What to Ask Yourself Before You Purchase That Vacation Home

Many people take vacations every year and many often stay in homes they rent. Vacations to the mountains, to the lake, and to the beach are very popular retreats for families and individuals looking to get away.

It might have occurred to you at some point that buying a vacation home might be a good idea, that it might just be the kind of investment that will help you as you prepare for retirement or for your children’s college finances. Those things might all be true. Before you buy that vacation home, however, here are a few questions you might want to ask yourself.

1.) How will you get to your vacation home?

Many people who live within driving distance of their vacation property or their second home find that it is an investment they are glad they made. Often, people take a trip that is a plane ride away on a vacation and fall in love with the area. When then buy a home there, they soon realize it is costing them way more than they had hoped it would simply because they can’t get to it as often as they would like. Distance can be a problem for many people. Is it for you?

2.) Are you going to need rental income?

A vacation home is very often used for just that–vacation. Typically, a vacation home is located in an area where there is a great population during the peak vacation times but the town turns into a ghost town when the vacation season ends. This is true in the mountains as well as at the shore.

Often, people who have a vacation home in an area where there is a need for rental properties find that they can rent their home as an investment property, covering the cost of the mortgage while they are busy working and paying for their main home. Being a landlord can sometimes be tough, but for many, this is simply part of the investment and they enjoy providing people with a place to live while chipping away at that mortgage.

3.) Will this home suit your future lifestyle?

Many folks use a conventional mortgage or FHA mortgage loans to purchase a vacation home because they are investing in their future residence. After the kids go off to school and they are ready to retire, they sell their main home and downsize to the second property, using the proceeds from their first home to help finance their retirement.

The question becomes, Is this second home the home in which you want to spend your later years? If it is, you have made a terrific plan. If not, maybe it’s time to take a second look around. Perhaps you might find something that better suits your fancy. There are a lot of choices out there right now. Ask your mortgage broker to help you plan for that second home. An expert like Stacy Schlesinger can guide you to the home and home loan of your dreams.