furnishings Archives - Sadler House

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Vacation Rental Maintenance Checklist

Every spring break, while Virginia is bursting into bloom and people are getting out their shorts, we pile into the car with boxes of supplies and luggage and start the 12 hour drive to Maine. When we get there, it’s often raining and there’s almost always snow on the ground. It’s not exactly the average person’s dream spring break getaway, but it’s our chance to do vacation rental maintenance on our home, which has seen many guests since our last visit at the end of the previous summer.

Why do we insist on spending a week at our vacation rental each year during what is commonly referred to as “Mud Season?”

Well, beyond the fact that we love seeing friends we’ve missed since August and visiting restaurants we haven’t gotten to eat in since last summer, there’s checking up on our house. While we certainly could hire our wonderful cleaning service to do a deep cleaning, there are some things only the owner can really take care of. Namely, you’ve got to walk in with the eyes of someone who left the house months before, and start spotting things that are not quite right. Read more →

Sadler House May 17, 2017 Leave A Comment Permalink

New in Rockland, Maine – 2016!

New in Rockland - 2016 If I’ve learned anything about Rockland, Maine in the time we’ve been here, it’s that it will constantly be changing. I thought a lot of new things had happened in 2015, but posting a round up of what’s new in Rockland for 2016 is an even bigger task!

Fond Farewell

Change is good, but it’s still sad to say goodbye to some of the old businesses that made way for the new. Most notably from our point of view, favorites The Thorndike Creamery, The Blackboard Deli, Comida, and The Brown Bag are no longer with us.

The good news is, some very exciting new people have come to occupy a few of the old spaces. Furthermore, there is a spectacular new art attraction in town for me to tell you about. Without further ado, here are some wonderful new developments coming in downtown Rockland, Maine! Read more →

Sadler House March 31, 2016 3 Comments Permalink

Vacation Home Expenses: Budgeting for Your Dream

I didn’t grow up with people who had vacation homes, so it seemed pretty ballsy to our friends and family when my husband and I started planning to buy our dream home in Maine. Naturally, a major concern was whether or not we could afford it. With all the time it took us to save the downpayment, I had years to crunch the numbers on our future vacation home expenses from here to Sunday. I figured out how much mortgage, tax, and insurance were likely to drain us monthly. I estimated how much more we’d need to add to our emergency savings. I did the figuring about how much it would help us if we could rent the house weekly to other vacationers.

Oh, I did the math.

Vacation Home Dreams Meet Real World Expenses

In 2013, we realized our dream of buying Sadler House, and I signed a thousand papers with very sweaty hands. With some self-control, we managed to buy a home that was within the budget I had allocated to us. We crossed our fingers and moved forward.

We’ve owned and rented this beloved home now for more than two years, and I have learned about expenses that even my copious calculations didn’t previously anticipate. All in all, we’ve been very happy with our decision. Based on my experience, however, I thought I could spare some future owners a little grief by sharing a list of expenses to consider when they budget for their own dream vacation homes.

First, the obvious. Read more →

Sadler House January 14, 2016 2 Comments Permalink