensive but I assume they’ll shop around.) This does not include maintenance such as a new water heater, HVAC, roof etc. They’ll need to buy furniture unless they get the house “turn key” ie. furniture is included. If the snowbird uses that home for more than 3 months it is generally cheaper than renting. They will need to pay for transportation of some kind rent a golf cart, rent a car, food, any special activities eg. golf on champion ship courses - but they’d have to pay for that at their other home too. Then you also have to consider the costs associated with the Snowbird’s other home at the same time.

Sooo snow birding as pleasant as it is to escape the northern winters is
not a cheap endeavor for the middle class, would you agree??

Maintaining two homes is certainly not cheap.

But... Some costs will be fixed wherever you live. Entertainment, food, health care, for example...

We took the plunge just over two years ago. Our northern home is paid off. We had visited friends in TV once, and had rented for 2+ months a year later.

We decided the time was right. We're glad we did. Shortly after our offer was accepted, housing price exploded and interest rates started going up.

We were able to get a very nicely upgraded home, with a reasonable mortgage @ under 3%. It'll put a slight crimp in our discretionary income, for the next year or so, until I retire and we sell the home up north and become frogs...

We look at it this way. During covid, we weren't traveling, so our home in TV became our escape, with the upside of making new friends while preparing for retirement...

My wife has joined 2 social groups, has a golf group and has fallen in love with pickleball, and I'm in 2 golf groups, and a "boys night out group" once a week when I'm there.

We also joined our neighborhood "social group" that has monthly events that we attend when possible...

yes

I spent $18,000 for 6 months last winter. No mortgage, no bond. I did a lot of house updating.

Y'all do understand he's just posting to see how many will answer him, right?
He has 2 posts on the same day related to snowbirds.

there is a price to pay, for sure.

If you rent, every $ you pay is gone forever. However, you have no risk, no responsibility.

If you own you establish some equity, and probably will benefit from some appreciation, however you still have costs you don't recoup: Insurance, amenity fees, taxes, utilities etc.and some risk: storm damage, sinkholes, rising insurance costs, etc.

One way or another, the price has to be paid. Whether or not you consider it "cheap", is a personal matter.

Designer home with 80% loan, bond plus property taxes, electricity/gas monthly costs, lawn care costs, termite and pest control, and our favorite home owners insurance plus golf cart insurance, you are closer to $30,000 - $40,000 a year. This is buying a newer designer home with annual expenses. If you pay cash for the house you can take $20,000 - $30,000 off the annual cost.
Go out and look what a home loan will cost you for a $600,000 home, $120,000 down, 7% loan, that loan is over $3200 a month, over $36,000 a year before taxes/insurance and thousands a year for everything else.

Depends a lot on the month and the model property and the location. Or are you considering a family purchase and split time between two residences (and perhaps renting it out during the off season)? Different expenses to consider there! Once you get your head wrapped around that it would be easier to come up with a ballpark $$.

You are about $5-8K low, as your described our house and we are running between $20-23K at current rates. I have the records, and just filed the corporate tax return in March with these figures. The difference between 20-23 is the cable TV service for renters


faux tax guy

If you have to ask............................................... ..

We maintain two homes, one up north and one in The Villages. Several years ago, we switched our residence to Florida. Not including the purchase of our house, we have lived here free ever since on the taxes we save from our rip-off northern state, plus we still get to spend summers in greater comfort.

If you are talking about a $600,000 house price (average cost of a decent designer home) the loan alone will cost you over $30k a year

It can be done on a lot less than you are spending.

Ignore all the negative comments you are receiving. You ask a very good question. It will cost you $4,878.43 to be a snowbird, that's assuming you arrive on a Tuesday....after 1:47 pm, on a cloudy day.

That’s like what do you think I can buy a car for🤣

I have learn that some years ago.
You would think by now that gene pool would be cleaned. :shrug:

Not quite on topic, but I was surprised when my snowbird neighbour told me he has to pay more homeowner's insurance because he only lives here part time. His home remains vacant When he is gone.

Double Post.

It’s an expensive place to live. 5 out of 6 Villagers are Millionaires.

Ryan from “Inside the Bubble” just posted on this very topic this week for owning a home in The Villages. Google his site to read his very detailed post about possible expenses and the associated estimated costs.

Really? May we please see your statistical proof?

it could be a little or it could be a lot - beer or champagne both can get you inebriated

Most of the responses below are about renting, which I don’t think you were asking about. If you are talking about owning as a snowbird the Villages can provide a good starting estimate. Then add mortgage payment if any and cost for going up north for however many times you plan to do that. A ballpark $30,000-$35,000 plus mortgage and trips north.

A range of $10,000 to $15,000 depending on the bond, taxes, lawn service, internet. Does not include a mortage or furnishing the house.

Yes, but this time he let us know that his niece is a Dr.

I pay about $16,000 a year to have a second home in The Villages. The home is a 4 year old designer home. I have no mortgage, but there is a bond which is paid yearly with the taxes. The $16,000 cost includes insurance, taxes, utilities, amenity fee, internet, lawn service, golf cart insurance and maintenance, home maintenance like pressure washing and HVAC service - etc.

Cost of Being a Snowbird
 

In 2022 it cost me $17,000 to maintain my home, car, and golf cart. That includes property taxes (which are considerably more for non residents), insurance (home and car), gas, Sunpass expense, utilities, grass cutting, garden maintenance, pest control and power washing. It does not include any major improvements, recreation, food or shopping. The size of your home will also impact your expenses. I hope that helps.

It’s not that hard to be a millionaire these days, and you are far from “being rich” just having a million dollars.

I'll second this, figure $16K for back of the envelope calculations

Joe

What is the definition of millionaire ? The obvious is assets minus liabilities. Many people claiming to be millionaires forget to subtract the liabilities part. I also do not include the value of a primary house. You always need a place to live be it another house, rent, assisted living, etc. On the other hand a second home in my mind is a countable asset since upon sale it does not need to be replaced. I doubt 5 of 6 in TV meet my definition of millionaire.