Invest In A Home!
Buyer’s delight
Sick of spending all that money on a summer rental? Buying a summer home could be one of the best investments you’ll ever make. It was for me — not on only do I love my weekend place in the Hamptons and think of it as my true home (even though I spend most of my week living and working in Manhattan), but the property has also appreciated a lot in the past few years. A vacation place can be a great investment. In the right location your house will increase in value over time, and a resale can be very profitable. And you can rent your home out for a few week or months each year and it can an actually pay for itself. (When I bought my first home in the he fabled beach community, it was still not affordable for me, so II rented it out as soon as I closed to pay for the he mortgage.)
If you’re just starting out and have limited funds, established trendy communities like the Hamptons, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and Miami Beach might be out of your price range. But that doesn’t mean you can’t find a fabulous location elsewhere. The following are near New York City, and are also close to more expensive towns. That means the prices in these areas will likely continue to rise.
New York State: Your best bet is to head for the hills, like the Village age of Catskill (Greene County), Kingston on (Ulster County) and Narrowsburg (Sullivan County). ). Real-estate agents in the area say all three have strong summer and fallrental markets.
Pennsylvania: This is state has a much lower property-tax rate than New Jersey, and towns along Delaware are just as beautiful as the ones across the Hudson. Pike County, for example, is one of the fastest-growing areas in the state, due to its proximity to New York, its fabulous natural resources and its high quality housing stock. Take a tour our of Milford (Pike County), ) Honesdale and Hawley (Wayne County).
New England: Some towns in the picturesque Berkshire Hills might be out of reach, but you can still find great deals in others — check out Berkshire County, where you’ll find the towns of Lee, Becket and Otis. The drive is beautiful, and there’s plenty to do and see once you’re there: Jacob’s Pillow Dance Company, Tanglewood, the Berkshire Theatre Festival, the Norman an Rockwell Museum and Laurel Lake are just a few.
Here are some other things to keep in mind when searching for that perfect second home:
1. When assessing potential location, look at the surrounding area. Cute antique shops, upscale restaurants, gourmet food emporiums and well maintained public gardens and parks are sure signs of a vibrant community.
2. Your vacation home should be easy to get to either by car or plane. You want to spend the weekend at your house, not getting there. Even if your dream pad has to be in Florida, it should atleast be fairly accessible to an airport.
3. The area should have an active rental market. (Ask your real -estate agent about it when you’re looking for places to buy.) If rentals have been on an “in-season on” upswing, there’s a good chance there here will be a market for your house. Also, a good rental al history increases the resale value of a house.
4. The home should be low-maintenance. If you love to garden, go ahead and buy a house that sits on some land but be honest with yourself — how much downtime do you really want to spend doing household chores? Look for easy-to-care-for siding and simple landscaping.
If I can buy a house, so can you!
Empower Yourself!
If I Can Do It So Can You!
Barbara K
