Skip to content
×
Try PRO Free Today!
BiggerPockets Pro offers you a comprehensive suite of tools and resources
Market and Deal Finder Tools
Deal Analysis Calculators
Property Management Software
Exclusive discounts to Home Depot, RentRedi, and more
$0
7 days free
$828/yr or $69/mo when billed monthly.
$390/yr or $32.5/mo when billed annually.
7 days free. Cancel anytime.
Already a Pro Member? Sign in here

Join Over 3 Million Real Estate Investors

Create a free BiggerPockets account to comment, participate, and connect with over 3 million real estate investors.
Use your real name
By signing up, you indicate that you agree to the BiggerPockets Terms & Conditions.
The community here is like my own little personal real estate army that I can depend upon to help me through ANY problems I come across.
Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
All Forum Categories
Followed Discussions
Followed Categories
Followed People
Followed Locations
Market News & Data
General Info
Real Estate Strategies
Landlording & Rental Properties
Real Estate Professionals
Financial, Tax, & Legal
Real Estate Classifieds
Reviews & Feedback

Updated over 3 years ago on . Most recent reply

User Stats

19
Posts
5
Votes
Ben Ertl
  • Appleton, WI
5
Votes |
19
Posts

Taking Over Family's 6 Cabin Resort - Harder Than It Sounds

Ben Ertl
  • Appleton, WI
Posted

Hi BP community,

This has weighed on me for quite some time.  I grew up on this 6 cabin property in northern WI that my parents own.  This includes a larger house they live in 50 yards behind the cabins, behind a road.  They've tried selling it in the past for around $400k-600k as well as selling individual cabins; however, there were never qualified buyers.

My parents are nearing retirement and the burden of this property is eating into the years they'd like to go elsewhere and enjoy.  They hire high school cleaners with a couple adults at $14-$22 per hour - so they're not doing everything.  In fact, in many ways they act as property managers themselves.

For the longest time, the property broke-even or lost a little money (in part to help with student aid for myself and siblings go through college).  However, since I've helped them integrate online bookings the property is turning a modest profit.

My career and home is now 3 hours away where managing the 6 cabin property would seem impossible.  My job requires visiting people in-person in my local area.

Instead of selling the property off, or having my parents forced to live out their days chained to this property, I'd like to see if anyone has any suggestions on ways to keep the property in the family without having to shell out huge sums of money to buy the existing mortgage ($300k).

The big roadblock is managing the property effectively from a distance and quality control of cabin maintenance and guest experience.

If the mortgage was paid off, the profit would be fairly significant (it's all relative I suppose).


I know this post is sort of a tangent but figured I'd put this out there in case someone has experienced this / seen this before with retiring parents / owners.

Most Popular Reply

User Stats

12,317
Posts
14,910
Votes
John Underwood
#4 All Forums Contributor
  • Investor
  • Greer, SC
14,910
Votes |
12,317
Posts
John Underwood
#4 All Forums Contributor
  • Investor
  • Greer, SC
Replied

What if you refinanced the property at historic low interest rates to get the mortgage payment lowered and help it be profitable. 

At the end of the day if this property is a burden that barely pays for itself, it may make more since to try and sell the property again.

  • John Underwood
  • Loading replies...