Saying Goodbye, A Travel Adventure

Six years ago we bought our first investment property.  I named it Villa Pompano after the South Florida town in which its located (Pompano Beach).  The three-bedroom house with a pool close to the beach was to be a vacation rental house, where we would vacation when it was wasn’t rented.  Fast forward through spring and summer visits which became shorter and shorter as we watched Duckie grow from daycare to pre-school to kindergarten and now to second grade.  As her available vacation time shrunk and our careers took unexpected turns we didn’t get to spend as much time in the house as we liked.  But we did our best to make our time there count.  Using it as a training ground for Duckies fledgling swimming career; as a jump-off point for exploring SE Florida and the Caribbean; as a quick getaway and a place for hosting family celebrations. 

 

Duckie Then

Duckie In-Between

Duckie Now

In between, I struggled to make sure it was well marketed and rented out as often as possible.  I did my best to managed crisis like repeatedly backed up plumbing which ultimately required an underground re-piping of the whole house.  I went from service person to service person until I found the ones who would actually show up, not just lie and ask for payment.  And I gasped as the Florida government with its low property taxes fleeced vacation rental owners for monthly sales taxes (state and county), annual vacation license fees for the county, business license fees for the city, and required commercial property, hurricane and liability insurance (with rates that increased by 10% a year).  To say it was a lot of work is putting it mildly.  Over the course of those 6 years we also acquired and sold three condos in the area.  We maintained them as long term rentals for a period of time before selling them when the market was up.  They all turned out to be profitable investments which allowed me to find my stride.  Investing in and managing properties allows me to use my project management and entrepreneurial skills in a way that is fulfilling and allows me a great deal of independence.

But last week when we flew down for spring break, I was feeling anything but leisurely.  On the docket was closing out the house as it was being sold by the end of the month.  Financially, it’s a good decision.  Emotionally, it’s a tough one.  I didn’t grow up thinking, I’d be the type of person who had a vacation home.  (Duckie, on the other hand tells people she’s going to her beach house!)  But to be able to have one and find a way to make it pay for itself is an awesome accomplishment.  I’m not a sentimental person (at all!!) but this house is one inanimate object to which I have become attached!

Villa Pompano Before and After

So because I’m me and he’s Him, there was only one way to turn that frown upside down.  I signed the closing papers early so I could get that off my to-do list and planned a last minute excursion.  Instead of spending 8 days in Pompano Beach, Fort Lauderdale.  We spent the last four days in and around Naples on the west coast of Florida. TBC

So long Villa Pompano ...

BMK