One of the most financially savvy ways to achieve your dreams of buying a Northern Minnesota vacation home is to go in with friends or family. But there is a lot to think about when it comes to joint ownership of your Up North Cabin. These are the best pieces of advice we have to set you up for success when you buy your shared vacation property.

Choose Your Partners Wisely

Buying a second home together is not something to go into lightly. There are a lot of details to work out, problems that could arise, or conflicts that might happen. Go into this process with friends or family members you have good relationships with and who can deal with conflict maturely.

Hire a Lawyer

It might seem extreme, but hiring a lawyer to ensure that you and everyone else are protected is vital to successful joint ownership of your vacation cabin. They will be able to ensure that each party is treated fairly and have knowledge of necessary legal details that you might not have otherwise considered. 

Create a Plan to Cover All Expenses

The monthly mortgage isn’t the only expense you will incur. Decide ahead of time who will be responsible for property taxes, insurance, utilities, necessary household goods, furnishings, etc. You can split up the expenses between parties, put one person in charge of the expenses, or have everyone contribute to one account where expenses come out. Whatever you decide, be sure that everyone is in agreement to pay fairly and equally.

Decide Who Will Take Care of Maintenance Issues

Maintenance issues will inevitably arise with any property. Will you hire professionals to fix it? Is there someone in the group who can do the work? Will you decide based on each issue or incident? Ensuring that there is a plan for maintenance issues can prevent conflict and headaches for the whole party.

Make a Schedule for Cabin Usage

If you’re planning on splitting up your time between parties, decide ahead of time what dates each family or individual will have access to the property. You might decide to do some weekends together, or even make your vacation home available for rentals such as VRBO or Airbnb. Decide if you’re willing to be flexible on the schedule and if you’re okay with different parties utilizing the cabin when the various co-owners can’t make it. 

Whenever you’re ready to search for your co-owned cabin property, the Bill Hansen team is here to find the perfect vacation home for you and your friends or family! Check out our current properties to get a taste of what your Northern Minnesota cabin could look like!