4 Reasons for Seniors to Rent Their Vacation Properties
Posted by Allison Simson on Tuesday, October 28, 2008 at 12:00 AM
By Allison Simson / October 28, 2008
Comment
4 Reasons for Seniors to Rent Their Vacation Properties
RISMEDIA, August 14, 2008-It seemed like a great idea twenty years ago-you’d buy that condo in Frisco, vacation there as often as possible, then someday sell your primary residence and spend your Golden Years basking on the slopes. Now, “someday” is here and-lo and behold-you’ve changed your mind. You’d hate to sell your vacation getaway, but keeping up two homes has gotten too pricey for comfort. Is there a solution?”Absolutely yes,” says Christine Karpinski, author of How to Rent Vacation Properties by Owner, 2nd Edition: The Complete Guide to Buy, Manage, Furnish, Rent, Maintain and Advertise Your Vacation Rental Investment. “Renting out your vacation home allows you to have your cake and eat it, too. And the good news is, it’s easy to do it yourself-not to mention surprisingly lucrative.”
If you’re a second homeowner, Karpinski offers five reasons why you might consider renting out your vacation home:
1. Circumstances have changed since you made your retirement plans. Maybe grandchildren have arrived on the scene and you can’t bear the thought of moving hundreds of miles away from them. Or your parents are in poor health and need you nearby. Or your spouse has passed away and retiring in the Mountains was his idea, not yours. Regardless of specifics, your life bears no resemblance to what you thought it would look like back when you made your retirement plans.
“Life rarely turns out to look like we thought it was going to look,” notes Karpinski. “That’s okay. Some of the happiest, most successful people I’ve met during my years working in this field never dreamed they would rent out their vacation home, and yet once they tried it they love doing it. It pays to be flexible and keep your options open.”
2. You’ve suddenly realized there’s no place like home. Maybe there are no dramatic life circumstances keeping you from moving to your “dream destination.” Maybe you’ve simply changed your mind. You’ve decided you like being near your friends, you don’t want to leave your church or synagogue, and your Tuesday lunch with “the girls” or Thursday Bridge night with “the guys” is a tradition you just don’t want to give up. Renting your second home out during the time you are not staying there makes it financially feasible to keep both homes.
3. You’ve decided to “retire” from retirement. It is not unusual for people to test-drive retirement and find that it’s just not for them. Work can provide many rich rewards-structure, social interaction, mental stimulation, a sense of purpose, and so forth-that people keenly miss when they retire. And when they discover that quitting “the rat race” isn’t quite what they thought it would be, more and more people are opting to return to the workplace. And (let’s be honest), sometimes people simply can’t afford to retire.
“When people decide to postpone retirement, they may also postpone moving to their retirement home,” says Karpinski. “Even if they do retire and then rejoin the workforce either full-time or part-time, they may not want to live in the city they associate with retirement. It’s a psychological thing. And so, in these cases, it’s better to keep the vacation home a vacation home. Renting it out allows them to do that.”
4. Your fixed income hasn’t kept up with your lifestyle. Admit it. Even when you’re happy to give up the daily grind of your job, losing the paycheck that comes with it can be pretty painful. Factor in inflation, rising taxes, and unexpected “new” expenses, and you may find that what seemed like a manageable cost of living five years ago doesn’t seem that way anymore. Your second home, even if it’s paid for, may start looking like a liability due to property taxes, homeowner’s association dues, and maintenance costs. Not if you rent it out, says Karpinski. Then it becomes a source of new income.
“If you have a mortgage on your second home, renting it out only seventeen weeks will cover your mortgage payments for an entire year,” she says. “If it’s paid for free and clear, only five off-week rentals will cover costs like bills for your phone, power, cable, and association dues. All the rest is profit! When you consider that in some markets you can earn as much as $20K-30K in rental revenue per year from your vacation home, you’re looking at a nice ‘raise’ for yourself.”
And here’s a surprise: people who try renting by owner often end up liking it so much that they pour their earnings into another vacation home. In fact, a recent survey by the National Association of Realtors® found that some 55% of vacation home buyers said they were likely to purchase another property within two years.
“Who knows-becoming a vacation rental property owner may become your encore career,” says Karpinski. “Buying and renting out vacation homes is addictive. I’ve done this for years and I can’t imagine ever not doing it. It’s more than a way to make money. It’s a richly rewarding way of life-at any age.”
For answers to your real estate questions, call Allison at 970-468-6800. Email - [email protected]. Allison is a long time local in Summit County. Summit Real Estate – The Simson/Nenninger Team is located at the Dillon Ridge Marketplace. Allison’s long-time residency and years of real estate experience can help you make the most of any buying or selling situation. She’s a Certified Residential Specialist (CRS), the highest designation awarded to a Realtor in the residential sales field. Her philosophy is simple, whether buying or selling, she understands that the most important real estate transaction is yours. Want to know the value of your Summit County property? Visit www.SummitHomeValue.com
Post a Comment