Top Tips for Vacation Home Buyers

“This House Would Be An Adventure”

You’ve spent a week on the beach and absolutely loved where you stayed. The freedom and ability to stand on the back porch and admire the ocean is truly timeless. You feel it would be a dream to be able to vacation here every year – and to share it with all your friends and family. When you get back home, you start looking around for waterfront properties that you feel can bring you the same experience you just had.

After a couple weeks of searching, you’ve realized you really want to invest in a vacation home property and you think you’ve found the right place. But before you start signing papers, take a look at some of these fast & true tips that will get you the most out your vacation home.

Tips for Buying a Vacation Home in Sarasota

1. Buy a Vacation Home as a Form of Recreation, Not Investment
When you buy a vacation home, it’s important to remember that you’re not going to make a bigger return of investment than you would with others. Usually, investment experts will tell you that a diversified portfolio will make you more of a return over time. So it’s best to only buy a vacation home if you’re looking to use it for vacations and the occasional rent. The house should bring you the joy of being on the water and somewhere fresh … not an annual worry of making money.

2. Buy An Existing Home Instead of Land
Everyone wants to build their own custom-dream home, however, in resort areas you can easily be faced with a track full of hurdles. To begin with, you’ll have to deal with coastal authorities, local building restrictions, aggressive homeowners associations, and sketchy contractors. These can all impede the progress on your vacation home, so stick to the safe route and buy an already-built home.

3. Research all 4 Seasons Before Buying
Owning a vacation home is always a seasonal property. For houses on the beach, you may find beautiful weather during the summer, but when winter hits, you might find your home in a ghost town. If you’re only interested in renting your vacation home out, make sure you know the seasons for which someone might rent it – and the amount of profit you can only make during that time.

4. Make Sure the House & Location Are Good for Renting
When you’re selecting a vacation home that you might rent out to guests for a time in the year, you need to make sure it’s a place someone would want to rent beforehand. Most people don’t want a home in the middle of nowhere with no cellphone and internet signal. And when it comes to the beach, they want a property ON the beach, not near it. So when you decide to buy you vacation home with the intent of renting, consider what other people might want.

5. Consider the Extra Costs of a Vacation Home
After all the math and decision-making, you know you can afford the loan on the house, but it’s just as important to not forget the costs to running the house. Taxes, insurance, maintenance, and utilities are all factors you need to take care of year-round. Salt water, sand, and wind all do extra damage to beachfront houses, so it’s best to calculate those costs in as you decide on the buy. If you’re prepared, you won’t be surprised to find an unexpected maintenance cost.

Finding a Sarasota Vacation Home

Now that you’ve done the research and know some basic pointers to buying a vacation home, you’re ready to start searching for homes. There are several ways to search for wonderful vacation homes on our website, through: number of bedrooms, waterfront access, and amenities. Click below to get started!