Extended Vacationing
It’s Your Money,
Here Are the
Facts:
We’ve talked to hundreds of snowbirds here at Castle Furniture. In fact, we got our start renting fully furnished vacation apartments to Snowbirds. So, we know what we’re talking about when it comes to vacation properties in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area. There are several ways to enjoy an extended stay here in the “Valley of the Sun”. We did a line by line
itemization of Luxury Apartment Rentals, as well as ownership costs for a $150k debt free condominium We didn’t include Recreational Vehicles, Camping, staying with family, etc. But we did put the pen to paper, and did the math on owning a vacation home versus time share condos, hotels, and our favorite “Fully Furnished Luxury Apartments. Naturally, anyone can
find fault with our numbers if they try. That’s a good thing. That means you’re thinking about the options. So, go ahead, grab a pencil and calculator. No matter where you choose to stay, we hope you choose Arizona as your Snowbird destination. We LOVE Arizona, and hope you do too.
| Luxury 2 Bedroom Apartment – $77/day | |
| Monthly Rent | $1,200 |
| Monthly Electric | $150 |
| Monthly Cable or Internet | $80 |
| Monthly Furniture Rent | $880 |
| Monthly Total | $2,310 |
| Divide by 90 for Daily | $77 |
| $150,000 Purchased Condo – $154/day | |
| Monthly AVERAGE Elec. | $300 |
| Monthly Homeowners Assoc. | $150 |
| Monthly Upkeep, HVAC, etc. | $150 |
| Monthly Property Taxes | $100 |
| Monthly Cable or Internet | $80 |
| $150k @ 3% int. (Monthly) | $375 |
| Monthly Total cost to Own | $1,155 |
| Annual Cost to Own | $13,860 |
| Daily cost (90 days/yr.) | $154 |
| Timeshare – $150/day |
We almost didn’t include this one. No one wants to buy 12 timeshares to have a 12-week vacation but we included it to show a daily rate comparison. There are dramatic price variations between Time Share projects, and $150 per day seems like a middle of the road number.
| Typical Four Star Hotel – $280/day |
The Hotel taxes are not even included nor other fees. This rate is representative of a nice hotel, but by no means a FIVE-star RESORT. Besides lacking Laundry and cooking facilities in most hotels, the cost could hit easily hit $27,000. This is not even a remotely viable option.