4 Factors To Consider Before Investing In Vacation Property

Like many people, you may have spent years dreaming of purchasing vacation property on a beautiful beach or in majestic mountains. 

Now that you have decided to make your dream a reality, don't rush into the decision without first taking these four very important factors into consideration.

Know What You Can Afford

Before looking at locations and features that you want in a home, sit down and figure out just how much money you can afford to spend on vacation property. In addition to the mortgage or investment loan cost, you also need to what your current income and credit score will allow you to get approved for.

In addition to the monthly mortgage or investor loan cost, additional costs for the property should be considered. For example, property taxes, insurance, utilities, furniture, and other things associated with your vacation property.

If the home is for you and your family to visit throughout the year, also consider the costs of traveling to the vacation home. These costs not only include flights to and from a nearby airport but also what type of activities you plan to do while you’re there. 

For example, if you plan on skiing at your vacation property, then consider the costs of a seasonal pass or renting skis.

Renting Out the Property

If your vacation property is for investment purposes only, know what comes with renting it out to others. For example, if you are obtaining a mortgage for the purchase, your lender may require you to obtain an investor loan rather than a traditional mortgage.

There is also a cost of getting tenants into your property. For example, the cost of listing your property on multiple websites, advertising, preparing the property for new tenants, and cleaning up after past tenants. 

While preparing your property, it's good to keep the pathways, walkways, and car parks clear in winter with rock salt. If the property is in an area that is prone to huge amounts of snow, it would be worth investing in 25kg rock salt for car parks to save money in the long run. This is ideal for melting snow and ice from roads and paths, which reduces potential accidents during colder winter months.

You can contact professional property management companies to ensure that you are aware of the cost of cleaning and repairs between tenants.

When finding a property management company, consider looking at local listings to learn about typical repairs in that area. Also, ensure you are aware of any restrictions the locality or state where the property is located may place on using the property as a rental property. 

Finally, be realistic about how much rent you can charge. If you go too high, you'll just have a property that's collecting dust.

Pick a Great Location

Even if the vacation property you love looks fantastic and can be bought at a great price, it will only do you a little good if it is in an undesirable location. 

Besides looking at Facebook groups and Reddit forums about the location, take the time and money to visit the location before agreeing to purchase the home.

When visiting the location, consider the ease of getting through the airport, how long you have to drive from the airport to get there, and how accessible the roads are. Also, consider the time of year that you plan on spending there. 

If you plan on going there for the winter season, then consider visiting the location in the winter season to see if the roads get cleared regularly or if you’ll need to consider getting chains for your rental car.

Protect Your Investment

Protecting your property should be considered before purchasing a vacation home. Many people choose to install a security system with cameras and motion detection devices. In addition to this, you may want to look into the cost of hiring someone to stay in your home while you aren’t there. 

This makes the home seem occupied throughout the year and thus less likely to get squatters. It also ensures that someone will be on-site to take care of any inquiries with local authorities if there is a security breach.

Also, you may want to hire a property management firm to make sure maintenance issues are taken care of immediately. After all, you want to avoid guests arriving at your vacation property only to discover a broken toilet or leaking pipes.

No matter what type of vacation property you choose to invest in, keeping these four factors in mind will help to ensure your investment will be stress-free and profitable.

About the Author

Anica is a professional content and copywriter who graduated from the University of San Francisco. She loves dogs, the ocean, and anything outdoor-related. She was raised in a big family, so she's used to putting things to a vote. She recommends Skye Management when it comes to vacation property management.

Make Extra Money By Renting Out Your Static Caravan

English: The caravan park at Pease Bay A high quality static caravan holiday home park in a secluded bay. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

From the early day of the package holiday, we all loved to save up and get away from it all on our “two weeks in the sun”. But against the background of the credit crunch and recent economic woes the financial landscape has changed and many of us simply can’t afford to holiday abroad any more.

Despite the unpredictability of our British summer, the undeniable cash savings of holidaying in the UK have driven a massive growth in the “staycation”.

A large chunk of this new holiday market is based around static caravans, usually a cheaper option than staying in a hotel or renting a house. With the added attraction for holiday makers, that the holiday parks the caravans are on usually have entertainment and facilities to hand right there.

Suddenly things look more and more attractive for static owner to start or increase the time that they rent out their caravan. As popularity is growing the financial benefits of renting out your static move from a way to try to offset the costs of your family holiday home, to a reasonable way to actually make some money from what can actually be a relatively low upfront cost.

Obviously for an owner moving into rental for the first time can be a little daunting. Although they will be used to the various site fees associated with static ownership, renting to others can throw up new issues and costs, such as specific rental insurance and regular gas and electrical safety checks.

There are a growing number of websites and forums where owners and potential owners can find information and advice, but a great starting point is the National Association of Caravan Owners website. You can find plenty of advice and information about costs and issues around the ownership and renting out. In particular you will want to look into insurance issues and they can help with quotes for that.

Borne out of a need for some kind of group or association representing the caravan owners themselves when dealing with park owners or manufacturers, the National Association of Caravan Owners are can provide support, information and even legal advice where required.

The obvious way to rent out your static, especially on some of the larger big company owned sites, is to rent via the park owners themselves. Obviously the services the parks provide and of course the charges they make (often they just take their cut from the payment the holiday makers make direct to them) vary and its essential to read any rental contracts before you sign and ensure you understand the costs and responsibilities on either side. This is an easy and reasonably hassle free way to rent, but is usually the most expensive method you can use.

In order to maximise your income you may decide to take on the role yourself and deal with all the renting and booking issues directly. With the advent of forums and websites it is now easier than ever to get set up online and start to make extra money from your caravan.