It’s hard to keep 2 houses happy
- Laura Moore: Housebroken
- November 28, 2023
- 418
We have had friends who have thought nothing about buying a second
house.
In one instance they wanted a place closer to the beach where they could come and go as it suited them. Rentals depended on availability, and that just didn’t suit our friends. Such homeowners are to be admired, respected and watched very carefully.
People who own and use two homes or more suffer from house mania. It is a degenerative disease that over a period of time erodes sanity and bank accounts of its victims. If not properly treated, house mania can lead to bankruptcy and breakdown.
Folks who buy and own several houses for investments are not house maniacs. They are landlords.
As for the houses involved with multiple house owners, they often find membership in a house harem degrading and infuriating. Hell hath no fury like a house asked to share its owner’s income.
As a very modest example, several years ago my sister and her husband succumbed to the rustic charms — and low asking price — of a little summer cottage.
When their main house found out about the new place, it reacted in a jealous, roof-leaking, paint-peeling rage. Of course, the cottage refused to be intimidated and made an effective bid for attention with an overflowing septic tank.
Returning from a weekend painting the cottage, our relatives got a very icy reception from their house — the furnace was stone cold dead. Before the new furnace was even installed, the cottage was demanding a new roof.
House maniacs must learn how to live with dueling domiciles. To remain sane and solvent, it is very important to learn certain skills, one of which is being sneaky. If you buy another house, by all means be discreet. Never talk about one house in front of the other. Never spend on your second house what you can’t afford to spend on your first house — and vice versa.
If the worst happens and one place finds out about the other, lie! Say the new place is rental property and promise to share the income.