​I Invested for R&R not for ROI

For years I made many calculated investments.  My emotions never got involved.  If there was not a profitable holding period or exit strategy in my future it was probably not a property i was buying.

For years I advocated against any investment other than a single family property attracting long term tenants.

Forever I have been the person who doesn’t spend money unless it is a “need” or an Investment that is going to make money.

5 years ago there were two things that changed my mind. Those two things were my two kids.

Having my little humans changed my mindset on investing a bit. It didn’t mean I was willing to lose money but it meant I was willing to maybe break even if it was an investment that could provide our family an experience or lifestyle without being just a pure cost.

It started 4 years ago.. My kids were age 2 and 3, We took them camping the last weekend in June. They liked it. That campsite cost me $30.00 per night.

We went again the weekend after.

The following week we rented an RV and pre-paid for a spot for one month in the same campground. By this time i am now $525 in for the month. It’s okay though… my kids were having a great time… our family found a place we loved and could spend time away from the craziness of our city life. One saturday afternoon we sat next to our campfire and we thought… ‘we love rental property because someone else is paying our mortgage, why not buy something in the mountains we can enjoy and someone else could pay for it.’

Naturally one would think… maybe a cute little cabin in the woods… or a small piece of land with a view…

All good ideas but we decided to renew our campsite for another month and that month we bought the whole campground… 85 campsites and a 26 acre playground for my children to enjoy… and best of all ...it was being paid for by tenants. Only difference was these tenants come and go every weekend.

2 years later we decided the mountains were too cold in the winter. So we took our RV to Florida, much warmer there in the winter time. After we got tired of living in 100 square feet for the 2 winters we found a terrible looking house (an REO) in a great neighborhood just a 10 minutes from Disney World.  'We thought what better then have one of the largest entertainment corporations in the world help us get our house leased.'   So we bought it.  

A great deal and after a full renovation we have significant equity but more importantly We now have a home in Orlando we can enjoy when we want it. If we rent it out just a mere 29 weeks per year it costs us nothing! No contribution needed from me to have this home.

I never thought I would be the one to own real estate that would be utilized for anything but generating cash flow.

I never thought vacation investments were for me.

However I am now happy to report when you own the place you like to vacation and it is paid for by someone else it makes the R&R you are getting all the more sweeter!