WORK-LIFE BALANCE - THE BENEFITS OF OWNING A BEACH HOUSE.

Buying a bush block near the beach is the best decision I have ever made.

 

Twenty years ago, my family was at a crossroad. We had a large newly built house in a great location, but it was just too far away from our kid’s school. So, we decided to sell and move closer to their inner-city school, which meant living in a smaller house. Then out of the blue we discovered that we were expecting our third child, which changed everything!

 

This miraculous news was a complete surprise as our current family already consisted of two children aged ten and twelve years and we thought our reproductive days were well behind us.

Once the initial shock had subsided, my focus turned to determining the best way to cope with two different generations of children living under the one roof. We had to consider a solution where we could blend family life and stretched finances into the best possible outcome. My solution, being a builder, was to create two roofs. The second in the form of a beach house.

Our main goal for creating a beach house was to ensure the family had a place to retreat and escape the everyday demands of urban life. We set out exploring most of the Mornington Peninsula and decided that Shoreham was the favoured location.  After some research, a lot of luck, and some decisive action, we purchased a one-acre bush block in the old part of this delightful seaside Hamlet.

 

“A family that holidays together stay together.” Unknown

 

After six months of design and permits and ten months of building, we moved into our new beach house and our lives changed forever.

Building a beach house has become the best decisions of my life. My extended family and close friends use the house throughout the year, and it has become the meeting point and focus of our family life.

Now that we have had the privilege of owning and using the house at Shoreham for 18 years, I can reflect on the wide-ranging benefits of long-term ownership of a holiday house near the beach.

 

The benefits of beach house ownership.

 

Family benefits:

Now that our children are 18, 28 and 30 years of age and all have long term partners, we have become a family of eight. It is a family ritual to come together multiple times a year at Shoreham. We gather for long weekends, traditional holiday periods and significant birthdays together as a family for three or four days, in our beachside retreat.

Members of our extended family as well as several close family friends are also frequent guests. At times, the head count expands the group of 14 or 15.

These frequent family gatherings and “crowder dinner tables” for me, completely justify the financial and time commitment required to owning this property.

 

Lifestyle benefits:

Owning a beach house is my way of promoting and reinforcing a healthy lifestyle.

There is no better way to disconnect from the world of technology and social media than offering your family active alternatives such as the beach, swimming, surfing, horse riding and bush walking.

In addition, our family’s social circle has greatly expanded since owning the beach house. We are blessed to have neighbours at Shoreham that have become lifelong family friends.

For me personally, Shoreham has become my favourite remote work location. For several years I have worked from Shoreham each Friday and the benefits have been significant. Getting out of the city and away from the office is something I look forward to each week.

A less obvious lifestyle benefits is my renewed love of gardening. Tending to the veggie patch and zipping around on my ride-on mower is my happy place. Also, our dog gets lots of long walks on the beach and we all sleep incredibly well at Shoreham. Even after only one day or night we return to the city relaxed and energized.

 

Financial benefits:

Owning Shoreham has turned out to be a very good long-term investment. Over the last 20 years, land values on the Mornington Peninsula have more than tripled.

In our area of the peninsula, the local planning regulations prohibit any further subdivision of land. Therefore, the supply of new properties for sale is very low, but the demand is always high.

The other main financial benefit for us has come from the rise in the popularity of holiday rentals on the Peninsula. We have always viewed the beach house as an investment and have consistently rented it out during the peak summer holiday season. These summer rentals generate very attractive returns for relatively short-term stays. (i.e., 1 to 2 weeks)

We have also benefited financially over the years due to significant tax deductions from negative gearing and depreciation write offs of an investment property.

A huge benefit of owning a beach house, which is not financially quantifiable, is that you tend to take holidays more often. And all these holidays are at a heavily amortized cost.

When these factors are averaged out over many years, the accumulated financial and lifestyle benefits are lifechanging. Whilst some benefits may be immediate, there are other benefits and opportunities that identify themselves over time.

 

Thanks for reading.

Stay safe and walk on the beach.

David