Home And Garden Articles

How to Prepare Yourself for Owning a Dual Purpose Second Home

If you are thinking about buying a second home, you are not alone. A 1995 survey by the American Resort Development Association found that 60 percent of households surveyed feel they have a likely chance of purchasing a recreational property in the next ten years, a figure that rose 30% from the survey in 1990. The average age for the majority of vacation home buyers ranges from 40-50 years old. Qualifying as the baby boomer generation, this group of second home buyers consists of 80.5 million people out of the U.S. population of more than 260 million. Demand for vacation homes is rising as a result of consumers' increasing desire to capitalize on low interest rates, low unemployment rates and a strong real estate market offering many viable second home options.

When purchasing a second home, many baby boomers seek properties that offer access to recreational areas as well as amenities ideal for retirement living. Finding a fully functional dual purpose second home requires meeting a number of physical and emotional characteristics. A trained real estate professional can help you identify your short and long term needs as well as a home that provides the qualities you require.

When choosing the ideal vacation/retirement community, look for services and features which reduce the stress of owning a second home. Furthermore, finding a home with one floor living or limited stairs will be preferable as you age and as your home evolves from a recreational home to a permanent residence. For example, free standing homes require a lot of upkeep, so properties that include gardening services or rubbish removal such as condominiums or gated communities with town houses are an option worth investigating.

Once you and your broker have identified a second home, the following are tips to protect your second home investment:

• Develop a trustworthy contact who lives near your new home, either a neighbor or a paid caretaker, to keep an eye on the property and collect mail that accumulates. Make sure this person has all of the necessary information to contact you.

• To make the home appear to be fully occupied, ask your caretaker to park occasionally in your driveway. Timers are good for keeping lights on, but their schedule should be varied regularly.

• Set up an answering machine. Change the message occasionally and check the messages often.

• Make sure all doors and windows are locked and secure. Consider installing an alarm to protect your home when you are not there and to serve you when you live there in the future. A quality security system can be purchased through a reputable company.

• Remove all keys hidden around the property.

• Enjoy the time spent in your new second home, for vacation, recreation and ultimately for fulfilling retirement living.

I would be pleased to give you additional information about identifying both an area and home ideal for your fulfilling your second home needs.

About The Author

W. Troy Swezey is the author of "How to Prepare Yourself for Owning a Dual Purpose Second Home." As a Realtor at Century 21 Paul & Associates, he has helped many individuals with their real estate needs. Visit his web site to download his free e-book, "REAL ESTATE SECRETS EXPOSED." http://www.TroyIsMyRealtor.com or TroyC21@usa.net

Other Article Sites

findabook.com  moneycd.info  a-mortgage.info   about-lemon-laws.info  aboutstudentloans.info
all-about-publishing.info  auctions-articles.info  bestcollege-university.com  bestispconnection.com
biblefolder.com  blogger-website.com  books-used.info  brokers-guide.info  buywindows.info  cable-dsl.info
career-miner.com  carpel-tunnel.info  cashinaflash.info  cashloanreviews.info  casinobell.com  chat-house.info
clearmycredit.info  collegeloantips.info  crones.info  depression-articles.info   dirnic.net  dishguides.info
divers-below.com  expodog.info   financewizz.com  fire-insurance.info  getgood.info  handleit.net   it-idea.info
health-supplies.info  hosting-right.com  insidealert.com  insurance-facts.info  jobs-employment.info
justgood.info  lookgold.net   lowcost-travel.info  money-source.info  myhostzone.info  numisblog.com
peoplesearchfinder.info  pr-articles.info  realeas.com   refinancing-guides.info  spyware-remove.info
telelot.info  the-law.info   toppaid.info  travel-deals.info  travelcorrect.com  wedding-guide-site.com
your-blog.info  your-credit.info

MORE ARTICLES:

Flowers That Beautify Your Home and Garden
To help gardeners choose flowers, various systems for rating hardiness have been developed. A plant is considered hardy in a region if it can grow and thrive there without requiring special protective measures such as insulating with straw mulch.

Flowering Field Farm of NJ Announces Association with Garden Spot Structures
Flowering Field Farm has announced a new business relationship with Garden Spot Structures of Lancaster County, Pa. The NJ farm is located on Highway 34, just south of the Holmdel border and Route 520. Garden Spot Structures of Leola, Pa. has been delivering fine, Amish-crafted structures for 30 years.

Exotic Flowers: Luxurious and Impressive for Your Home and Garden Decor
There are several types of exotic flowers to best suit any occasion. And of course, depending on your personal taste, you will want to choose the best exotic flowers you can obtain to be the perfect flowers, the most adequate for the purpose they will be serving. For example: at someone?s funeral, you may want to choose bouquet of flowers that the deceased would have loved. Here are some other examples (after all, these flowers are for happy occasions as well as the more tragic ones.

5 Most Popular Flowers for Your Garden
When planting a garden there are many questions which you must ask yourself before you begin. Where are you going to plant it, do you have the garden equipment to do so and how big do you want your garden to be? When do flowers bloom and what are their heights? These are all very important questions, however they mean very little if you have not yet decided which types of flowers you want to plant.

Making Memories with Flower Gardening
Flower gardening is not only about the present, but can be about the past as well. Although this article is ostensibly about flower gardens, it is really more about carrying memories forward.

Chocolate for the Home and Garden ~ Chocolate Flower Farm Launches New Candle Division
Chocolate Flower Farm, a specialty nursery featuring dark foliaged and flowering plants, launches a new candle division with the acquisition of the exclusive rights to a distinctively different "Essence of Chocolate" candle. The candles along with their popular series of Chocolate Garden Seed Kits will be offered to retailers worldwide.

Converting a Weed Garden to a Manageable Flower Garden
Recently I must have had sucker tattooed on my forehead because just when I thought my summer gardening season was winding down into a nice relaxed not hard labor kind of fall a friend baited me into a conversation about their landscaping and the outcome was I ended up helping them redesign a garden

Flower Gardening
Flower gardening is becoming more and more popular every day. Flowers can brighten everyone?s day, they smell nice, and are a great hobby. Flower gardening is simple, inexpensive, and loads of fun. Flower gardening can be done for yard decoration, simply as a hobby, or even professionally.

The Flower Garden in August
Our flower garden in August can be brimming with activities we can do at this time of year, as we can for most of the year. We have some flower gardening tips to give you and some experiments to try.

Town & Country Conservatories Designs Custom English Skylight for Rockefeller Center's Flower & Garden Show
EnglishSkylights.com, a division of Town & Country Conservatories designs and builds a custom conservatory-inspired skylight for Rockefeller Center's annual Flower & Garden Show.

Flower Garden: 4 Fundamental Tips on Starting a Flower Garden
Are you thinking to start gardening as a hobby Or maybe you're planning to create your very own flower garden

Fall Garden Chores for Spring Flowering Bulbs
As the school busses begin to rumble down the road again we are reminded that the gardening season is drawing to a close. For the gardener with an eye toward next spring, however, the season still promises plenty to be done in preparation of a showy spring to come.

In Bloom: Manbury Home and Garden Accessories Unearths Garden Delights for Gorgeous Homes
Manbury Home and Garden Accessories now features a variety of attractive, practical garden solutions at www.manbury.nl, where consumers can peruse and purchase a variety of garden tools and accessories.

How to Choose the Right Bulbs for Your Spring Flower Garden
Choosing the right bulbs involves more than just selecting colors and cultivars. Timing, bulb size, and most importantly, bulb health are equally significant factors in designing your spring garden.