Shopping For A Vacation Home? 3 Things To Check First

Posted on: 28 April 2019

Owning a vacation home can give you and your family a comfortable place to stay when you head to your favorite areas, while also providing your family with an excellent source of supplemental income. However, choosing the right property can be tricky, especially if you are new to vacation home ownership. Here are three things to check before investing in a vacation home, and why it could matter when you go to rent out the property in the future. 

1. Housing Availability In the Area Before you start looking for a property and calculating the potential rental income you could receive from booking it on a nightly basis, it is important to remember that if an area is already heavily saturated with rentals, you may find yourself up against stiff competition. Before you start looking for property within your chosen destination, check to see how difficult it is to find a rental if you and your family were going to book a place for a visit. 

Look for areas where rental properties are scarce, and that have great rental potential for potential landlords. If you find a popular destination with lots of rentals that always seem full, you might be on the right path. If the area you are looking at has few rentals that seem constantly available, you should keep looking until you find a better location. 

2. Proximity to Popular Attractions When you visit your vacation home, you will likely want easy access to popular attractions, tasty restaurants, and interesting entertainment.  Potential vacation renters will look for the same kinds of things, so be careful when you choose where to purchase a property. 

If possible, try to find a home that is close to the center of the action. Visit the house in person to see how long it takes to get to your favorite things around town, and pay attention to the condition of the neighborhood. 

3. Local Transportation  While you might be driving to your vacation home, you never know which of your renters will be visiting with a rental car or relying on public transportation. Check to see if there are bus lines or other public transport stops near the home to make the property more attractive to people who may rely on those forms of transportation when they visit. 

Although looking for a new vacation home can be intimidating, by working with a great real estate agent and carefully analyzing the local market, you can make things a lot simpler. Before you sit down with someone, have a clear idea of where you want to buy and what you want in a property, so you can get right to work finding the perfect vacation property for sale

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