re: Buying a lake camp on leased land..thoughts?

quote:

---

Yep, have a camp in the marsh with year to year lease. Been that way for 20 years. We built ours so materials and sweat equity is what we would lose. Ownership changed on ours from parents to kids and they continued lease so it worked out. Always a risk with year to year lease. If losing $30k unexpectedly will sink you (it would for me), then don't do it. More times than not though these things continue on for decades because the family doesn't want to do anything on the land and mailbox money is an easy source of income.

---

I appreciate everyone’s feedback. Wife and I have been discussing and praying on this for couple days now. $30k is a substantial amount of money. But it would not ruin us if we lost it. I have about 4 years left on home mortgage with right at $300k equity currently. Going to take a $25000 home equity loan and pull $5000 from savings. In four years once house is paid we will shift those dollars and add to Equity note and have that loan paid off in 8-12 months. Do it’s nothing that will ruin us or cause us to lose current home or anything like that. Not to downplay a potential loss of that amount but just to paint a clear financial picture. The land is owned by a woman and two of her nephews. It had been in their family for 90 years and has been passed down from generation to generation. I have also spoken to the aunt. They say that they for sure will never sell the land and said they have always told their children that once they inherited the land to never sell it. I feel the risk is low but yes it is still a risk.
Here is how I am justifying it to myself. If I buy a travel trailer for $30k and keep it for 15 years, what is worth. Couple thousand maybe. I would have essentially lost $30 but have the memories that we made from all the camping trips. So if I buy this house and let’s say 15 years from now they sell the property and I lose the house, I’m essentially in the same place as the travel trailer. So the closer I get to 15 years the closer it is to a break even for me.
My family is very close. The memories we will make together, to me, are priceless. What’s the point of earning it if you aren’t going use it to find fulfillment and joy in life. And you can’t put a price on precious time spent with children and grandchildren.

So screw it. I’m going to roll the dice.