Insurance, maintenance and taxes can be quite high on waterfront property and are definitely important considerations. We like to be able to travel and just have a hotel room. Alternatively, if we were staying for a prolonged period, we might want to rent for weeks or a month, but haven’t yet.
My in laws have a lake house on an island about 3-1/2 hours from our house - it will eventually be ours. We can only use it April - October, because the ferry stops running around Halloween. H & I have been doing all the upkeep for the last several years, so we know what is involved. We LOVE it, as do our kids. It is a true cottage, small and no-frills. Opening and closing is hard work, and we go every other weekend to take care of cleaning and yard work … but it’s worth it to us to have a magical place to escape life.
If we weren’t making mortgage payments and all other expenses, we wouldn’t even be thinking of selling.