|
TIPS ON CHOOSING A LOCATION FOR BUYING A VACATION HOME
Buying a vacation home
is a nice luxury to have. You
need to make sure that wherever you decide to buy,
the way of life and availability of stores and restaurants
fits your standards.
Below are some tips that will help me you make a wise
choice when determining where to buy a vacation home.
What to do before you go visit potential areas of vacation
home purchase.
-- Are you
going to be able to get out there? When
purchasing a
second home you need to analyze where you are in life. For
example, do you have a demanding work schedule that often
requires you to work on the weekends? Or, does your child
participate in sports and has games and/or practices on
the weekend? Basically, are there things that go on in
your life that are going to prevent you from getting away,
making
your
new home
purchase a waste?
-- You need
to find a real estate agent before you visit any potential
area. Hooking up with a good real estate agent is very
important. Finding a good one is not always easy and you
definitely do not want to wait until you are already out
there to try and find one. If you wait until the last
minute, you will probably wind up settling for an agent
that is not the best. Take into consideration that real
estate agents are often 'on the run' and are not looking
to be a tour guide for people that are on vacation,
thinking about buying a new home. If you contact an agent
before you go on your trip, it will show that you mean
business.
EPoweredProfessionals.com will help you find a
good real estate agent.
--
Determine how much you can
afford. You definitely want to figure out how much you can afford before
you enter the market. You don't want to waste your time, or the real estate
agent's time by looking at houses you can not afford. Keep in mind that
if you are going to rely on renting as a means of paying your
vacation home
mortgage when you are not staying in your home, that first the year or so
the
source of funds will not be complete until you start renting. You also need to
factor in maintenance of the property as well.
**Taxes will play an important role in
determining how much you can afford. If you stay in your vacation home for a
minimum of two weeks/year and rent out the house for the rest of the time, you
can right-off your mortgage interest and
property taxes.
What to do while visiting the area of potential
purchase of a vacation home:
-- Look for shopping a
restaurants. Drive around the town. Look for stores and eateries that are
important to you. How far is the local grocery? Is there a Starbucks? Are
there any good restaurants? Where is the nearest hospital? Is there a doctor
in town? These are things that need to be taken into consideration.
-- Find out about the off seasons. Ask your real
estate agent to refer you to some people from the area
that can tell you about life in the town during the
off-season. You may want to ask about the potential of snow
storms and how the roads are cleared, or not cleared. Or,
you can ask if the same stores and businesses open during
peak seasons are open during the off seasons. Your real
estate agent may be able to help you with this as well.
-- Find out if their is a market for vacation rentals.
Ask your agent if their is a market for rentals in the
area you are interested in buying in. Most good tourist
areas have about 12 weeks of peak time. So you want to be
able to rent your
vacation home for a minimum of 12 weeks
out of the year. A weekly rental should be equal about one month
of your mortgage payment. So, with 12 weeks of rentals,
you will break even. There are also many online
agencies, like
CyberRentals that charge a fee to help you rent your property.
APPLY FOR A VACATION HOME LOAN!
|
