Vacation rental on semi-private island?

[David Miller]

My wife and I are looking at a property on an island this weekend. The property is not listed but likely will by the end of the month. We do not know much about it but the island itself is roughly 3-5 acres. It has 3 independently owned cabins(called camps in Maine). The one we are looking at has the majority of the land associated with it. I know it has electricity, running water(well), indoor plumbing...everything your home would. 

We are looking at this primarily as a vacation home for ourselves but we’re wondering if it would be feasible to rent it out from time to time, maybe one week per month in the summer. This would allow us to potentially spend a little more. The reason we aren’t sure about that being possible is that the only access to it is by boat. Meaning anyone staying there has to have their own boat, rent a boat...just to get to it. It wouldn’t be possible for us to ferry groups back and forth. I’m sure convenience is very important for vacation rentals but wasn’t sure if the lure of being on a fairly private island would overcome some of the challenges. 

We are just looking for some insight as we prepare to look at it. It may be completely wrong for us but figured those with more experience may be able to help. 

[Michael Baum]

Hey @David Miller. Sounds like a cool place. There are quite a few places that are boat access only here on Lake Coeur d'Alene. We looked at several of them (well virtually) before deciding to pass on any of them due to exactly what @Julie McCoy said.

Our lake is large and brings boaters from all over. Even then I would be concerned about booking it out. Now you are looking for a place for yourselves and are not as concerned with the rental aspect. If that is so, then I would certainly not go over budget for what you can afford with zero bookings. It takes a certain person/group to really just want to be away from everything for a duration. Especially on vacation. They want to hit a restaurant or 2, take in some local activities etc. Pretty hard when you are isolated and need to take the boat to get anywhere.

Is this an island on a lake or salt water? How long is the boat ride? Is there plenty of free parking for the truck and trailer? What about the other owners on that island? Are they hip to this particular groove? Those are all things you need to get hashed out before you decide to rent it out.

We are in the same boat here. We bought a place we could afford without booking it at all. We use it as a vacation house and it might end up being a retirement place for us as well.

If you buy a place that you can easily afford, everything you do above and beyond is gravy.