Real Estate DeskIssue #13 · Jun 22
The real cost of a second home, on one page.
Mortgage is the small number. Insurance, maintenance, and vacancy are the big ones. Here's how the math actually shakes out.
A second home costs, per year, roughly 1% of value in maintenance, 0.5–2% in insurance depending on geography, property tax at your local rate, plus utilities you'll pay whether you're there or not. Then the mortgage on top.
Rent-to-offset math almost never works out the way the listing agent projects. Buy a second home because you want to be there sixty nights a year. Do not buy one because you want it to pay for itself.