Thoughts on maintaining two abodes

Morgan3820

Morgan3820

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El Conquistador
I live on and like the coast. But I also like the mountains. Looking at retirement in a year or so. Thinking about changing the residency to Tennessee, Partly for the taxes. I see some of you list two places on your signature. Is it just as simple as buying and maintaining two accommodations?
 
Morgan3820 said:
Is it just as simple as buying and maintaining two accommodations?
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I have had two abodes, not voluntarily. I eventually decided I had to choose. It's probably easier if the two abodes are relatively close to each other. Mine were not. It's more convenient if your abodes are low maintenance or you have someone who can look after them when you when you are at the other place. Also, I wanted to travel, and I found myself traveling between the two abodes and not much of anywhere else. Much easier with only one.
 
If the two abodes are in different states, pick your state of residence and make sure you comply with whatever restrictions keep you from accidentally establishing residence in the other state. For example, I believe if you spend more than all or part of 180 days in the state of MN, you are considered a resident for tax purposes.
 
New Bern, NC and East TN mountains?.....not too dissimilar climates. Our VA mountain and FL locales pretty much define seasonal residences, so we’re not much tempted to go back and forth.
People worry about someone out there counting days per year, but I’ve not heard of this being a salient issue.
Everyone’s circumstances re putting a house into hibernation are different but deserve some consideration....not without some obvious risks to be considered.
There are discussion boards by so-called Snow Birds that are worth perusing.
 
Morgan3820 said:
I live on and like the coast. But I also like the mountains. Looking at retirement in a year or so. Thinking about changing the residency to Tennessee, Partly for the taxes. I see some of you list two places on your signature. Is it just as simple as buying and maintaining two accommodations?
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Rather than only asking people who have two (or more) abodes, you might also ask thoughts of people who considered having two and decided not to.
 
wrbix said:
People worry about someone out there counting days per year, but I’ve not heard of this being a salient issue.
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I think the guy I flew who tracked it closely probably got audited on a regular basis, too. ;)
 
I know from various inquires that IL counts a day here if you set foot anywhere in the state. If you land at O'Hare for a stop-over, thats considered a day. IL is serious about getting its pound of flesh. Some exec's have houses in AZ or FL, and have to carefully manage time in IL.

I have heard stories of NY seeing where you take your kids to the dentist or coming to your house and seeing whats in the fridge to verify you are really not residing there. Again, stories, so I cannot verify those.

So be very mindful of residency laws.
I would say townhomes are easier to leave for awhile. More people around to see something odd and the exterior is taken care of for you.
 
wrbix said:
... People worry about someone out there counting days per year, but I’ve not heard of this being a salient issue. ...
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You must not have been listening in the right places. It is far beyond just counting days. State revenue departments chasing escapees are doing things like checking where your dentist is located, where the vet for your dog is located, and other fairly subtle indicators. This is in addition to looking at obvious stuff like your driver license and where you vote. Anyone considering fleeing for tax reasons should consult experts in the destination state and cut all possible ties to their previous state. Be sure to tell the FAA, too.

Re two houses we have two; a city house and a lake house in the same state. It's great. It can be a bit of a hassle arranging and monitoring services like lawn and snow for wherever you're not living. Your cute Miata convert will not be much good for transportation because you'll find that you are always hauling stuff (or at least we are). Some of what you'll be hauling will probably be refrigerated food. I hauled a couple of tool boxes but got tired of it and bought a tool kit from a woman who said it was her ex-boyfriend's. My hunch is that he didn't know it was for sale. She met me in a parking lot and had the kit in her car trunk. Nice kit, good price, though.
 
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I know a (married) couple who split their time between NY and Maryland. One of them claims NY residency, the other Maryland. Dunno the details, but I gather there are tax benefits.

We have a house in CT and a cabin in NY. I work full time in CT and the cabin isn't winterized so residency isn't in question, but my wife has occasionally worked in NY during the summer... the NY interstate tax return was obviously created by a sadistic accountant.
 
And if one is Chicago, you can vote twice. Oh, wait, you have to be dead to do that. :rolleyes::rolleyes::eek:

(Sarcasm. folks)
 
Florida and Massachusetts, both condos. Gives me the opportunity to fly at least two long cross countries every year. Go with the good weather.
 
We had homes in NY and NC...best thing was that it justified keeping my Bo.

We invested in a lot of home automation so we could run most of the big systems from anywhere and monitor the cameras, etc. It was always stressful in hurricanes and storms wondering if the home got flooded.

Eventually, we got sick of the NY taxes, especially after the Trump tax cuts and the SALT limitations...we sold the NY home and haven’t looked back. Now we just visit family in NY and do the AirBNB thing - much better.

And I still have the Bo.
 
I've done it a couple of times. Once when I had a house and my parents got to a point where they needed a lot of help with theirs. Another time when I got married and we owned two houses for a while.

If you do most of your own maintenance, it is a nightmare. There's always something to do.
 
For the past 10 years, I have kept two places. The house where I live with the family, and an apartment near my job. I wouldn't want a second house, just too much to go wrong when you are gone. The apartment I can just lock up not worry about for a few weeks. I Usually chuckle when I get my $16.53 electrical bill and the postcard for the $5 water bill.
 
We had our main home and a lake house about 1.5hr drive away for about a decade. The lakehouse was nice, but it's definitely a chore to upkeep two homes. Always things to clean and systems to check and maintain. Failing tools and such back and forth or buying duplicates when you forgot something you needed. I think if we did it again, we'd probably do a condo or similar low maintenance option. Unless we just have so much money we can pay a company to clean and maintain it for us, lol.
 
Massachusetts and New Hampshire. 100 miles apart, 1 hr and 45 minutes door to door by car with no traffic.

Just changed residency from MA to NH because we are spending more time in NH than MA and NH tax situation is much better, not perfect but still.

Two houses is twice the work, twice the expense. Two of everything, so if you can't afford it, don't do it. My NH home is in a mostly 2nd home area and you see houses that are not maintained that become unlivable.

I've set up a surveillance system at the NH house because it is unoccupied some times. The MA has an adult child here, once she is gone, I will do the same here. If you can't get to the 2nd house easily you should really have someone or some service in the area who will check on it for you.
 
I had two houses, one in Northern VIrginia (a couple of miles from IAD) and the current one in NC for a bit over a decade. I'd commute either by car or plane every other week between the two. Yes, you do end up with (at least) two of everything and then the sad fact is at some point both of the items you need will be at the other house. Don't even ask why I have four air compressors (one was for each house, one was for the hangar at CJR, and one seems to have shown up during construction here, though a couple of my other tools walked, I guess it's a wash).
 
We considered two homes because we lived in AL and the kids are in MD. We wanted to avoid the 13 hour drive to visit on holidays for just a week. The tax system in AL was generous to our situation. We realized that even with a second home we would still have to make the drive but just be able to stay in our place as opposed to a hotel when we arrived. The economics didn't work out and we would still have to make the drive just not as often. We moved into our new home in WV a couple of weeks ago, the taxes here have changed to be similar to AL and it is only an hour to visit the kids.

I call the hour distance the "Grandparent donut." Not so close that we can be called upon for last minute baby sitting but not so far that we can't have dinner together and get home at a reasonable hour.
 
As to the states counting days...most states tax pro ball players for the income they made while playing a game in their city. I remember an interview with a Marlins player who said something like 'it's harder to play in NY and we get less pay for doing it.'
 
Maintenance and upkeep are definitely the biggest hurdles. With two abodes of our own, and family in their 80's with two as well, including multiple vehicles at each locale, life gets pretty busy sometimes for a retired guy in his 50's with the ability to take a plane on a moment's notice to handle issues.

The tool thing gets frustrating at times. I changed a starter and an alternator in the Harbor Freight parking lot near one of the abodes, knowing I'd find the need for a particular tool not in hand which would make the job easier.

Some places are big into the day counting thing, some not. We found an official list of things the more tax restrictive state looked at, and did our best to check off each item in our favor. Updating location displayed on POA was at the top of the list. :p
 
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cgrab said:
As to the states counting days...most states tax pro ball players for the income they made while playing a game in their city. I remember an interview with a Marlins player who said something like 'it's harder to play in NY and we get less pay for doing it.'
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Same with entertainers and actors. There is an entire industry of accountants whose business is to properly file the 20 different returns and to allocate expenses to the different states.
 
catmandu said:
Maintenance and upkeep are definitely the biggest hurdles. With two abodes of our own, and family in their 80's with two as well, including multiple vehicles at each locale, life gets pretty busy sometimes for a retired guy in his 50's with the ability to take a plane on a moment's notice to handle issues.
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You need a pickup with a service-body so you can just carry all the tools for your handyman business with you.
 
I have homes in AK and TX. I do business in both places as well, so my traveling back and forth isn't a seasonal migration but a regular part of life. It was much easier pre-Covid but life is creeping back toward normal. It's expensive to maintain two homes. Taxes, utilities, HOAs, maintenance services to keep things up in your absence, cars, insurance, etc. I wouldn't do it if I didn't have strong ties to both places. But it sure is nice to travel without a suitcase!
 
airdale said:
You must not have been listening in the right places. It is far beyond just counting days. State revenue departments chasing escapees are doing things like checking where your dentist is located, where the vet for your dog is located, and other fairly subtle indicators. This is in addition to looking at obvious stuff like your driver license and where you vote. Anyone considering fleeing for tax reasons should consult experts in the destination state and cut all possible ties to their previous state. Be sure to tell the FAA, too.

Re two houses we have two; a city house and a lake house in the same state. It's great. It can be a bit of a hassle arranging and monitoring services like lawn and snow for wherever you're not living. Your cute Miata convert will not be much good for transportation because you'll find that you are always hauling stuff (or at least we are). Some of what you'll be hauling will probably be refrigerated food. I hauled a couple of tool boxes but got tired of it and bought a tool kit from a woman who said it was her ex-boyfriend's. My hunch is that he didn't know it was for sale. She met me in a parking lot and had the kit in her car trunk. Nice kit, good price, though.
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Here’s another one. California will get Snowbirders if they ‘take a vacation’ while in California, like a Cruise or something. Charged, challenged, up held and enforced.
 
My parents were going to have homes in VT and FL, and claim residency in FL. Well they found out about how much work VT goes into trying to prove they were in the state more than 6 months and decided against it. They sold the VT house and bought one in NH instead. No income tax in either state so they decided to be NH residents.
 
luvflyin said:
Here’s another one. California will get Snowbirders if they ‘take a vacation’ while in California, like a Cruise or something. Charged, challenged, up held and enforced.
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IT's worse than that. A consultant working in another state can be forced to pay income tax to California for any business they do for California clients. Case involving a screenwriter who lives in Arizona and wrote scripts for California-based studios was forced to pay California income tax.

https://edzollarscpa.com/2019/09/03...nia-tax-even-though-all-work-done-in-arizona/
 
We have two homes. One is near Washington DC and the other is in Ocean City, MD. Other than the added expense of taxes, utilities, and maintenance, there are no real negatives. I have considered getting a third home in Florida just to change residence and avoid state income taxes and enjoy more relaxed firearm ownership rules. I figure the savings in state taxes could almost cover the annual cost of the third property.
 
NM taxes income tax returns as earned income.

Only one downside I can see in owning 2 homes.

What if the wife finds out about the other house.....and the girlfriend living in it.?? :yikes:
 
FWIW, regarding ‘residency’ and being ‘taxed’ as a ‘resident,’ you should look in to the concept of ‘domicile’ and how it relates to ‘residency.’ They are not always the same.
 
Zeldman said:
NM taxes income tax returns as earned income.

Only one downside I can see in owning 2 homes.

What if the wife finds out about the other house.....and the girlfriend living in it.?? :yikes:
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I thinks most States do the same. If youse de ducted the tax last year ands got it refunded, then yeah, they be like protecting themselves from double dippin. As far as the ‘kept women’ aspect goes, it’s simply explaining to her why filing ‘separate’ is a good idea. Don’t commingle mailing addresses.
 
Zeldman said:
NM taxes income tax returns as earned income.
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You mean refunds?

That's far from uncommon when they allow you to deduct the tax paid. When you get a refund, you've no longer paid it.
Feds do the same thing.
 
flyingron said:
You mean refunds?

That's far from uncommon when they allow you to deduct the tax paid. When you get a refund, you've no longer paid it.
Feds do the same thing.
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\
Return of over payment of taxes would have been a better word. NM is the only state I have lived in where I had to pay taxes on that.
 
We decided it sounded like a lot of hassle and haven't bought a second place. Plus, we like to travel, typically to different locations.

Some people love having a lake or beach home. To me that's gotta be your regular family/couple thing to do to make sense. With our kids into sports, there was no way we were going to lake / beach regularly.
 
Zeldman said:
\
Return of over payment of taxes would have been a better word. NM is the only state I have lived in where I had to pay taxes on that.
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The RETURN is the paper document you file. The REFUND is a check you get from the government for taxes you overpaid.

Whether the REFUND is taxable largely depends on whether you were able to deduct the taxes originally. Many states don't let you deduct your federal taxes.
 
One idea - get an RV as your second home, then your second home can be wherever you want it to be.

My mom has two residences in two countries. It helps that they’re both apartments, makes it easy to not have to worry significantly about security and maintenance. She’s exceptionally lazy but the work required is low enough that she’s fine with it.
 
flyingron said:
The REFUND is a check you get from the government for taxes you overpaid.
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You make a good point. Withholding too much just increases the amount that you’ll likely get back, so you haven’t actually gained anything, but rather you’re just breaking even. It’s a mind game that a lot of people don’t understand. “Yippee, look honey, we’re getting back $2500 this year!”

Congratulations, you paid $2500 too much throughout the year.
 
The hardest part about living in two different homes is developing two different sets of muscle memory for the precise location of the bathroom light switch. :D
 
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