SNOWBIRD READY TO FLY.

It's turned cold in Colorado. The low temperature overnight was 35. I'm ready to go back to our Texas lake house as soon as I can take care of some real estate details here. We bought our lake house almost 11 years ago and the main question now is how long we should continue our "back and forth" lifestyle. Seems like when you are looking for something it is always at the other house. Betty had to fly back there at the beginning of summer to get our income tax files so we could file our taxes here in Colorado. One thing I can tell anyone not yet retired looking to buy a "vacation home" now before prices increase, is that there is no hurry. In some years we only spent two weeks at the lake house. We could have had two weeks in Maui for what that cost. There is no hurry. Although I thought we got a great deal, my perception of a what a great deal was changed after I became more familiar with the market in that area. Another thing is not to count too much on rental income. After you put your furniture and personal possessions in the property, you lose your appetite for letting strangers come in. We have yet to receive the first dollar in rental income from that house. Obviously, the benefits of owning that second home are not financial. My main benefit is my wife's enjoyment of the woods and waters that surround the property. I couldn't sell it if I wanted to. Will Rogers said, "There are two theories on how to argue with a woman........Neither works!