Here are the three main challenges faced by cabin co-owners and how to tackle each:
Cabin memories are often one of the most cherished things for a family to share. Cabin finances however, not so much. Cabins tend to devour dollars, and when one person isn’t chipping in financially, the inequities can cause family rifts and resentment.
For example, when Joe Williams decided to fix up the Vermont cabin he co-owned with his uncle, Williams says he put in new plumbing, fixtures and appliances, renovated the bathroom and kitchen, replaced the roof, installed nine windows and new carpeting, put in a deck and gave the place a coat of paint, inside and out. When he totaled the costs and asked his uncle for a little financial help, he says his uncle handed him a $100 bill and said: “This is for nuts and bolts.” (In fairness to his uncle, Williams says he did get much more use out of the cabin.) But when Williams went to sell the cabin, he had to split the proceeds evenly with his uncle.
Here's another example:Call him K.C. Just K.C. He wants his initials changed to protect his identity. Don’t reveal where his cabin is located, either. “Just say mountains.”
His voice grows hushed. “You’re talking some real damage control if this gets out.”
K.C. wrote a letter – published in a long-ago issue of Cabin Life – begging readers to help him out of a fix: He inherited a cabin with his brother and sister. They’re all chipping in on the major costs. His sister is putting extra money into the property. But she also wants more than her share of time in the cabin.
And K.C. is not alone.
Maybe it’s a Baby Boomer thing. Their generation’s parents are passing on unprecedented wealth, which sometimes includes second properties. So it turns out that many families are facing the same challenge: multiple children and grandchildren inheriting the family cabin. And that cabin may very well carry with it some of the fondest memories of childhood – and family bonding. But just as a cabin can enrich a family, it can also be a catalyst for problems. When the second generation inherits the cabin, disputes over the shared cabin can cause family conflict.
Because people are so emotionally invested in their cabins, it’s no wonder that these getaway homes can be such touchstones for family harmony. The value of the cabin is measured in much more than dollars.Ironically though, it’s money issues that cause the most dissent. But there are other issues, as well.
Challenges faced by cabin co-owners fall generally into three categories:
• Money: Who’s paying expenses, mortgage costs, taxes, general fund costs. What to do if one partner wants out – or dies? Do the partners share similar goals about how long they plan to keep the cabin and how they view it financially and for tax purposes?
• Maintenance: Who keeps up the cabin? Should some family members who rarely use the cabin shoulder an equal share
of the maintenance burden?
• Scheduling: How do you determine who gets to visit the cabin when? Are friends allowed? Will it be rented out?
