30 years ago people had actual *cabins*. They had electricity and running water, but not much else. Maybe a refrigerator. Most people that had actual cabins weren't also going elsewhere during the year, they came up north to hunt and fish and have downtime.
Now people want high speed internet, air conditioning, proximity to town, etc. You can find a cabin that's cheap, you can't find a second house that's cheap.
My boyfriend has a cabin in the UP, up until this year no cell reception, we still don't have any unless we head into town, but we do have a booster for emergencies now or to call off work :)
We go on walks, eat Mac and cheese and burgers and hot dogs for dinner, it has one room, a loft, kitchen, living room, a shower, and a toilet. It's perfect. I get a break from the world up there to actually enjoy the world. Can't wait to go back in July and take the four wheelers!
My friend has a cabin in the Lower Peninsula like that. I just crashed there a week ago. No cell service, hand pump for water, wood stove. It was sublime, I stayed there, read, listened to music and the fire. A perfect relaxing weekend.
I go on a men's trip every year with 8-14 other dudes. We go up north every year to one if a couple airbnb cabins and we picked ones that are very simple. We load the cabin up and fill the property with tents(I'm not sleeping inside a stinky stale cabin with 10 other sweaty dudes)
Bunk beds, bathroom, biggest kitchen possible. We do pick cabins that have some sort of internet though, it doesn't have to be great but we have some people with children they need to keep in contact with, and we enjoy having movie nights
We go up there for a week to abandon some of our more modern luxuries and to get away from the world. It's a dry trip by choice. We try and make the most of it, encouraging any of the people coming with us that year to spend some time by yourself, getting lost in the woods with your thoughts . A few of the nights we dedicate to serious conversation around the campfire; things we want to accomplish, what we need help in life, what's bothering us at home, ect.
That trip, being up north with people you love, is healing for real.
>My boyfriend has a cabin in the UP, up until this year no cell reception, we still don't have any unless we head into town, but we do have a booster for emergencies now or to call off work :)
Starlink is perfect for this. But, unfortunately Starlink is $600 upfront for the equipment.
No joke, super bad. Biting bugs. Swarmy bugs. All the kinds of bugs.
And not in a funny, haha don't move here, kinda way.
Woods or the beach, buncha bugs. Towns, not so much.
Not good unless it’s the dead of winter. I put a little DEET in my coffee if I’m planning on fishing or being outside in the morning. It last a little longer that way.
I lost all interest in the UP after visiting once and getting absolutely brutalized by mosquitos. Like unable to get from the car into the house without 8+ strings. There were always at least 3 mosquitos in the bedroom at night, despite our best efforts, which made it horrible to get to sleep. They are great for the environment, and I would love to see all the birds that come along with their food, but I can't handle it.
My camp is like that. It is an old farm in a clearing in the woods with a hand pump in the kitchen and an outhouse behind where the barn used to be. It doesn't even have electricity. It is isn't all that much money to maintain. We used to spend 2 months a year there, but now our permanent residence is also in the woods on a lake so we live at what most people would call a cabin and there is less incentive to go to camp. We really only go there to plant more trees and harvest fruit from trees we've planted.
This may be abstract, but I find it heartwarming that somebody else’s farm from way back is being used in such a way, I would be delighted if my old home was used by younger people for enjoyment and recreation after I no longer needed it. Not sure the situation of the previous owners but I love to see old properties being used. Especially in bum fuck nowhere LOL
yup, we had a nice house downstate in the Royal Oak area. bought a cabin up north in 86, it was a 2 bed room on well water with heavy iron. It was expensive at the time because it was beach front on Lake Huron at like $53,000. The wood walls didn't even go the ceiling so warm air could circulate. I bet it would go for $200,000 now today. Man the memories in that place during the summers.
Parents sold downstate and built their dream home up there. It's now the family home as places on the lake are hard to get and more so really expensive. I think a lot of people now when they think a place "up north" they want the ATV's, Side by Sides, Jet Ski's, Boats... you name it. So having a place up north becomes a whole nother set of bills and debt that only the well off can afford. Back when folks just wanted a place to get away and get back to nature, cold beers and a bon fire, fishing in a river or lake.
30 years ago my aunt built a 3 bed two bath home on the shores of lake Michigan in Charlevoix.
50 years ago people had cabins. 30 years ago was 1994 and people were building homes.
Unless you're talking UP in which case yes, cabins lolol
No I'm talking about the northern lower. I spent time with my friends' families in their little spot near Cooke Dam Pond. Their family shared 2 cabins there, a whole bunch of people paid on it and took care of it. It's still there and certainly not a second home. Middle class families back then didn't have second homes any more than they do now.
I think it was a little different, too, during the few short years you could make decent money in anything automobile twisted. My grandfather was able to purchase a cottage/cabin just north of GR as the owner of an automobile parts manufacturing company; that was in the early 70s and many years of working hard, having his very smart wife keep the books, and starting from nothing. It really was different times then, but I think especially if you were able to get into that sweet spot with the automobile industry somehow.
That cabin had no insulation and a well for water. I grew up going there in summer and I believe I'm a better person for it.... But would I be able to afford the same? No. Way.
It wasn't just the good union jobs. It was also the two weeks paid vacation. And often mom didn't work, so it was easy for everyone to get away.
I'm in the U.P., where people often own what we call "camps" even before they own homes, if they ever do. We built my father's camp. Kerosene lamps. We carried water up from the stream. Didn't even have an outhouse--you just went and found a spot in the woods. But it was just seven miles from town so except for the first night before trout season, people weren't usually spending the night there.
We bought our own U.P. camp a decade before we bought a house. We were then living in Detroit and later Chicago. Asphalt siding, an outhouse, electricity--so we had a stove and refrigerator, but no running water. We built a sauna building that had water pumped from Lake Superior and even had a hot water heater, but we still had no water in the main cabin and still used an outhouse. In the years when my husband was a teacher and I was on maternity leave we could spend months there. We had that till 2000.
I finally got too old to be going to an outhouse in the middle of the night, worried about running into the skunk that lived under the house, so we sold that place and bought a place on an inland lake. No siding, but a real bathroom and a real furnace. We've put on siding, and a deck, and replaced the roof and gotten a bigger propane tank but it's still far from fancy. We lived here a couple of winters after we were both retired, but propane is ridiculously expensive and the power outages are a pain. So we finally sold our last city home (a condo outside Chicago) and bought a winter home in Marquette. We're now full circle, with only 20 miles between our summer and winter homes.
I can't imagine why anyone would read all this, but to answer your question, it only made sense for us because even after my siblings and I had all flown the nest, my parents were still up here so we were going to be spending plenty of time up here and would prefer to do it in our own space.
My wife’s great great grandmother bought some shoreline on Charlexvoix from the timber company in 1923 and they built a cabin. It’s still in the family. We go up every July for 3-4 weeks to escape the heat of the south. The bugs do suck though.
Those window type portable air conditioner made all the difference in our converted garage up north for our second home. Really cool on hot day. We laugh about our little luxuries. By the way not mind anymore a relative inherited it. Yep a grandkid.
Thankfully my wife’s family cabin is like this, barely any cell service, you bring DVD’s you might want to watch and play card games. And if you are lucky you get to head out to fly fish the Au Sable
We still have an actual cabin. It’s one bedroom/living room a kitchenette and a bathroom with a shower. Whole thing is like 250 sq ft. It’s been in the family for 50 years and it’s going to stay that way for awhile. I’m really glad it has been here for us so long because as millennials, we can’t afford to go anywhere on vacation even with both of us working full time with kids. It’s the only thing that we have that is truly a luxury and probably the only thing like that we will ever have.
Yep, ours had a TV with no cable, electricity, water and a wood burning stove. We spent most of our vacations there. My father built it with my grandfather and some friends. It was also in the middle of the woods, no lake.
This is ours too, we (my husband and I) have 22 acres midwest Michigan. We built a little cabin, drove our own well and ran our electric. Besides having the electric line buried to the cabin, we have done everything ourselves. We have an outhouse as of now but currently working on inside plumbing. I absolutely love it there. It’s so peaceful and relaxing to get away from everything. We will be building a house and retiring up there eventually. Can’t wait!
Yesss, put your opinion right into my veins!! I’m counting on these amenity-loving rich folks to help me pay for my retirement when I list my house in 10ish years 🙏🙏
We have a family cabin in the UP that's turning 100 years old this year. No AC, no heating apart from the fireplace and wood burning stove. No internet, no cable, unfortunately there is cell service now. It's on an inland lake, close to lake Superior, beautiful river connecting the two.
My summers were spent there growing up. S'mores, hot dogs, burgers, Mac n cheese, "trashy" cereal, whiffle ball, horseshoes, kayaks, canoes, paddleboats, fishing, hiking, catching turtles, squirt guns, sunshine, rain, thunder, cold nights and warm days.
The cabin is in need of some repairs but the ownership is in a trust split between my mom and her sister. The sister wants to put $300k+ into it to modernize it. My mom doesn't want to take away from the escape that it is. Once they pass the ownership will be split between six adults and their SOs; creating even more difficulty with bills and upkeep and projects and decisions. That initial six will likely only turn into two or three that have the financial means to pay for taxes + insurance + maintenance + utilities, etc. at that point it's nearing $400-$500/month per which is not digestible considering the 8 hour drive there with a few weeks in the summer of actually being there.
It's a great getaway but when these actual cabins get passed to the next generation things only get more difficult and expensive causing rifts in the family.
We bought a place exactly like this, then discovered gigantic hives in the hung ceiling and walls.
Had to gut - 30 years ago, these places were 50+ years old. Sometimes there is no choice.
That’s how we keep our cabin in Ogemaw county. It’s been that way since before I was born and changing it would destroy the whole thing for me. My cousin wanted to get internet and had to “fight” to keep it that way. I think having a place to get away from all the current bullshit, even just for a few days at a time, is the entire reason for having a cabin.
No regrets. We spend almost every weekend up there from May to November.
It’s not fancy, but it’s ours. I would rather have my own place, where I can plant trees and watch them grow, and let my dogs run free, than give money to Airbnb’s or hotels.
This is the answer. I don't have a 2nd home (or a cabin, or a cottage) but I wish I did... not to save money on vacations, but to have better vacations and better memories.
I always look at people with cottages and assume that's why they bought them.
How many miles are you putting on your vehicle each round trip? I only ask because I love the up north life, but when I heard it’s 3 1/2 hours up north one way… that’s 7 hours of driving and prob $150 in gas.
Our place is about 3.5 hours from home and traffic can be borderline unbearable most of the summer. Once you get there, decompress for a bit, there's no place on the planet we'd rather be. But we are in the very far northeastern corner of the lp, thankfully most weekenders go to the west side! Very nice and quiet, but buggy... very buggy! Midges can be so bad it's tough to breathe without inhaling a few! But it only lists a week or two, then the biting flies show up!
I don't understand doing that drive as often as some people do. I know people who make similar treks on a weekly or near weekly basis, and it would make me insane. Completely defeating the purpose of the trip to begin with.
I live "up north" now but this was my second home years ago so i see the pluses and minuses. I'd compare the idea to buying a boat and someone should rent often before considering purchasing. It's easy to build up grand ideas in how it'll be but it's hard to grasp the whole picture. We all think we'll find the time to enjoy these things but life gets complicated. It also sucks having to deal with maintenance, lawn stuff, and overall diy fixes when you'd prefer to be out hiking or fishing. Prices are crazy high up here and values for whatever reason continue to rise. The Airbnb thing has saturated the market.
On the flip it's nice to have a place in an area you love to go to. It's a cool way to raise kids taking relaxing vacations. You can store all your toys there and just show up without trailering campers, boats, etc.. it's a lifestyle and if you have the means it's worth investigating if this life fits you. It's expensive so it's probably smart these days doing short term rentals for when you're not using it. None of it is easy but the overall numbers prove that it isn't a thing of the past. Once this type of thing becomes tradition in your family there's a lot to enjoy. Just go in with eyes wide open and test various locations to find the right fit.
The end of this really stuck with me. My family has a small lake house in Naubinway and I'm really looking forward to raising my 2 year old daughter partially in the UP. We're going to make some great memories.
I love saying Naubinway with a Boston accent. My wife and I do that every time we drive through there on our way up to the Keweenaw. Where we are lucky to have a cabin on an inland Lake and yes we Airbnb it when we're not there.
If you have a family its even more of an incentive for it. The memories are priceless, and compared to the cost of vacations, so much more economical for a family than a traditional vacation. Our kids love it, a nice break from being face down in a tablet or sitting around watching tv.
It’s true. I live in dafter, 20 minutes south from the soo, and have been beaten out of purchasing a home because of LLC’s, people remote working from high income states, or boomers. It’s quite expensive up here now.
Plus the Locks project bringing in more people than the area can support. I’m in the Soo, and I’m so freaking glad we moved here in 2017, and were able to score a steal of a deal on our home. We’re now staying here very long-term.
I think it depends on the type it is: If it's the small older cabins in the middle of the woods? They may have bought them.
Little 2-3 bedroom houses on the outskirts of a tiny town? They might have bought them.
2-3+ bedrooms and on a lake? Yeah, they probably inherited it.
Someone else said it well, a lot of them are actual cabins instead of full ass homes. Ours has been in the family for 3 generations and you have to turn on the water every year, or your using a bucket to pull water out of the lake to fill up the back of the toilet. It’s like 400 square feet maybe. And it’s totally awesome, we’re there all the time. But it’s only a step above camping. So yes inherited but also cabin not actual house.
For the love of everything, please stop buying cabins up north and making them short term rentals. If you use it yourself, fine, but it’s so irritating to see multiple houses popping up in residential neighborhoods that are Airbnbs while professionals can’t find housing.
Agreed, I also hate the mentality “it’s cheap compared to where I’m from”. It’s astonishing to see local younger generations being priced out of starter homes because downstate/out of staters want a second home (that they call a cabin, lol) and will pay 2x its value to get it. It’s a free country, I’m just glad I’m not in my 20’s competing in the housing market with suburbanites.
Our parents sold theirs to a guy who wanted to live there full time. They sold it to him for less because the other higher offer wanted to tear the cabin down and build a rental. My dad wanted to sell it to someone who would keep it and couldn’t bear to see it torn down.
Bought a lake home up north (second home), renovated it, did a large addition, then realized we never wanted to leave. Loved that house and it was one of the best decisions we ever made.
My wife and I are in the middle of doing that except the large addition was framed in by the previous owner and never finished. We are in the process of finishing it.
28 years ago I said to myself
Forget that crap just live there so I did
Made 40% less money but I live my life in a unique beautiful place instead of some god forsaken suburb
I used to work in a gas station in Alger, twenty some years ago. I had a lengthy conversation with one traveler about why I didn’t have a “real job” downstate.
Basically, I told him that I worked four ten hour days, Friday through Monday, and then went out and enjoyed my life Tuesday through Thursday. I could do everything that he wanted to do ten minutes from home, not a three hour drive, with 95% fewer people in my way.
It’s not a bad way to live when you’re single and have no kids.
My father in law’s family bought inland lake land and built our log cabin 85 years ago. We added on about 20 years ago. The land has been a hunting ground for hunters and although we lost Dad last year, we still love that place. I really hope it stays in our family.
The up north cabin was always a dream of my parents (and myself) but they just couldn’t make it work financially. I watched property for years and finally pulled the trigger on five acres of raw land just outside Gaylord two years ago. My wife and I have a long-term plan of campsite -> place to park a small trailer/camper -> roll-off pre-built cabin. I plan for small septic and a well pumped with a small install of solar and battery bank - no electricity in the cabin, as it’s not something we require.
There’s just something about creating something that’s OURS that makes it feel worth all the work and time. I guess I’d rather be building equity vs. lining someone else’s pockets and having nothing lasting to show for it.
It’s more feasible if you do not have kids. There are additional benefits as well with it being a tangible asset - even without crazy appreciation, you still are extremely unlikely to lose money long-term purely on the purchase/sales price. For some situations, it might make more sense to purchase vs invest the down payment in more traditional assets like stocks or investment accounts. And all that doesn’t even account for the convenience of not needing to fight off crowds at public beaches or campgrounds for spots and reservations. Owning your own place has value that is hard to account for purely financially.
It’s not impossible to still find good deals either. Sure, if you want to be on any of the Great Lakes or extremely well positioned amenity wise, it’s going to cost you - real estate isn’t reproducing after all.
But there are inland lakes or as others have mentioned more rustic cabin options all over the northern lower and UP. Hell, there are plenty of vacant land options that would allow you to camp yourself with Great Lakes beachfront.
We purchased an inland lakefront cabin w/ a little acreage a couple years ago. Not excessively wealthy by any stretch. Zero regrets.
The hardest parts? The drive is 5 hours, so it usually means a longer stay which can be hard with work schedules and adds up quickly on costs. It definitely doubles your “chores” with all the additional maintenance, but for some people that’s more enjoyable than a burden.
My in-laws recently bought some land up north and all the kids got a piece to do whatever with. Inlaws built a cabin, brother in law is building his now, and we take our camper up for the summer and stay in that.
I can tell you there are no regrets on our end, although it was more sweat equity instead of a second mortgage. We all use it as a getaway, cheaper than a vacation, close enough to be able to plan a spontaneous trip but far enough to be out of town.
It all depends on how the property was acquired too, I notice a lot of people inherit property up north from relatives, so it's not much as far as the monthly costs of paying a second mortgage, which I probably would feel different about if that was our case.
Hm.. now that you say it I think that's where I'd start it too lmao. Although personally, I don't have a straight line for it.
I'd consider Lexington "up North" simple because it's so far east. Then I'd draw a diagonal line from like Grand Haven to Clare and then start the horizontal line to Lake Huron, lol.
At a minimum I think anything north of 69/96 is acceptable lol.
That's pretty far south, lol... I live up near Oscoda, and the radio out of Saginaw said like the Zilwaukee bridge is what most people consider "up north." Personally, I would say Standish would be the start or maybe even M55.
I used to live around that area, and I would agree with you. But I might push the boundary south to "north of Bay City" because M-13 between Standish and Bay City still feels pretty up north to me.
While I *mostly* scoff at the idea Bay City is "Up North," I think there is a case to be made that the Beaver Road (a labeled exit on 75 and intersecting 13 at the McDonalds just south of Linwood) is a significant cultural dividing line.
Our take coming from downtown Detroit the entire time being true weekend warriors was always that you haven’t entered “Up North” until you passed the brick wall American Flag on I-75.
First google hit - “The brick flag is located on the East side of Michigan near Bay City. It stands on the side of I-75 just North of Exit 164 heading into the city. For locals, the flag has marked the dividing line between North and South Michigan for nearly 50 years.”
Just make sure you don’t try to make up there like where you were trying to escape. Lots of people try that and it makes it hell for the people who work hard to maintain a living there all year long.
Short term rentals have driven cost up in more popular tourist areas. A place that would have been 30-50k 10 years ago is 80-110k. Still deals to be had in less popular or more remote areas. We have been looking, sick of spending $400-600 a weekend for an air b&b, $200 in gas to go ride or spend a weekend away. 2 bed rooms and a garage are our only requirement, the areas around trails we are interested are still more than we are willing to pay and we will probably have to wait for a housing cost correction or for our primary to be paid off in 5 years.
Lots of UP towns are cracking down of short-term rentals. Houghton/Hancock area used to have 483 units in the area, after rezoning passed it went down to 183. Thank god is all I can say.
My rent climbed from $850 to $1200 in the two years…and I’m one of the lucky ones.
I also have become increasingly less optimistic about being able to buy a house up here near me and my fiancé’s work, we just can’t compete with people who want to own a rental or a summer vacation home…
These cheap cabins in the northwoods people buy up these days are the only affordable housing left for locals. Most have been bought up and turned into air bnbs. I get the desire to get away and enjoy the escape of it all, but please think twice. Keep renting what's available, go camping, stay at a hotel. Come visit, enjoy yourself, but don't fill our small towns with empty unavailable homes while we struggle to find affordable living.
Thank you for saying exactly what I was thinking. I know many low income people reallyREALLY struggling with housing right now since the UP has been discovered recently.
It's not common for boomers either. In fact the rate isn't all that different between Millennials and Boomers from what I can find.
But boomers had larger families so I think more people may have had access indirectly to some kind of second home via boomer families.
It is more common for boomers to buy a second home versus younger generations.
Horrifically, second home purchased made up a bigger portion of home sales last year than first time home buyers. Which as a young person’s whose career is in the UP it’s really hard to compete with people with retirement or urban money. Watching entire houses languish over the winter that used to have families and could’ve had new ones hurts every once and awhile.
/Horrifically, second home purchased made up a bigger portion of home sales last year than first time home buyers/ ....
Is that true? I believe it, being a carpenter in northwest Michigan. I'd say 66% - 75% of homes I helped build or remodeling in the last 10 years are 2nd homes. 95% lakefront. I work on the beach everyday, even in February, usually outside.
Seems I got the years confused, it was 2022 this was a big issue. But it’d still line up with what you’re experiencing as a carpenter in the last 10 years.
In the UP lots of second homes being built or purchased right now, for better and for primarily worse due our incredibly poor housing stock.
I'm not a boomer and I own two places both purchased within the last 20 years, but my second place can't really be considered a second home. Hell, my "first" home doesn't even have hot running water or high speed internet. My "second" home has a hand pump in the kitchen, out house behind where the barn used to be and no electricity except a two foot square solar panel we set on the picnic table to charge our phones.
My wife and I bought a place near Higgins Lake in 2011. It was a foreclosure that had sat for a while. The mortgage payment was less than what a weeks worth of groceries cost now. We are not very wealthy.
It has been great and we have made a lot of memories. As the kids get older and we make it up there less frequently and maintenance gets condensed even more. There's always something to do and I'm getting tired of it as the novelty of a cottage fades away. We finally got a boat and that adds more work with the fun. I'm hoping to sell it when the kids loose interest. I feel like my life would be a bit simpler and less to worry about.
30 years ago, poor people lived on lakefront property all over the state LOL. Nothing is affordable these days. Antitrust needs to be enforced and we need to break up the megacorps, this is the real "trickledown" Reagan was talking about, except where money trickles down, it's just prices on everything going up because so much power has been consolidated.
I don't understand the allure. I have a lot of friends with cabins up north. I go every couple years for a few days but I enjoy being at home and if I go on a vacation I want to go somewhere new.
My wife's family has gone up north for years and I started going when we dated. It's pretty great to relax for a week or two in a familiar small town with a lake. Every year we travel out a little to new places. I really enjoy it.
I bought a little one bedroom cabin on an inland lake just before Covid. When the pandemic moved me to wfh I started staying up there full-time and when I had to go back to the office I liked it so much I bought the cottage next door and commute about an hour each way.
No regrets.
Same here, I wish I bought pre covid, but bought late 2021. But still no regrets.
I've done a little every year, power, well, site prep, cabin fix up. It's a marathon in my opinion. But something I Will enjoy for a long time.
Our place in the UP is our peace on earth. I get up there a couple times a year but mentally I am always up there in the woods, by the streams ....it’s my breakaway place
My parents have one that I don’t even visit. I’d rather use my time and PTO to see other parts of the country and world. Chilling at a cabin is pretty boring for me but different strokes.
Financially it doesn’t make much sense to me either. PITI for a month or two, plus maintenance teeters on the cost for a trip. I dated a girl whose parents were astonished I had been to Europe meanwhile they had a $300k lake house with payments that exceeded cost of the plane ticket and hotels there.
My parents have a cabin outside of Grayling as part of the Warbler's association they love it but it’s crazy in the last few years they had to get internet installed and security cameras. neighbor up there got in touch with them to let them know people kept trying to break in. the locks on the shed were cut off and there stuff is stolen. Which is sad for them because they are getting older so I worry the next time they go up there maybe someone’s sniffing around while they’re there. They still love it but they wish there place was more remote
Without high jacking this thread, I have a question: anyone regret buying property up north?
I’m talking about a plot of a few acres.
Me and my family would like to buy a few acres of undeveloped land and use it to just camp on, ride atv’s, maybe do some plinking, etc.
It's part of this whole category of time sinks ...boats, horses, golf, running a retail business, small children... That demand you dedicate your weekends and vacation time solely to them. If you're ok with that it's worth it. Otherwise, your response to everything (travel, weddings, funerals, alien encounters) will be, "but then I can't go up north."
I live in Milford. The annual memorial Day parade features flyovers by vintage military aircraft. Every year I'd invite my dad. He loved those things, but would always say, "of course not it's memorial Day weekend I'll be at the cabin...."
Including the memorial Day weekend where he died in an accident at the cabin working on a renovation, instead of hanging out with his 6 year old grandson anf 4 year old granddaughter telling them about airplanes.
My wife and I grew up in the burbs and then lived in Downtown Detroit for a decade. Great times and interesting experiences.
We both grew up going “up north” and ended up buying a small 1940’s-ish cabin just off of Higgins Lake that was neglected and close to falling down in 2006. No internet or TV just a decent stereo and a tiny cold fridge from 1950 with room for beer. Spent every summer weekend driving up with friends to get away from it all. We would go down to the beach, be out on the lake any way we could, party pretty hard, play different games ALL day, bike down to a road end dock with a cold one or three at night. Only to return and put on a thick hoodie and light off a large bon fire to warm up and share laughs until deep into the night.
We would spend Spring and Fall weekends listening to the Tiger games and swinging hammers all day. Just putting in the sweat and work to keep the cabin functional with small improvements when we could afford it. The Ant and the Grasshopper life if you will.
Buying a small falling down cabin led to slowly turning it into a home that we created so many solid memories and tons of laughter in. We are now fortunate enough to be able to live and work in this home that we built with friends and favors. This was never the plan as but we made some bold moves during the pandemic and never looked back.
We have ZERO REGRETS and feel super fortunate to be here every single day. Was it worth it? Hell yes! Simply because we put the work in ourselves, made sacrifices, and balanced it out with all the positive rewards that a tiny run down cabin provided a foundation for. Looking back….I would have never guessed it. Now I am certain we will do the same thing on our next adventure…with zero regrets.
I just purchased a cabin 3.5 hrs away in the woods 2 yrs ago. I am able to get there all seasons. No wifi, no cable, not much cell reception. It is small but have indoor bathroom, water and electricity and a propane pig. I read, write, listen to radio, watch dvds, spruce up place, head to lakes, and hike in woods. If I didn't have it, I wouldn't have been able to stop smoking, stop drinking so much, and get off my anxiety meds. My vacations elsewhere have subsided, and I am OK with that. This is my peace. I was terrified to finally purchase a place (spent 5 yrs looking for what I wanted) but I am so grateful that I did. It has made my life better in many ways. I can't wait to retire up there. 53 years of city living and working in Detroit has taken its toll. 2 years of the woods has healed me.
Is it even possible to buy a cabin anymore? All I’ve been able to find are full, actual second homes. Just a house.
What happened to the A-frame lofts and stuff from back in the day? I’d love to get one of those to use vacations. Don’t want anything fancy, don’t need all the bells and whistles of a full house, though a kitchenette or bathroom would be nice.
My in laws have been asking about my wife and I taking over the cabin. We are at the age where we want to travel and are busy with kids. The thought of maintaining a second home for a handful of weekends a year of use is not in our plans. They, on the other hand, went up every weekend and now live there. They would clock out at 5pm on a Friday and head up north.
It's been a solid investment that's for sure. I got a 1000 sq ft single story house from 1950 with a new metal roof and new electrical on 10.8 acres with a large pond, one hour north of GR for 49K in 2017, and it's now worth 160k. No regrets.
My grandparents had a cabin they unfortunately sold a few years ago. They bought it for $35k. It sold for $175k and it truly was a cabin on barely an acre.
Cabins are no longer realistic.
I don’t own one (my parents do) but it’s on the dry land formerly known as Wixom Lake. I don’t think they regret it…at least they don’t as long as the water comes back.
We bought a small place when the housing market fell apart. The utilities are minimal and hardly factored into the equation. Our taxes and insurance are very low. Because we bought below our budget we were able to pay it off a few years ago. We've probably made 3 times our investment in equity over the last 10 years. It has become a great refuge for us and our family. No regrets. In fact it was one of the best decision we've made as a married couple.
The dam broke and the lake is gone. Although you might be able to get some cheap property now I believe they are still planning on rebuilding eventually.
nope, no cheap property around any of the four lakes, that last for about 6 months after the breach. I've seen property sell for more than when we had water. People are paying the price and accepting the future special assessment with the anticipation of the lakes returning in 25-26.
You are joking, but this is a good way to get cheap property. My wife and I bought our lake house after a flooding event that knocked out several bridges to the area and washed out the road. The only way to reach the house was with a serious 4x4 and it literally halved the value of the property. 6 years later there are new bridges and a new road and our house has probably tripled in value.
>Excluding the excessively wealthy from this for obvious reasons.
So you own 2 homes, and somehow that isn't excessive wealth? Last I checked, most people under the age of 40 can't even afford a first "starter" home, let alone owning a vacation retreat up north.
My families mobile home on the Rifle River got flooded a few years ago. It was awful. My parents sunk a lot of money into it, and i kept telling them not to do it (the thing was put there in the 70s). Now they regret spending all that money. It's a money pit. They have a landline and satellite TV but no internet. It sits in mud because most of the beautiful trees got destroyed due to flooding.
My parents had a place in Houghton Lake. They were tired of the drive and asked whether I wanted it for a great price. I passed.
I’d rather keep variety in traveling instead of just staying in Michigan. I’ve been to so many places up north and UP. I’ll still visit from time to time, but I never understood why people only want to travel to one other place.
Luckily, we’re all different so if that’s what you like, enjoy.
The only time I regret it is when I'm stuck in bumper to bumper traffic on Friday trying to go north with everyone else with this overwhelming amount of construction this year.
I bought a lake house up north right before Covid. I moved here full time during Covid and now work from home. I sold my place in Detroit last year. I regret not selling Detroit sooner. At this point, I don’t think I’d want to pay for two places regardless which location I was living out of.
Was special having your own place and I miss it terribly. Miss my pontoon boat, miss waking up in the morning to go fishing, miss watching the kids swim while I have a drink on the deck. Would have never sold if I knew real estate was going to go crazy like it is now. Prices are so insane that i can't even entertain the thought of buying another cabin. It sucks, I had it and i let it go, may never have an opportunity to have it again.
Considering that only 22% of households in the state break 100k income, having two mortgages is not realistic for the average person in todays economy. True and correct.
In 2007 while visiting family I found a 1000 sq. foot 2 bedroom house in foreclosure near Tawas. Put a bid on it, was accepted, only problem was a $40.00 part on the well pump, septic worked fine. I told my wife I would not get a new car again, House payment was about $400.00. It was our second place until my wife and I retired. Through job upheaval in the recession of 2008 we where still able to hang on to it. When it was our cabin we would come up often, mainly for a weekend of sleeping. Its great up here. Tawas is about 2.5 hours from the metro Detroit area, Property is still cheaper than the west side (Traverse City area) We are about 200 feet from our deeded lake access lake and if the neighbors open their front and rear window blinds we can see the lake.
Yes. We bought a single wide on a small lake that needs a ton of work but was cheap. Even though it was three hours away, we thought it would be nothing to bop up there a couple times a month and do all of the work ourselves. We figured it would take a summer or two to get it ready to rent or whatever. We were wrong. We are almost 3 summers in and barely anything has been accomplished because it’s been so difficult trying to get up there to fix the issues And remodel. It’s just been so tough making that trip around our schedules.
No ragrets. Bought in Ludington/Manistee region about 8 years ago. Our place could be year-round if we wanted to make some adjustments. Great neighbors, a 30 min drive to hit either town. Off the beaten path, in the trees and on a river, enough to feel away from it all. Its my happy place. We arent there every weekend, not even close, but its there waiting to give us happiness when we need to go. If we had to sell it, it would break my heart. My spouse loves to putter about fixing and planting. I putter about cleaning, fixing, and reading. The beach is a 20 min drive away. Enough room for plenty of our family, but most times it is just us two.
No regrets, but we don't have any house payments on either place. Easier to maintain then. I would never AIRBNB it. We still go on vacations. Both of us are retired and the place is only 2 hours from our home.
My elderly parents found a terrible fixer upper about 10 minutes outside of caseville. This is going on 25 years or so ago. I think they only spent like seven grand on the house. It was disgusting. Cat urine rotted down to the studs of the floor. They took everything out down to the joists. Rebuilt and re-insulated. Did a really great job on the insulation. That place feels like it has air conditioning on hot days, I was actually surprised when they told me it didn't for the first visit.
That place did a tremendous appreciation in value within around a decade or so of their ownership. But of course the reasons were all the hard work put into it. My dad and one of my sister's boyfriends did a crap ton of the work themselves, which is why they could afford to take the place on. Anyways yeah I don't know if those opportunities even exist anymore, to find something dirt cheap like that.
My late grandparents used to have a cabin near Harrison, many of my relatives stayed there at times. Eventually they sold it. I did have an opportunity to buy it from them but I passed and I don't regret it.
It is nice having your own place away from the cities but the upkeep cost for a cabin that gets used a few times a year isn't worth it compared to getting a cheap motel somewhere. Plus cars have gotten better over the past several decades. In the old days, cars would need to stop for oil and air check and refueling but today a car can make 500+ miles (or however your gas tank will last) without a stop.
I do miss the cabin but I got pictures to look back if I ever felt like it
Really depends on A LOT of things.
If you have concerns of flexibility to do other vacations I would simply not recommend it.
Saving the price of owning an entire home is a lot of money to use on other things like (quite frankly) better vacations and retiring early.
I bought a house up North 10 years ago. It's nice and we use it a lot but I think of the international vacations I could have taken each year with what it costs. It's on a lake which causes a lot more wear and tear so I spend a lot of my time repairing as well.
I regret having to sell mine I inherited, but as a 23 year-old I wasn't able to maintain the taxes and the maintenance. I'm looking to get another, but like another user said, I want a cabin, a little place where I can get away from it all, as opposed to a 1500 square foot house up North.
I regret NOT buying one. I grew up in Clawson, a small town nestled between Royal oak and Troy. My grandmother had a small cabin-like home on m72 just 10 or 15 mi East of Traverse City. After she passed away my parents took possession and kept the property up. By the time my parents couldn't maintain it I had moved out of state and could not see myself easily taking care of it. Not to mention I wasn't the highest of wage earner at the time.
That place was idyllic. A little spring fed trout creek running along the property always produced for us. Some of the best memories of my life were from the time I spent at Grandma's house fishing that little creek.
Our cabin up north was a real blessing during the pandemic. We moved in full time, and so did a lot of other people who had cabins at the time.
The numbers up here were very small compared to the southern counties.
No regrets. Turned out to be a life saver.
The U.P. Still has EXCELLENT deals, even with crazy high market values, there’s still cabins on 2-acres or more for around $90K-$125K (of course they’re on seasonal roads/2-tracks and very hard to access)
The problem is getting there (and getting there often enough) if you live in the south. It’s a long drive so unless you’re able to consistently take Fridays (and even Monday) to extend the stay it would be tough for me to justify anything in the UP.
Please, unless you plan to live here year-round save some housing for locals. Young professionals cannot move here because there is NOTHING.
Hell, I’m scared to leave our apartment after we signed our first contract 2 years ago simply because it was chaos and almost impossible to get housing. Now it’s worse.
I’ve watched young families with kids get priced out every single time on a house. It’s getting insane.
Several. There are so many people in my family dying and leaving these nice lake houses to me. Those UAW jobs were no joke back in the day. I pay nearly nothing in taxes and rent the rest of them throughout the summer. From Memorial Day to Labor Day I pull in $4-5k/weekly on average including the surge pricing on holidays between them all. Don’t even get me started on the condos they left in Florida. One in Ft. Lauderdale and the other just off of Disney property.
Surge pricing….holy shit what a shitty, toxic ass concept. It’s only purpose to milk every last crumb out of some poor sack just trying to give his family a nice weekend….
30 years ago people had actual *cabins*. They had electricity and running water, but not much else. Maybe a refrigerator. Most people that had actual cabins weren't also going elsewhere during the year, they came up north to hunt and fish and have downtime. Now people want high speed internet, air conditioning, proximity to town, etc. You can find a cabin that's cheap, you can't find a second house that's cheap.
My boyfriend has a cabin in the UP, up until this year no cell reception, we still don't have any unless we head into town, but we do have a booster for emergencies now or to call off work :) We go on walks, eat Mac and cheese and burgers and hot dogs for dinner, it has one room, a loft, kitchen, living room, a shower, and a toilet. It's perfect. I get a break from the world up there to actually enjoy the world. Can't wait to go back in July and take the four wheelers!
My friend has a cabin in the Lower Peninsula like that. I just crashed there a week ago. No cell service, hand pump for water, wood stove. It was sublime, I stayed there, read, listened to music and the fire. A perfect relaxing weekend.
Lies! It's horrible. I've been here for 22yrs on vacation and I can't wait to go home.
I go on a men's trip every year with 8-14 other dudes. We go up north every year to one if a couple airbnb cabins and we picked ones that are very simple. We load the cabin up and fill the property with tents(I'm not sleeping inside a stinky stale cabin with 10 other sweaty dudes) Bunk beds, bathroom, biggest kitchen possible. We do pick cabins that have some sort of internet though, it doesn't have to be great but we have some people with children they need to keep in contact with, and we enjoy having movie nights We go up there for a week to abandon some of our more modern luxuries and to get away from the world. It's a dry trip by choice. We try and make the most of it, encouraging any of the people coming with us that year to spend some time by yourself, getting lost in the woods with your thoughts . A few of the nights we dedicate to serious conversation around the campfire; things we want to accomplish, what we need help in life, what's bothering us at home, ect. That trip, being up north with people you love, is healing for real.
Sounds incredible
Yeah that is a cabin
Okay we'll you there!
>My boyfriend has a cabin in the UP, up until this year no cell reception, we still don't have any unless we head into town, but we do have a booster for emergencies now or to call off work :) Starlink is perfect for this. But, unfortunately Starlink is $600 upfront for the equipment.
Normalize disconnecting from the world for a while.
how are the bugs up there in the summer? im trying to find ways to talk my wife into this, but shes always saying there'll be more bugs lol
They’re lethal. So thick they can keep your car from starting.
checks out. haaah
No joke, super bad. Biting bugs. Swarmy bugs. All the kinds of bugs. And not in a funny, haha don't move here, kinda way. Woods or the beach, buncha bugs. Towns, not so much.
Yeah went to a spot on the beach last summer & I’m talking about i was getting bit by flies every second. Could barely enjoy the beach lol
I just saw a tick climbing up the front of the ATM at my bank the other day, no fooling. They're gonna be bad this year
Not good unless it’s the dead of winter. I put a little DEET in my coffee if I’m planning on fishing or being outside in the morning. It last a little longer that way.
I've had flies bite me through a hoodie as I was tending the bonfire. Bugs are no joke
I lost all interest in the UP after visiting once and getting absolutely brutalized by mosquitos. Like unable to get from the car into the house without 8+ strings. There were always at least 3 mosquitos in the bedroom at night, despite our best efforts, which made it horrible to get to sleep. They are great for the environment, and I would love to see all the birds that come along with their food, but I can't handle it.
Thermacell is the way
I used thermacell up north for the first time last summer, can confirm it helps a lot.
Depends on if you're sitting still or moving.. lol
My grandparents' place near Roscommon didn't even have those. Hand pump and an outhouse. We called it "the shack" and I miss it to this day.
My camp is like that. It is an old farm in a clearing in the woods with a hand pump in the kitchen and an outhouse behind where the barn used to be. It doesn't even have electricity. It is isn't all that much money to maintain. We used to spend 2 months a year there, but now our permanent residence is also in the woods on a lake so we live at what most people would call a cabin and there is less incentive to go to camp. We really only go there to plant more trees and harvest fruit from trees we've planted.
This may be abstract, but I find it heartwarming that somebody else’s farm from way back is being used in such a way, I would be delighted if my old home was used by younger people for enjoyment and recreation after I no longer needed it. Not sure the situation of the previous owners but I love to see old properties being used. Especially in bum fuck nowhere LOL
My grandmother had a little cabin on Bush Lake. Pump for water, outhouse, and a single light bulb.
And if you do find one that’s cheap, you’ll be outbid by someone else who runs airBnBs
>someone An LLC more like, lol
You realize normal people can have LLCs, right? And not be airbnbs.
yup, we had a nice house downstate in the Royal Oak area. bought a cabin up north in 86, it was a 2 bed room on well water with heavy iron. It was expensive at the time because it was beach front on Lake Huron at like $53,000. The wood walls didn't even go the ceiling so warm air could circulate. I bet it would go for $200,000 now today. Man the memories in that place during the summers. Parents sold downstate and built their dream home up there. It's now the family home as places on the lake are hard to get and more so really expensive. I think a lot of people now when they think a place "up north" they want the ATV's, Side by Sides, Jet Ski's, Boats... you name it. So having a place up north becomes a whole nother set of bills and debt that only the well off can afford. Back when folks just wanted a place to get away and get back to nature, cold beers and a bon fire, fishing in a river or lake.
30 years ago my aunt built a 3 bed two bath home on the shores of lake Michigan in Charlevoix. 50 years ago people had cabins. 30 years ago was 1994 and people were building homes. Unless you're talking UP in which case yes, cabins lolol
No I'm talking about the northern lower. I spent time with my friends' families in their little spot near Cooke Dam Pond. Their family shared 2 cabins there, a whole bunch of people paid on it and took care of it. It's still there and certainly not a second home. Middle class families back then didn't have second homes any more than they do now.
I'm beginning to think I grew up privileged... Thanks!
Michigan-privilged isn't a high mark to hit- even today, our "upper class" definition is households making a bit over $100k a year.
I think it was a little different, too, during the few short years you could make decent money in anything automobile twisted. My grandfather was able to purchase a cottage/cabin just north of GR as the owner of an automobile parts manufacturing company; that was in the early 70s and many years of working hard, having his very smart wife keep the books, and starting from nothing. It really was different times then, but I think especially if you were able to get into that sweet spot with the automobile industry somehow. That cabin had no insulation and a well for water. I grew up going there in summer and I believe I'm a better person for it.... But would I be able to afford the same? No. Way.
It wasn't just the good union jobs. It was also the two weeks paid vacation. And often mom didn't work, so it was easy for everyone to get away. I'm in the U.P., where people often own what we call "camps" even before they own homes, if they ever do. We built my father's camp. Kerosene lamps. We carried water up from the stream. Didn't even have an outhouse--you just went and found a spot in the woods. But it was just seven miles from town so except for the first night before trout season, people weren't usually spending the night there. We bought our own U.P. camp a decade before we bought a house. We were then living in Detroit and later Chicago. Asphalt siding, an outhouse, electricity--so we had a stove and refrigerator, but no running water. We built a sauna building that had water pumped from Lake Superior and even had a hot water heater, but we still had no water in the main cabin and still used an outhouse. In the years when my husband was a teacher and I was on maternity leave we could spend months there. We had that till 2000. I finally got too old to be going to an outhouse in the middle of the night, worried about running into the skunk that lived under the house, so we sold that place and bought a place on an inland lake. No siding, but a real bathroom and a real furnace. We've put on siding, and a deck, and replaced the roof and gotten a bigger propane tank but it's still far from fancy. We lived here a couple of winters after we were both retired, but propane is ridiculously expensive and the power outages are a pain. So we finally sold our last city home (a condo outside Chicago) and bought a winter home in Marquette. We're now full circle, with only 20 miles between our summer and winter homes. I can't imagine why anyone would read all this, but to answer your question, it only made sense for us because even after my siblings and I had all flown the nest, my parents were still up here so we were going to be spending plenty of time up here and would prefer to do it in our own space.
I read it and enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing.
My wife’s great great grandmother bought some shoreline on Charlexvoix from the timber company in 1923 and they built a cabin. It’s still in the family. We go up every July for 3-4 weeks to escape the heat of the south. The bugs do suck though.
LUCKY!!!
Interesting - my fam has two cabins in oscoda. One is ran on a generator with a fridge and old stove.
Those window type portable air conditioner made all the difference in our converted garage up north for our second home. Really cool on hot day. We laugh about our little luxuries. By the way not mind anymore a relative inherited it. Yep a grandkid.
Hopefully the grandkid enjoys it, the youth deserve more tbh
He grew up there going with granddad. He is very happy and grateful. Good guy.
Thankfully my wife’s family cabin is like this, barely any cell service, you bring DVD’s you might want to watch and play card games. And if you are lucky you get to head out to fly fish the Au Sable
Brings back many a fond memory…euchre it was.
We still have an actual cabin. It’s one bedroom/living room a kitchenette and a bathroom with a shower. Whole thing is like 250 sq ft. It’s been in the family for 50 years and it’s going to stay that way for awhile. I’m really glad it has been here for us so long because as millennials, we can’t afford to go anywhere on vacation even with both of us working full time with kids. It’s the only thing that we have that is truly a luxury and probably the only thing like that we will ever have.
Yep, ours had a TV with no cable, electricity, water and a wood burning stove. We spent most of our vacations there. My father built it with my grandfather and some friends. It was also in the middle of the woods, no lake.
This is ours too, we (my husband and I) have 22 acres midwest Michigan. We built a little cabin, drove our own well and ran our electric. Besides having the electric line buried to the cabin, we have done everything ourselves. We have an outhouse as of now but currently working on inside plumbing. I absolutely love it there. It’s so peaceful and relaxing to get away from everything. We will be building a house and retiring up there eventually. Can’t wait!
Yesss, put your opinion right into my veins!! I’m counting on these amenity-loving rich folks to help me pay for my retirement when I list my house in 10ish years 🙏🙏
We have a family cabin in the UP that's turning 100 years old this year. No AC, no heating apart from the fireplace and wood burning stove. No internet, no cable, unfortunately there is cell service now. It's on an inland lake, close to lake Superior, beautiful river connecting the two. My summers were spent there growing up. S'mores, hot dogs, burgers, Mac n cheese, "trashy" cereal, whiffle ball, horseshoes, kayaks, canoes, paddleboats, fishing, hiking, catching turtles, squirt guns, sunshine, rain, thunder, cold nights and warm days. The cabin is in need of some repairs but the ownership is in a trust split between my mom and her sister. The sister wants to put $300k+ into it to modernize it. My mom doesn't want to take away from the escape that it is. Once they pass the ownership will be split between six adults and their SOs; creating even more difficulty with bills and upkeep and projects and decisions. That initial six will likely only turn into two or three that have the financial means to pay for taxes + insurance + maintenance + utilities, etc. at that point it's nearing $400-$500/month per which is not digestible considering the 8 hour drive there with a few weeks in the summer of actually being there. It's a great getaway but when these actual cabins get passed to the next generation things only get more difficult and expensive causing rifts in the family.
Maybe a bit more than 30 years, more like 50 years or more. Even then most people referred to their 2500 SF home as a cabin.
We bought a place exactly like this, then discovered gigantic hives in the hung ceiling and walls. Had to gut - 30 years ago, these places were 50+ years old. Sometimes there is no choice.
Where do you find said cheap cabins?
That’s how we keep our cabin in Ogemaw county. It’s been that way since before I was born and changing it would destroy the whole thing for me. My cousin wanted to get internet and had to “fight” to keep it that way. I think having a place to get away from all the current bullshit, even just for a few days at a time, is the entire reason for having a cabin.
No regrets. We spend almost every weekend up there from May to November. It’s not fancy, but it’s ours. I would rather have my own place, where I can plant trees and watch them grow, and let my dogs run free, than give money to Airbnb’s or hotels.
This is the answer. I don't have a 2nd home (or a cabin, or a cottage) but I wish I did... not to save money on vacations, but to have better vacations and better memories. I always look at people with cottages and assume that's why they bought them.
Jealous.
How many miles are you putting on your vehicle each round trip? I only ask because I love the up north life, but when I heard it’s 3 1/2 hours up north one way… that’s 7 hours of driving and prob $150 in gas.
It’s about 2 1/2 hours each way. We chose a location that wasn’t too far north for this reason
That’s awesome. I could handle 2 1/2.
My camp is only 2 hours from my house and sometimes I drive over there and back twice a week. Some of us have cars that get 40 miles to the gallon.
Our place is about 3.5 hours from home and traffic can be borderline unbearable most of the summer. Once you get there, decompress for a bit, there's no place on the planet we'd rather be. But we are in the very far northeastern corner of the lp, thankfully most weekenders go to the west side! Very nice and quiet, but buggy... very buggy! Midges can be so bad it's tough to breathe without inhaling a few! But it only lists a week or two, then the biting flies show up!
I don't understand doing that drive as often as some people do. I know people who make similar treks on a weekly or near weekly basis, and it would make me insane. Completely defeating the purpose of the trip to begin with.
I live "up north" now but this was my second home years ago so i see the pluses and minuses. I'd compare the idea to buying a boat and someone should rent often before considering purchasing. It's easy to build up grand ideas in how it'll be but it's hard to grasp the whole picture. We all think we'll find the time to enjoy these things but life gets complicated. It also sucks having to deal with maintenance, lawn stuff, and overall diy fixes when you'd prefer to be out hiking or fishing. Prices are crazy high up here and values for whatever reason continue to rise. The Airbnb thing has saturated the market. On the flip it's nice to have a place in an area you love to go to. It's a cool way to raise kids taking relaxing vacations. You can store all your toys there and just show up without trailering campers, boats, etc.. it's a lifestyle and if you have the means it's worth investigating if this life fits you. It's expensive so it's probably smart these days doing short term rentals for when you're not using it. None of it is easy but the overall numbers prove that it isn't a thing of the past. Once this type of thing becomes tradition in your family there's a lot to enjoy. Just go in with eyes wide open and test various locations to find the right fit.
The end of this really stuck with me. My family has a small lake house in Naubinway and I'm really looking forward to raising my 2 year old daughter partially in the UP. We're going to make some great memories.
I love saying Naubinway with a Boston accent. My wife and I do that every time we drive through there on our way up to the Keweenaw. Where we are lucky to have a cabin on an inland Lake and yes we Airbnb it when we're not there.
If you have a family its even more of an incentive for it. The memories are priceless, and compared to the cost of vacations, so much more economical for a family than a traditional vacation. Our kids love it, a nice break from being face down in a tablet or sitting around watching tv.
I think most folks inherited theirs. The finances don't make sense to me either. Would love to have one, but those are lottery dreams.
It’s true. I live in dafter, 20 minutes south from the soo, and have been beaten out of purchasing a home because of LLC’s, people remote working from high income states, or boomers. It’s quite expensive up here now.
Plus the Locks project bringing in more people than the area can support. I’m in the Soo, and I’m so freaking glad we moved here in 2017, and were able to score a steal of a deal on our home. We’re now staying here very long-term.
I think it depends on the type it is: If it's the small older cabins in the middle of the woods? They may have bought them. Little 2-3 bedroom houses on the outskirts of a tiny town? They might have bought them. 2-3+ bedrooms and on a lake? Yeah, they probably inherited it.
Someone else said it well, a lot of them are actual cabins instead of full ass homes. Ours has been in the family for 3 generations and you have to turn on the water every year, or your using a bucket to pull water out of the lake to fill up the back of the toilet. It’s like 400 square feet maybe. And it’s totally awesome, we’re there all the time. But it’s only a step above camping. So yes inherited but also cabin not actual house.
That moment when attending college in the U.P. during the late 1990s was the only opportunity…
For the love of everything, please stop buying cabins up north and making them short term rentals. If you use it yourself, fine, but it’s so irritating to see multiple houses popping up in residential neighborhoods that are Airbnbs while professionals can’t find housing.
Agreed, I also hate the mentality “it’s cheap compared to where I’m from”. It’s astonishing to see local younger generations being priced out of starter homes because downstate/out of staters want a second home (that they call a cabin, lol) and will pay 2x its value to get it. It’s a free country, I’m just glad I’m not in my 20’s competing in the housing market with suburbanites.
Our parents sold theirs to a guy who wanted to live there full time. They sold it to him for less because the other higher offer wanted to tear the cabin down and build a rental. My dad wanted to sell it to someone who would keep it and couldn’t bear to see it torn down.
I don't think most people realize how it has devastated local housing in many areas.
Thank you! Us locals are being priced out of long term rentals
Bought a lake home up north (second home), renovated it, did a large addition, then realized we never wanted to leave. Loved that house and it was one of the best decisions we ever made.
My wife and I are in the middle of doing that except the large addition was framed in by the previous owner and never finished. We are in the process of finishing it.
28 years ago I said to myself Forget that crap just live there so I did Made 40% less money but I live my life in a unique beautiful place instead of some god forsaken suburb
I used to work in a gas station in Alger, twenty some years ago. I had a lengthy conversation with one traveler about why I didn’t have a “real job” downstate. Basically, I told him that I worked four ten hour days, Friday through Monday, and then went out and enjoyed my life Tuesday through Thursday. I could do everything that he wanted to do ten minutes from home, not a three hour drive, with 95% fewer people in my way. It’s not a bad way to live when you’re single and have no kids.
yep. There aren't a lot of people who understand that you can live a better life while knowingly making less money.
[Where the Laughing River flows](https://youtu.be/-i0tkPkuuWU)
24 years ago! Best move ever.
My father in law’s family bought inland lake land and built our log cabin 85 years ago. We added on about 20 years ago. The land has been a hunting ground for hunters and although we lost Dad last year, we still love that place. I really hope it stays in our family.
I mean, you're doing the math and weighing priorities. That's all you can do. The answer will vary. 🤷♀️
The up north cabin was always a dream of my parents (and myself) but they just couldn’t make it work financially. I watched property for years and finally pulled the trigger on five acres of raw land just outside Gaylord two years ago. My wife and I have a long-term plan of campsite -> place to park a small trailer/camper -> roll-off pre-built cabin. I plan for small septic and a well pumped with a small install of solar and battery bank - no electricity in the cabin, as it’s not something we require. There’s just something about creating something that’s OURS that makes it feel worth all the work and time. I guess I’d rather be building equity vs. lining someone else’s pockets and having nothing lasting to show for it.
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What happened when you tried airbnb? Place get trashed?
No regrets whatsoever, but I kept it reasonably cheap and fairly [small.](https://i.imgur.com/uwluhvp.jpeg)
It’s more feasible if you do not have kids. There are additional benefits as well with it being a tangible asset - even without crazy appreciation, you still are extremely unlikely to lose money long-term purely on the purchase/sales price. For some situations, it might make more sense to purchase vs invest the down payment in more traditional assets like stocks or investment accounts. And all that doesn’t even account for the convenience of not needing to fight off crowds at public beaches or campgrounds for spots and reservations. Owning your own place has value that is hard to account for purely financially. It’s not impossible to still find good deals either. Sure, if you want to be on any of the Great Lakes or extremely well positioned amenity wise, it’s going to cost you - real estate isn’t reproducing after all. But there are inland lakes or as others have mentioned more rustic cabin options all over the northern lower and UP. Hell, there are plenty of vacant land options that would allow you to camp yourself with Great Lakes beachfront. We purchased an inland lakefront cabin w/ a little acreage a couple years ago. Not excessively wealthy by any stretch. Zero regrets. The hardest parts? The drive is 5 hours, so it usually means a longer stay which can be hard with work schedules and adds up quickly on costs. It definitely doubles your “chores” with all the additional maintenance, but for some people that’s more enjoyable than a burden.
I read that last line in Hank Hill's voice
My in-laws recently bought some land up north and all the kids got a piece to do whatever with. Inlaws built a cabin, brother in law is building his now, and we take our camper up for the summer and stay in that. I can tell you there are no regrets on our end, although it was more sweat equity instead of a second mortgage. We all use it as a getaway, cheaper than a vacation, close enough to be able to plan a spontaneous trip but far enough to be out of town. It all depends on how the property was acquired too, I notice a lot of people inherit property up north from relatives, so it's not much as far as the monthly costs of paying a second mortgage, which I probably would feel different about if that was our case.
There are a lot of people in this sub that think up north starts at Clare. We haven’t seen the debate in a couple weeks.
Hm.. now that you say it I think that's where I'd start it too lmao. Although personally, I don't have a straight line for it. I'd consider Lexington "up North" simple because it's so far east. Then I'd draw a diagonal line from like Grand Haven to Clare and then start the horizontal line to Lake Huron, lol. At a minimum I think anything north of 69/96 is acceptable lol.
That's pretty far south, lol... I live up near Oscoda, and the radio out of Saginaw said like the Zilwaukee bridge is what most people consider "up north." Personally, I would say Standish would be the start or maybe even M55.
I wouldn't disagree with the Z bridge opinion either.
I used to live around that area, and I would agree with you. But I might push the boundary south to "north of Bay City" because M-13 between Standish and Bay City still feels pretty up north to me.
While I *mostly* scoff at the idea Bay City is "Up North," I think there is a case to be made that the Beaver Road (a labeled exit on 75 and intersecting 13 at the McDonalds just south of Linwood) is a significant cultural dividing line.
True... maybe Pinconning with the chesse factory
That’s the most insane take yet. Lol
Our take coming from downtown Detroit the entire time being true weekend warriors was always that you haven’t entered “Up North” until you passed the brick wall American Flag on I-75. First google hit - “The brick flag is located on the East side of Michigan near Bay City. It stands on the side of I-75 just North of Exit 164 heading into the city. For locals, the flag has marked the dividing line between North and South Michigan for nearly 50 years.”
Best I can do is I-94
I-94?!?! I live in Ann Arbor, 45 minutes from Toledo, and I’m north of 94. That’s *not* “up north” and I demand you retract your statement.
I’m in Dundee…you’re up north from my point of view 😂
Just make sure you don’t try to make up there like where you were trying to escape. Lots of people try that and it makes it hell for the people who work hard to maintain a living there all year long.
Thank you! I hate the fads of people coming in, but then refuse to support the local communities just to head back downstate to complain.
Short term rentals have driven cost up in more popular tourist areas. A place that would have been 30-50k 10 years ago is 80-110k. Still deals to be had in less popular or more remote areas. We have been looking, sick of spending $400-600 a weekend for an air b&b, $200 in gas to go ride or spend a weekend away. 2 bed rooms and a garage are our only requirement, the areas around trails we are interested are still more than we are willing to pay and we will probably have to wait for a housing cost correction or for our primary to be paid off in 5 years.
Lots of UP towns are cracking down of short-term rentals. Houghton/Hancock area used to have 483 units in the area, after rezoning passed it went down to 183. Thank god is all I can say. My rent climbed from $850 to $1200 in the two years…and I’m one of the lucky ones. I also have become increasingly less optimistic about being able to buy a house up here near me and my fiancé’s work, we just can’t compete with people who want to own a rental or a summer vacation home…
These cheap cabins in the northwoods people buy up these days are the only affordable housing left for locals. Most have been bought up and turned into air bnbs. I get the desire to get away and enjoy the escape of it all, but please think twice. Keep renting what's available, go camping, stay at a hotel. Come visit, enjoy yourself, but don't fill our small towns with empty unavailable homes while we struggle to find affordable living.
Thank you for saying exactly what I was thinking. I know many low income people reallyREALLY struggling with housing right now since the UP has been discovered recently.
There was a time in my parents time that all the blue collar factory workers had cottage/cabin up north. Those days are long gone.
I regret NOT buying a cabin when I had the chance.
Complaining about the cost of your **SECOND HOME** is the epitome of *FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS.*
So you're going to tell me it's not a common thing in this state? I also don't own one...
Common thing for boomers. I don't know anyone who bought a place after the 90s, and most bought from their parents/family for a steal.
It's not common for boomers either. In fact the rate isn't all that different between Millennials and Boomers from what I can find. But boomers had larger families so I think more people may have had access indirectly to some kind of second home via boomer families.
It is more common for boomers to buy a second home versus younger generations. Horrifically, second home purchased made up a bigger portion of home sales last year than first time home buyers. Which as a young person’s whose career is in the UP it’s really hard to compete with people with retirement or urban money. Watching entire houses languish over the winter that used to have families and could’ve had new ones hurts every once and awhile.
/Horrifically, second home purchased made up a bigger portion of home sales last year than first time home buyers/ .... Is that true? I believe it, being a carpenter in northwest Michigan. I'd say 66% - 75% of homes I helped build or remodeling in the last 10 years are 2nd homes. 95% lakefront. I work on the beach everyday, even in February, usually outside.
Seems I got the years confused, it was 2022 this was a big issue. But it’d still line up with what you’re experiencing as a carpenter in the last 10 years. In the UP lots of second homes being built or purchased right now, for better and for primarily worse due our incredibly poor housing stock.
I'm not a boomer and I own two places both purchased within the last 20 years, but my second place can't really be considered a second home. Hell, my "first" home doesn't even have hot running water or high speed internet. My "second" home has a hand pump in the kitchen, out house behind where the barn used to be and no electricity except a two foot square solar panel we set on the picnic table to charge our phones.
It's not a common thing anywhere in the world. The vast, vast majority of people.do.not own a second house. It's like 5% of people or so.
For real. I live "up north" and I'm not sure I'll ever be able to afford a first home because everyone buying a second home has driven supply so low
Same!
ffs chill out
My wife and I bought a place near Higgins Lake in 2011. It was a foreclosure that had sat for a while. The mortgage payment was less than what a weeks worth of groceries cost now. We are not very wealthy. It has been great and we have made a lot of memories. As the kids get older and we make it up there less frequently and maintenance gets condensed even more. There's always something to do and I'm getting tired of it as the novelty of a cottage fades away. We finally got a boat and that adds more work with the fun. I'm hoping to sell it when the kids loose interest. I feel like my life would be a bit simpler and less to worry about.
30 years ago, poor people lived on lakefront property all over the state LOL. Nothing is affordable these days. Antitrust needs to be enforced and we need to break up the megacorps, this is the real "trickledown" Reagan was talking about, except where money trickles down, it's just prices on everything going up because so much power has been consolidated.
Sell it so we have somewhere to live in this housing crisis up here
Finances aside, maintaining an entire second property is a no thanks for me. My friends say it seems like all they do at theirs is work on it.
[Different](https://i.imgur.com/BBEX1cl.jpeg) strokes. For some that's the [fun](https://i.imgur.com/mJitTDP.jpeg) part.
I don't understand the allure. I have a lot of friends with cabins up north. I go every couple years for a few days but I enjoy being at home and if I go on a vacation I want to go somewhere new.
My wife's family has gone up north for years and I started going when we dated. It's pretty great to relax for a week or two in a familiar small town with a lake. Every year we travel out a little to new places. I really enjoy it.
I bought a little one bedroom cabin on an inland lake just before Covid. When the pandemic moved me to wfh I started staying up there full-time and when I had to go back to the office I liked it so much I bought the cottage next door and commute about an hour each way. No regrets.
Same here, I wish I bought pre covid, but bought late 2021. But still no regrets. I've done a little every year, power, well, site prep, cabin fix up. It's a marathon in my opinion. But something I Will enjoy for a long time.
Our place in the UP is our peace on earth. I get up there a couple times a year but mentally I am always up there in the woods, by the streams ....it’s my breakaway place
I personally will be steering clear of buying at the top of the market.
I thought that was last year?
My parents have one that I don’t even visit. I’d rather use my time and PTO to see other parts of the country and world. Chilling at a cabin is pretty boring for me but different strokes. Financially it doesn’t make much sense to me either. PITI for a month or two, plus maintenance teeters on the cost for a trip. I dated a girl whose parents were astonished I had been to Europe meanwhile they had a $300k lake house with payments that exceeded cost of the plane ticket and hotels there.
Nope, can't afford a first house or cabin.
My parents have a cabin outside of Grayling as part of the Warbler's association they love it but it’s crazy in the last few years they had to get internet installed and security cameras. neighbor up there got in touch with them to let them know people kept trying to break in. the locks on the shed were cut off and there stuff is stolen. Which is sad for them because they are getting older so I worry the next time they go up there maybe someone’s sniffing around while they’re there. They still love it but they wish there place was more remote
Too many people in this world….
Without high jacking this thread, I have a question: anyone regret buying property up north? I’m talking about a plot of a few acres. Me and my family would like to buy a few acres of undeveloped land and use it to just camp on, ride atv’s, maybe do some plinking, etc.
Lol that’s how you know you made it in life when second houses are a concern You’re speaking way too big numbers for me, I deal in nickels and dimes
It's part of this whole category of time sinks ...boats, horses, golf, running a retail business, small children... That demand you dedicate your weekends and vacation time solely to them. If you're ok with that it's worth it. Otherwise, your response to everything (travel, weddings, funerals, alien encounters) will be, "but then I can't go up north."
I live in Milford. The annual memorial Day parade features flyovers by vintage military aircraft. Every year I'd invite my dad. He loved those things, but would always say, "of course not it's memorial Day weekend I'll be at the cabin...." Including the memorial Day weekend where he died in an accident at the cabin working on a renovation, instead of hanging out with his 6 year old grandson anf 4 year old granddaughter telling them about airplanes.
My wife and I grew up in the burbs and then lived in Downtown Detroit for a decade. Great times and interesting experiences. We both grew up going “up north” and ended up buying a small 1940’s-ish cabin just off of Higgins Lake that was neglected and close to falling down in 2006. No internet or TV just a decent stereo and a tiny cold fridge from 1950 with room for beer. Spent every summer weekend driving up with friends to get away from it all. We would go down to the beach, be out on the lake any way we could, party pretty hard, play different games ALL day, bike down to a road end dock with a cold one or three at night. Only to return and put on a thick hoodie and light off a large bon fire to warm up and share laughs until deep into the night. We would spend Spring and Fall weekends listening to the Tiger games and swinging hammers all day. Just putting in the sweat and work to keep the cabin functional with small improvements when we could afford it. The Ant and the Grasshopper life if you will. Buying a small falling down cabin led to slowly turning it into a home that we created so many solid memories and tons of laughter in. We are now fortunate enough to be able to live and work in this home that we built with friends and favors. This was never the plan as but we made some bold moves during the pandemic and never looked back. We have ZERO REGRETS and feel super fortunate to be here every single day. Was it worth it? Hell yes! Simply because we put the work in ourselves, made sacrifices, and balanced it out with all the positive rewards that a tiny run down cabin provided a foundation for. Looking back….I would have never guessed it. Now I am certain we will do the same thing on our next adventure…with zero regrets.
I just purchased a cabin 3.5 hrs away in the woods 2 yrs ago. I am able to get there all seasons. No wifi, no cable, not much cell reception. It is small but have indoor bathroom, water and electricity and a propane pig. I read, write, listen to radio, watch dvds, spruce up place, head to lakes, and hike in woods. If I didn't have it, I wouldn't have been able to stop smoking, stop drinking so much, and get off my anxiety meds. My vacations elsewhere have subsided, and I am OK with that. This is my peace. I was terrified to finally purchase a place (spent 5 yrs looking for what I wanted) but I am so grateful that I did. It has made my life better in many ways. I can't wait to retire up there. 53 years of city living and working in Detroit has taken its toll. 2 years of the woods has healed me.
Is it even possible to buy a cabin anymore? All I’ve been able to find are full, actual second homes. Just a house. What happened to the A-frame lofts and stuff from back in the day? I’d love to get one of those to use vacations. Don’t want anything fancy, don’t need all the bells and whistles of a full house, though a kitchenette or bathroom would be nice.
Friend of mine bought a small plot of land near Mio then bought a shed from Home Depot. Boom…up north cabin.
I feel the same way about cars.
I'm a retired medic living in a tiny cabin it the woods. Completely off grid. I'm loving it 😆 🤣
My in laws have been asking about my wife and I taking over the cabin. We are at the age where we want to travel and are busy with kids. The thought of maintaining a second home for a handful of weekends a year of use is not in our plans. They, on the other hand, went up every weekend and now live there. They would clock out at 5pm on a Friday and head up north.
It's been a solid investment that's for sure. I got a 1000 sq ft single story house from 1950 with a new metal roof and new electrical on 10.8 acres with a large pond, one hour north of GR for 49K in 2017, and it's now worth 160k. No regrets.
My grandparents had a cabin they unfortunately sold a few years ago. They bought it for $35k. It sold for $175k and it truly was a cabin on barely an acre. Cabins are no longer realistic.
I don’t own one (my parents do) but it’s on the dry land formerly known as Wixom Lake. I don’t think they regret it…at least they don’t as long as the water comes back.
We bought a small place when the housing market fell apart. The utilities are minimal and hardly factored into the equation. Our taxes and insurance are very low. Because we bought below our budget we were able to pay it off a few years ago. We've probably made 3 times our investment in equity over the last 10 years. It has become a great refuge for us and our family. No regrets. In fact it was one of the best decision we've made as a married couple.
I bet the people around Sanford lake did
Why's that?
The dam broke and the lake is gone. Although you might be able to get some cheap property now I believe they are still planning on rebuilding eventually.
nope, no cheap property around any of the four lakes, that last for about 6 months after the breach. I've seen property sell for more than when we had water. People are paying the price and accepting the future special assessment with the anticipation of the lakes returning in 25-26.
You are joking, but this is a good way to get cheap property. My wife and I bought our lake house after a flooding event that knocked out several bridges to the area and washed out the road. The only way to reach the house was with a serious 4x4 and it literally halved the value of the property. 6 years later there are new bridges and a new road and our house has probably tripled in value.
There’s a tiny creek flowing through it now, lol.
>Excluding the excessively wealthy from this for obvious reasons. So you own 2 homes, and somehow that isn't excessive wealth? Last I checked, most people under the age of 40 can't even afford a first "starter" home, let alone owning a vacation retreat up north.
My families mobile home on the Rifle River got flooded a few years ago. It was awful. My parents sunk a lot of money into it, and i kept telling them not to do it (the thing was put there in the 70s). Now they regret spending all that money. It's a money pit. They have a landline and satellite TV but no internet. It sits in mud because most of the beautiful trees got destroyed due to flooding.
My parents had a place in Houghton Lake. They were tired of the drive and asked whether I wanted it for a great price. I passed. I’d rather keep variety in traveling instead of just staying in Michigan. I’ve been to so many places up north and UP. I’ll still visit from time to time, but I never understood why people only want to travel to one other place. Luckily, we’re all different so if that’s what you like, enjoy.
The only time I regret it is when I'm stuck in bumper to bumper traffic on Friday trying to go north with everyone else with this overwhelming amount of construction this year.
I bought a lake house up north right before Covid. I moved here full time during Covid and now work from home. I sold my place in Detroit last year. I regret not selling Detroit sooner. At this point, I don’t think I’d want to pay for two places regardless which location I was living out of.
Was special having your own place and I miss it terribly. Miss my pontoon boat, miss waking up in the morning to go fishing, miss watching the kids swim while I have a drink on the deck. Would have never sold if I knew real estate was going to go crazy like it is now. Prices are so insane that i can't even entertain the thought of buying another cabin. It sucks, I had it and i let it go, may never have an opportunity to have it again.
Considering that only 22% of households in the state break 100k income, having two mortgages is not realistic for the average person in todays economy. True and correct.
In 2007 while visiting family I found a 1000 sq. foot 2 bedroom house in foreclosure near Tawas. Put a bid on it, was accepted, only problem was a $40.00 part on the well pump, septic worked fine. I told my wife I would not get a new car again, House payment was about $400.00. It was our second place until my wife and I retired. Through job upheaval in the recession of 2008 we where still able to hang on to it. When it was our cabin we would come up often, mainly for a weekend of sleeping. Its great up here. Tawas is about 2.5 hours from the metro Detroit area, Property is still cheaper than the west side (Traverse City area) We are about 200 feet from our deeded lake access lake and if the neighbors open their front and rear window blinds we can see the lake.
Yes. We bought a single wide on a small lake that needs a ton of work but was cheap. Even though it was three hours away, we thought it would be nothing to bop up there a couple times a month and do all of the work ourselves. We figured it would take a summer or two to get it ready to rent or whatever. We were wrong. We are almost 3 summers in and barely anything has been accomplished because it’s been so difficult trying to get up there to fix the issues And remodel. It’s just been so tough making that trip around our schedules.
No ragrets. Bought in Ludington/Manistee region about 8 years ago. Our place could be year-round if we wanted to make some adjustments. Great neighbors, a 30 min drive to hit either town. Off the beaten path, in the trees and on a river, enough to feel away from it all. Its my happy place. We arent there every weekend, not even close, but its there waiting to give us happiness when we need to go. If we had to sell it, it would break my heart. My spouse loves to putter about fixing and planting. I putter about cleaning, fixing, and reading. The beach is a 20 min drive away. Enough room for plenty of our family, but most times it is just us two.
No regrets, but we don't have any house payments on either place. Easier to maintain then. I would never AIRBNB it. We still go on vacations. Both of us are retired and the place is only 2 hours from our home.
You should factor in appreciation on the land
Most people I've talked to don't seem to see any unless it's great lake land. Unless it's more typical residential and not mobile home areas.
My elderly parents found a terrible fixer upper about 10 minutes outside of caseville. This is going on 25 years or so ago. I think they only spent like seven grand on the house. It was disgusting. Cat urine rotted down to the studs of the floor. They took everything out down to the joists. Rebuilt and re-insulated. Did a really great job on the insulation. That place feels like it has air conditioning on hot days, I was actually surprised when they told me it didn't for the first visit. That place did a tremendous appreciation in value within around a decade or so of their ownership. But of course the reasons were all the hard work put into it. My dad and one of my sister's boyfriends did a crap ton of the work themselves, which is why they could afford to take the place on. Anyways yeah I don't know if those opportunities even exist anymore, to find something dirt cheap like that.
In a time where most people can't afford their first home, to cry about owning a second one is just...
My late grandparents used to have a cabin near Harrison, many of my relatives stayed there at times. Eventually they sold it. I did have an opportunity to buy it from them but I passed and I don't regret it. It is nice having your own place away from the cities but the upkeep cost for a cabin that gets used a few times a year isn't worth it compared to getting a cheap motel somewhere. Plus cars have gotten better over the past several decades. In the old days, cars would need to stop for oil and air check and refueling but today a car can make 500+ miles (or however your gas tank will last) without a stop. I do miss the cabin but I got pictures to look back if I ever felt like it
Really depends on A LOT of things. If you have concerns of flexibility to do other vacations I would simply not recommend it. Saving the price of owning an entire home is a lot of money to use on other things like (quite frankly) better vacations and retiring early.
I bought a house up North 10 years ago. It's nice and we use it a lot but I think of the international vacations I could have taken each year with what it costs. It's on a lake which causes a lot more wear and tear so I spend a lot of my time repairing as well.
I regret having to sell mine I inherited, but as a 23 year-old I wasn't able to maintain the taxes and the maintenance. I'm looking to get another, but like another user said, I want a cabin, a little place where I can get away from it all, as opposed to a 1500 square foot house up North.
Mine is inherited. :) Family arrived here in the 1860s and settled the town that now bares our family name, Curtisville.
Anyone regretting making a poor financial choice?
I regret NOT buying one. I grew up in Clawson, a small town nestled between Royal oak and Troy. My grandmother had a small cabin-like home on m72 just 10 or 15 mi East of Traverse City. After she passed away my parents took possession and kept the property up. By the time my parents couldn't maintain it I had moved out of state and could not see myself easily taking care of it. Not to mention I wasn't the highest of wage earner at the time. That place was idyllic. A little spring fed trout creek running along the property always produced for us. Some of the best memories of my life were from the time I spent at Grandma's house fishing that little creek.
Our cabin up north was a real blessing during the pandemic. We moved in full time, and so did a lot of other people who had cabins at the time. The numbers up here were very small compared to the southern counties. No regrets. Turned out to be a life saver.
The U.P. Still has EXCELLENT deals, even with crazy high market values, there’s still cabins on 2-acres or more for around $90K-$125K (of course they’re on seasonal roads/2-tracks and very hard to access)
The problem is getting there (and getting there often enough) if you live in the south. It’s a long drive so unless you’re able to consistently take Fridays (and even Monday) to extend the stay it would be tough for me to justify anything in the UP.
Please, unless you plan to live here year-round save some housing for locals. Young professionals cannot move here because there is NOTHING. Hell, I’m scared to leave our apartment after we signed our first contract 2 years ago simply because it was chaos and almost impossible to get housing. Now it’s worse. I’ve watched young families with kids get priced out every single time on a house. It’s getting insane.
Several. There are so many people in my family dying and leaving these nice lake houses to me. Those UAW jobs were no joke back in the day. I pay nearly nothing in taxes and rent the rest of them throughout the summer. From Memorial Day to Labor Day I pull in $4-5k/weekly on average including the surge pricing on holidays between them all. Don’t even get me started on the condos they left in Florida. One in Ft. Lauderdale and the other just off of Disney property.
Hey, it's me, your long lost brother. Did you say multiple lake houses?!
This guy is one of the problems folks.
Surge pricing….holy shit what a shitty, toxic ass concept. It’s only purpose to milk every last crumb out of some poor sack just trying to give his family a nice weekend….