Shabby Chic Boho Buying a second home in a place people literally vacation in… yeah, that sounds like the dream. Really, what could be better than that, especially if the area is more up and coming? Better get on the real estate cycle now than later, right? But a house with stunning views, fresh air, and places to explore every time you show up. Something that says “Yeah, life’s going well” in the best way. Again, who wouldn’t want that? Maybe it’s meant to be this relaxing getaway, maybe a future retirement plan, or maybe it’s just the fact that it feels incredibly cool to say, “Yeah, I’ve got a place there too”.
But then the actual planning part arrives. Because yeah, it’s not just picking a pretty location and hoping for the best. There’s a bunch to think about, so the dream stays a dream and not a weird money-eating stress monster. Well, in general, when it comes to real estate, there’s a lot of considerations here, like a lot.
What Do You Really Want Out of It?
Alright, so it’s absolutely for the best to just start right here. So, it’s very easy to romanticize the vacation fantasy. You know exactly what it all is: it’s the sunsets, hot chocolates by the fire, and long walks on the beach. All that beautiful “life feels amazing” stuff. But what’s the real goal here? A fun getaway spot is used for a few weeks a year. Or something you want to stay at for months at a time. Or maybe a place that eventually becomes the main home, and the old one becomes the “we live there sometimes” home. Yeah, okay, there’s a whole bunch of “ors” there, but they’re essentially possibilities that you could have, right?
If it’s truly a holiday home, low maintenance is key. Something like that should be obvious enough, then, right? Like, if you’re buying a house in a touristy destination, then you need to be at least semi-close to food, there needs to be some fun activities that you actually like, places to entertain guests, so the whole trip doesn’t turn into some sort of giant mess or anything like that.
But if living there full-time is a future plan, then yeah, things like grocery stores, schools, hospitals, and year-round comfort in the climate become important. Because living somewhere is very different from visiting for a long weekend. Plus, you have to keep in mind that some places are closed once tourist season is gone, be it activities, restaurants, shops, sometimes even public transportation is less available. For example, if you’re buying a house in Martha’s Vineyard, well, the ferry in the winter goes there a lot less, and it’s more expensive.
Actually Look at the Location Outside the Cute Tourist Season
This actually goes perfectly with what was being said just above. Tourist towns during peak holiday time are like “Wow, this is perfect, never leaving”. But then real life appears once the crowds leave. If you’ve ever gone to a touristy place during off-season, then you might have a general idea. Some places stay charming, just quieter.
Others feel like someone flipped the switch to “ghost town”. It helps to check that the slower version too, just so it doesn’t come as a shock later. Also, some areas are super friendly to second-home buyers. Others… not so much. But how? Well, there might be some rules around renting, renovating, short stays, long stays, parking, noise… all the fun adulting topics.
The Idea of Rental Potential is Nice
Well, this part goes above because sometimes someone buys a house in a touristy area, and the whole expectation is to rent it out when they’re not staying in it. And yeah, it can be agreed that renting the home during unused months sounds lovely. It pays bills and maybe even pays for future upgrades. But tourists don’t show up every single day of the year. If the place is only worth visiting in the winter, why would people go any other time of the year?
Sure, maybe some months it’s packed, and of course, there’s other months where it might be entirely empty. Now, there’s no guarantee here, but it just might be helpful to look into getting a recent real estate statistics report since this can actually give some clarity on how demand moves throughout the year, so there aren’t unrealistic expectations about steady income from week one.
Just Think About Future You
It might sound stupid, but it’s true, because you caný always think about it in the moment. You need to think years ahead. Not all tourist and resort destinations stay that way forever. Sometimes they die off, sometimes things just get a lot worse due to being way too unaffordable (Wyoming and Montana and their resort destinations are a great example of how locals can’t afford anything anymore). It’s not fun to speculate on these sorts of things, but you absolutely need to.
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