| How would you like to retire to your own vacation | | | | accommodations in hotel, motel, or resort facilities is |
| home where you can play golf, garden, go to the | | | | increasing. |
| beach, enjoy the mountains, or do whatever suits | | | | You will have to do your homework, however. You |
| your fancy? There are dozens of retirement | | | | want to review the markets where demand for |
| communities in vacation spots but many people still | | | | rentals is high and inventory is currently low. A few |
| want the standalone independence and comfort of | | | | suggested areas where you could start doing your |
| their own single-family home in a regular residential | | | | research are Sunny Isles Beach Florida, Hampton |
| neighborhood. | | | | Beach New Hampshire, Atlantic City New Jersey and |
| With both real estate prices and mortgage rates as | | | | Dauphin Island in Alabama. There are others of |
| low as they have been in many years, now may be | | | | course but once you get a feel for the flavor of the |
| a real good time to look at investing in a second | | | | areas that vacationers are looking for rents you will |
| home that could become your retirement home | | | | be able to expand your search parameters rather |
| when you decide to pack it in. If you choose the | | | | easily. |
| location of your investment home wisely you will be | | | | Talk to your accountant about the tax advantages |
| able to rent it out on a weekly, monthly, or seasonal | | | | of owning and renting a vacation home and how it |
| basis to vacationers looking for accommodations in | | | | would affect your current tax obligations. All of the |
| that area. | | | | expenses of owning and operating a vacation home |
| The rental income can significantly offset the cost of | | | | are deductible, and include things like insurance, |
| ownership and maybe even make your future | | | | utilities, maintenance, repairs, and depreciation. Of |
| retirement home a positive cash flow situation after | | | | course owning a vacation home as an investment is a |
| taking into affect the tax write-off that you get for | | | | business too. You may have to advertise to attract |
| depreciation and the deductions for maintenance and | | | | renters, and you'll either have to make yourself |
| repairs that you make on the property, all of which | | | | available, or have reliable service people on hand near |
| will make your life more comfortable at some time in | | | | the property to do repairs when the need arises. |
| the future too. | | | | Depending on how long you have until retirement, the |
| According to statistics provided by experts in the | | | | amount of the mortgage on your vacation home, |
| vacation rental market the average vacation home | | | | and the income that you can get from it, you may |
| rents out for about 17 weeks of the year and | | | | be able to move into your retirement home and get |
| generates about $28,000 in rental income. Those are | | | | a reverse mortgage big enough to pay off the |
| average statistics of course and you're results could | | | | remaining conventional mortgage balance on the |
| vary significantly depending on the size of the home, | | | | home and let you retire mortgage and rent free for |
| its condition, and its location in a prime vacation spot. | | | | the rest of your life or as long as you stay in that |
| The good news is that the percentage of | | | | house. |
| vacationers looking for rental homes instead of | | | | |