Will Mammoth ever pop in the same way? Unclear. 

 

Homes here are strangely affordable. But not so strange if you take an inventory of the town's lackluster offerings. You'd think as the closest major ski resort to the second-most populous city in the United States, it would be…fancier. 

 

Will the high-end commercial ever come? Maybe.

 

Even if it does, cold-weather property ownership is expensive in ways L.A. residents can't imagine. I mean, you have to pay someone to come over and run the taps so pipes don't freeze. The snow maintenance is real…

 

And we all know the myth of second homes…that you will use it all the time. After the initial euphoric declarations of “WE'RE GETTING A CABIN," Lori and I have come to the ultimate conclusion that we'd be here 1-2 months every year, if that.

 

Which is fine - we'd host clients, friends, and our kids could be feral and have beautiful memories of our family home. A quality of life investment, if you will.

 

But at what cost?

 

“Opportunity cost” is defined as “the loss of potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen.”

 

In real estate, more than any other investment, opportunity cost is a huge consideration - most of us will make just 2-3 real estate moves in our lifetimes. So we have to make them count.

 

Our main concern is not that our cabin won't appreciate. Even if Kemo Sabe and Nobu finds it's way to Mammoth, we'd still be paying every month to own it. 

 

And the opportunity cost is substantial: we'd missing out on a Los Angeles rental property that will pay for our kids' college, and then our retirement.

 

While the cabin sits empty 10 months out of the year, and most likely appreciates 1% a year (I'm sorry, I just don't see Nobu here any time soon), we'd be missing out on the monthly income plus appreciation that an L.A. rental property provides.

 

There's a reason Park City's Main Street is lousy with real estate offices - tourists like to dream. We sure do.

 

But a wealth-building truism is use assets to pay for liabilities. 

 

Because that L.A. rental property will not only pay for college and retirement…It will pay for really nice ski hotels too, all over the world.

 

 

Until next Friday,