Where and What to Buy


On this page, you can explore your vacation style and how to choose the type of real estate (custom home, condo, time share, homesite or acreage) that fits your dreams.

A vacation home can reveal the inner you, so shed your working image and dream... Do you love the mountains? The ocean? The desert? Are your daydreams filled with images of flyfishing or whitewater rafting or golfing in the early morning dew?

With a little clarity, and some goals in mind, you can pinpoint your perfect vacation community.

Your Perfect Location


The ideal vacation spot will offer high season at your favorite time of year.

Do you revel in the summer sun?

Do you crave hot weather, or do you need to travel when kids are out of school?

Are you strictly a cold-weather type?

Do you want to leave a resort when the snow starts to melt?

Do you crave options?

Good winter sports and activities during the warmer seasons too?

Still unsure?

According to a 1995 survey by the American Resort Devlopment Association, Americans prefer:

Beach: 30%

Lake: 30%

Mountains: 26%

Tropics: 9%

Golf course area: 5%

Ski area: 5%

Desert: 1.5%

Other: 8.5%

What Does Leisure Mean to You?

While climate helps determine the region you choose, your interests are your guide to fun vacations.

While reading this page, what kind of home did you immediately envision?

Was it: a ski house? a condo on a golf course? a community near you on a lake? a small beach house? Your initial response might be the best choice for you

How did you spend your last vacation?

Not the one where you stayed home and built that extra bedroom, but the one before that when you left town for a few days or weeks? And the year before that? Is there a pattern emerging? Do you always head for the beach? Do you drive or fly to a big City for culture?

This is very important to take into account: did you go there because you wanted to or because you were expected to by family or other considerations? IF you didn't want to be there, don't count it in profiling your interests.

Another point to ponder: do you always seem to head for your folks or another family place? Maybe 60 miles, or 600 miles, from your place? Perhaps you like visiting family. Is there a resort area nearby that you and your family might consider for a vacation home?

Is there a particular sport you like to engage in on holiday? More than one: golf, swimming, hiking, skiing, walking, boating, horseback riding?

Is there any one particular non-sports related leisure activity vital to enjoying a vacation, such as sightseeing, sunbathing, shopping, casino gambling? Do you like to keep busy on holiday or do you want to "veg out"?

Do you prefer to rough it, or are you strictly a room-service-at-the Regency type? Do you have a current passport that has been stamped several times over the past few years?

Now, looking over your scribbled comments you can pretty much tell where your interests lie and what type of setting will make you happiest.

Time and Distance

The next thing to consider is the amount of time you hope to spend at your vacation place. Are you planning to head for that spot...

Every weekend?

For a month during the high season?

A few times over the course of a year at different seasons?

If you want to get in your car on Friday at 5 o'clock many times throughout the year and head for your second home, look for a resort area within a comfortable distance. If you have children younger than their teens, you might want to give some thought to how well they will travel on frequent weekend trips, This could have an affect on how far you are willing to go.

Get out an old atlas and draw a circle around your area with a limit as to how far you are willing to drive. This will help you decide how far away your getaway should be.

A Few Points to Remember

As you go to the next sections below, keep these points in mind.

Every resort area isn't for everyone

Look for the resort area where you will feel most comfortable.

Decide on your time and distance

If you want to use your second home on weekends, decide on the amount of time you are willing to spend driving round trip and choose a resort area accordingly.

Don't make too many sacrifices

This is a holiday getaway> Don't make too many sacrifices in choosing what you want in a vacation home.

Choose the home style that is right for you



There are many styles of second homes to choose from, but the most popular are the single family home and the condominium as the graph below shows.


The single-family house (or cabin) is most popular because it offers:

Privacy

Space

Room to work on your landscaping or gardening

Familiarity

A second home might be similar to your principal residence, making a comfortable segue into a second-home purchase. Having listed the advantages of a house, we can ask: are there any drawbacks? Yes, if you re still undecided, which type of home you want. Here are a few drawbacks you should note:

With a house you will have to repair the home, the roof, keep up the front of the house and lawn, and in general have the same repair and maintenance responsibilities you have with your principal home

If you rent your property for a time when you are not there, your tenet will have to keep up with that lawn and or snow removal, or you will have to pay an outside service.

There is the responsibility, too of closing up the house for what might be many months before you visit your property again.

If a house is your preference, you can see from the chart that single-family houses rate first with many others, too. If the locale is wisely chosen, you should have a good investment and no trouble selling when you want. You have gone with a popular choice.

Now, let's move on to our pages that will go more in depth on:

Buying a Condo to take a look at this very popular option

Buying Mountain Property to find your home in the mountains

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