Vacation Homes: Economic Issues

Vacation homes are really quite different from other types of residential real estate properties. However, they do share some of the problems. Let's concentrate on the economic issues.

Vacation homes are expensive, very expensive. Assuming you finance the purchase, you will have an additional set of mortgage payments to make. Plus you'll have a second set of taxes and insurance to pay. Then there are utilities, upkeep, homeowner's dues, fire protection and a number of other concerns.

Basically, from a strictly economic perspective, a second home mostly makes little financial sense. However, finances typically have little to do with the purchase, and at the same there can be great financial upside if you buy the right property at the right time, but realize that's a risk worth consideration.

Next, we'll consider Vacation Homes: Why Buy!

What About Buying a Vacation Home?

Vacation homes, whether real estate in Boca Raton, Florida, a luxury ocean front home in La Jolla, CA, riverfront condominiums in Hoboken, NJ or a property in VA Beach, used to be the exclusive realm of the famous and the rich. But times have changed. Today, vacation homes are increasingly important as the second home of many middle-income families. More and more people buy and enjoy vacation homes. Will you?

A vacation home can be a cabin in the woods or a condo in another city. It can be a big or small, fancy or plain. Spurred by the need to get away from the crowding of cities and lured by the thought of acquiring some potentially valuable land, many people have bought a vacation property. Almost always, however, it's a second home. Few of us have the time or resources to live year round at a vacation home.

Decide How a Home Fits Your Lifestyle

When buying a home in Virginia think about how you live and how the home fits your style:

• The flow of rooms: How would morning traffic move from bedroom to bathroom to bath to kitchen? Could one person go to bed early, or sleep in in the morning without being disturbed?



• Privacy: Some families live by the rule that every person needs a spot where they can be alone. Is there a spot like that for everyone?



• Gathering place: Is there a spot to fit the immediate family? The extended family? This could be the kitchen table, dining room, fireplace seating area, barbecue area, around a television set?



• Overnight guests Is there space or does the house provide an excuse to please, "Sorry, no room at the inn."

Think, too about the property and landscape that surround the home:

• Do you see green in the summer out the window? Is it important?



• Is there a night time view of lights? Do you like that?



• Is there room for a garden, a deck, a patio, a fence, a pool, a tennis court, a play yard for children?



• Can you see the sunset, the sunrise? If you have strong opinions about lighting and how the sun impacts the setting, then visit the home at various times of the day.

Start your search by previewing our new Va Beach real estate listings.

Realtors Working to Your Advantage

Thinking about buying a home, possibly selling your family estate and relocating to a waterfront property? Any of those options require a specialized service from a Virginia real estate agent that understands that particular niche.

Whether a buyers broker, a seller's agent and luxury home specialist, at Va Estates we have several agents fitting any one of those categories and more. As you consider your next option, consider what it means to work with a qualified VA Realtor that understands your particular situation and that can provide customized services that work to your advantage.

Holiday Slowdown, Primetime Opportunity

As the Virginia real estate market has slowed to an absolute lull here in the week before Christmas, there's truly not a buyer a stirring, not even a nibble. As everyone pushes and shoves their way through the shopping malls, sellers close their eyes, cross their fingers and close their eyes wish dear old Saint Nick might deliver them a home buyer for the New Year. Such a chill in the air for the sales that are so bare could present a perfect opportunity to make an offer and find yourself with a new home for the New Year.

Home Warranty Insurance

Whether selling a home or buying a new one, it is wise to consider a home insurance warranty. Such warranties offer protection for you and the buyer, covering repair or replacement costs for breakdowns to most major systems and built-in appliances for up to a year after the date of closing. In many states, there is no additional cost to sellers who provide coverage for their buyers, except for a small deductible if you make a claim. And when you consider the peace of mind that comes with knowing 24-hour emergency service is always a phone call away, it's hard to imagine a better investment.

Tidewater, Va Beach Properties Over 500K

One of the featured new sections at Virginia Estates.com is our $500k and over page, including some of the nicest VA Beach real estate property listings from the Tidewater area.

These are some of the area's most affordable upscale homes. Don't get me wrong, they are not cheap, but they offer a nice home for a reasonable price, that is without getting into the really upscale luxury homes over $1 million.

Plus we've added more properties to each page, so that's less scrolling and less clicks to see more properties.

Click here to see them now.

New Properties, New Areas

While I've been so involved in the discussing the sales process, negotiating and working with a Realtor, a lot has been going on behind the scenes at Virginia Estates. With an ever expanding area of Virginia Beach real estate offering and Tidewater, VA property listings, the site is growing faster than ever.

Originally focusing on properties set within the lush green foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in and around Charlottesville and Albemarle County, the company has continued to fulfill its vision of covering the entire Va real estate market.

With many waterfront and river paradise retreats for a second home and family vacation house as well as beachfront condominiums and townhomes for sale, the agents at Virginia Estates are now fully equipped to help you anywhere in the Tidewater region.

Many properties include outside balconies, decks, piers and beach or riverfront access.

Take an opportunity to peruse some of our fine Va Beach real estate listings...

Shrewd Bargaining Checklist

1. Always be prepared to walk away from the deal.
2. Set a top limit above which you will not go.
3. Try to be in a position to make an offer that is not iffy, i.e., hinges on something that is not likely to happen soon, like selling your home.
4. Do intelligence work on the seller.
5. Say as little as possible about yourself.
6. Do not be afraid to make a low first offer and do not allow a seller's agent to talk you out of doing it.
7. Be patient, nice and hide your emotions

Seller's Weaknesses

Well into the negotiations, you should know what some of the seller's weaknesses are, but you can create additional ones for the seller to swing the momentum your way. One way is to let it be known that you are considering buying another home in Virginia, which creates an artificial deadline for the seller.

Real estate agents do this to buyers all the time saying, "Someone else is going to make an offer, you had better make on if you want the home!" But if a Virginia real estate agent says this to you, just back off for a while. If the home sells to someone else in a few days, the there was another buyer, then there was obviously another buyer. If it doesn't, then you are still in business.

Regardless, the last thing you want to do is get involved in a bidding war and run up the price. But, what if, you say, "It's the home of my dreams?" At that point, you'll need to balance the dream versus the total expense, because in this case, dreams get expensive. Nevertheless, this is a valid consideration that has cost many emotional buyers money.

Another way to create a deadline for the seller is to write into your offer that it will expire after twenty-four hours. Such an offer not only puts pressure on the seller to act quickly and, hopefully, not too wisely. It also restricts the seller's ability to shop your offer to another buyer that also might be interested in the seller's home.

Finally, if the negotiations get bogged down, you might try making a final take-it-or-leave-it offer. If the seller or Virginia sales agent really thing you are going to walk away after all of the time and effort that they have put into you, each will start thinking about making additional concessions to get an arrangement.

At this time, with the seller present, it would not be out of line to suggest that a deal might be struck if the agent would cut the sales commission for the agent so that the price of the home can be lowered. You could also write a lower commission into your next offer, however please be aware that the seller may not have the guts to suggest or accept reducing the agent's commission. They might not even know that commission are indeed negotiable at this point in time.