Sunapee, NH

In 2013 we bought a 2,400 sq. ft. cape in Newbury, NH. We had rented a ski house the year before with friends and it was a magical time for our kids, and we all loved being outside during the winter months skiing. To make it work financially we needed to rent out the house when we weren’t using it. The house was built as a pre-fab in 2004 so it was relatively new when we bought it, but it wasn’t built well so it did develop a lot of issues (things like mice and carpenter ants getting in where they shouldn’t). The house was not insulated well, causing an ice dam and subsequent water damage, and the boiler went our first -10 degree day. We quickly learned how hard it is to manage home improvement projects when you are 2 hours away. But we made the rentals work and it made enough money for us to be break-even – or come out ahead if you figure in the cost of renting a home for the ski season. This way we got to sleep on new mattresses and live in an uncluttered home, set up the way we liked. But key was the ability to bring our dogs with us ;)