Who doesn’t want to invest in a vacation home? For most investors, if it is the first time buying a second home, here’s a short introduction to buying a vacation home with answers to some common questions.

An estimated 1.13 million vacation homes (https://www.nar.realtor/blogs/economists-outlook/vacation-and-investment-home-sales-a-breakdown-for-2017) are sold in the US each year. That is a lot of waterfront houses! And why not? With the number of people affected by the workplace, political, and social stress having skyrocketed in the past decade, it’s no wonder so many have turned to buying a vacation home.

It’s likely that anyone reading the Keller Williams The Trembley Group Real Estate Blog knows Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand has a lot to offer. They’ve likely visited the area with their family. They know that the Grand Strand offers some of the best golfing and some of the cleanest and most beautiful beaches in America. Young professionals, growing families, and empty nesters all know the first-rate shopping and near-perfect weather that they can only experience in Myrtle Beach and along the Grand Strand and they’ve set down roots thanks to its relatively low cost of living.  The Grand Strand has communities that offer an atmosphere and environment to suit every taste. From Little River in the north to the family communities of Surfside Beach and Garden City Beach to “elegantly shabby” Pawleys Island to historic Georgetown, The Myrtle Beach area has something for everyone.

As a popular vacation destination, Myrtle Beach offers a high number of job opportunities for those in the tourism and hospitality industry. Even if their professions don’t revolve around the region’s visitors or transplants, Myrtle Beach residents benefit from living in a tourist haven. Those who live here have access to hundreds of quality restaurants, a variety of leisure activities and a jam-packed events calendar.

Residents also profit from the area’s pro-business atmosphere, propagated by low-income taxes and numerous incentives for growing companies. These perks make Myrtle Beach a great place to live and start a small business.

The vacation home buying experience can seem overwhelming, but the truth is, with a few simple considerations in mind and some great help from the experts, buying a vacation home get-away can be an absolute breeze!

For those already doing a little number crunching, or those who’ve started checking with some current vacation homeowners at their favorite Grand Strand beach or golf course, those folks have already started thinking about what it would take to own a Myrtle Beach vacation home.

When Keller Williams The Trembley Group Real Estate Experts talk to potential Myrtle Beach vacation home investors, they always start out discussing these five considerations.  They’re the issues that every vacation home buyer should keep in mind as they get started on a vacation home buying journey!

1. Understand the Costs

Anyone who thinks they’re ready to start looking for the vacation dream home has likely already figured out the home-owning process. Never-the-less, there are differences between owning a second home and a primary residence. It’s important to take the time to fully understand all the differences, especially the financial differences, associated with owning a second home.

As an investor begins their vacation home search, they should consider contacting a local real estate professional and lender in order to be absolutely certain of what they can afford. A lender can help calculate the combined overall costs of owning a primary home in combination with a fabulous new vacation home.

Keller Williams The Trembley Group is a company that was built on a customer service foundation. While on the surface, mortgage lenders pretty much appear to be the same, after all, mortgage rates and terms are set by the marketplace, many lenders might use the same source of mortgage money, and the mortgage guarantors of one bank are the same mortgage guarantors used by another. But it isn’t that simple. What sets one mortgage originator apart from the others is the level of customer service offered. The real estate professionals Keller Williams the Trembley Group have found a wide variation in the level of service offered by mortgage lenders.

Whether buying a first home or a vacation home, the mortgage professionals at Anderson Brothers Bank understand that any home is likely one of the largest investments most buyers will ever make. Like the Real Estate Professionals at Keller Williams The Trembley Group, Anderson Brothers Bank's experienced mortgage originators ask the right questions and are prepared to answer a borrower’s questions to help them down the path to vacation homeownership.

Anderson Brothers Bank can help homebuyers purchase a vacation home with a number of loan programs. They offer a variety of financing options, but in the eyes of the Keller Williams The Trembley Group Realtors, the most important thing they do is that they do what they promise, when they promise to do it. Homebuyers can count on them for flexible solutions and exceptional and personal customer service.

Although a lender’s calculations can be super helpful in establishing a budget and the affordability of a vacation home, there are personal costs that need to be factored in as well. A lender will not account for things like furnishing, HOAs, utilities, possible landscaping, or any of the other costs associated with getting settled in a new vacation home.

A vacation homebuyer may want to consider potential financial costs like a home security system and an emergency fund. It is vital to factor these into a vacation home budget.

Remember what an enormous and serious undertaking buying the first home was? Buying a vacation home should be approached with the same care and caution.

After all, your vacation home should be an investment in relaxation, right? Be sure the costs of owning a second home are fully understood before buying.

2. Set Priorities

Once a vacation home buyer takes the time to understand all the costs that will come with buying and owning a vacation property, the homebuyer needs to decide exactly what they’re looking for in a vacation home.

Vacation homebuyers used to spending every day in the crowded hustle and bustle of a city may be hoping for a comfortable seaside cottage with a deck overlooking the water. The family living in the Northeast might need enough space for the kids and the in-laws? Maybe they should consider that they’d get more space in a home a little further from the water. Maybe another couple’s passion is golf and there is nothing that could be better than living a short cart ride from the first tee.

Many decide to invest in a Myrtle Beach and Grand Strand vacation home because of all the great memories and their love for the area. Often, it simply makes fiscal sense for frequent tourists to purchase a property of their own, rather than spending huge amounts of money several weeks or weekends to rent out others’ properties that do not fully suit their needs.

A vacation home should make good financial sense but also make comfortable sense. Vacation home investors should find a Myrtle Beach and Grand Strand area that they love, then find a home within that area that they can love even more. It really is that simple!

Whatever kind of property a vacation home investor decides, they should take special care to consider how it suits their lifestyle and whether it is everything they were hoping for in a vacation home.

Owning a second home is a big commitment and should be a purchase with which the homebuyer is entirely satisfied.

3. Determine How to Use It

Anyone purchasing a vacation home will likely have a primary residence where they will spend most of their time, hauling kids to school, grocery shopping, and dragging themselves to work. Since the vacation home will unlikely be used every day of the week or even every weekend, it is important to determine exactly how the property will be used.

Will the vacation homeowner head to the beautiful Grand Strand from Columbia every Friday as soon as 5 o’clock hits? Or will they make the nine drive from Philadelphia every-other-month for a week and maybe two weeks in the summer? Or maybe the vacation homeowner is fortunate to be able to work remotely on the laptop from the deck overlooking the beach. Or maybe the vacation homeowner will you make trips to the property less-often because of a busy schedule?

Whatever the case, it really is important to decide how often the vacation home will be used.

Remember those costs of vacation homeownership? HOAs and property taxes do not go away, no matter how often or little the property owner visits the vacation home.

But, while covenants may not permit commercial rental for all properties, many do. That can be a great way to earn a portion of the mortgage and the other monthly expenses while the vacation homeowner is not using the property.

Keller Williams The Trembley Group Real Estate Professional are experts at all things Myrtle Beach and Grand Strand Real Estate. Consider talking to one and a lender about the possibility of renting the vacation home to tourists and other visitors when not there. If one home on the list of possible vacation homes and has a stronger rental history than others on the list, the information may become an important factor in deciding which property is the best investment.

Regardless of how a vacation home is ultimately used, the vacation homeowner needs to be certain that the property makes the most sense for the family and as an investment.

4. Get in Touch with the Right Specialist

One of the best ways to ensure a positive vacation home-buying experience is to get involved with the right home buying experts from the beginning.

Partnering a vacation home search with a good lender and real estate agent is a surefire way to streamline the process and reduce the stress associated with such an enormous financial undertaking. Never forget, after all, is said and done, vacation homebuyers are buying a beach home or golf course home so that they can relax!

Myrtle Beach vacation properties exist in a specialized market. That means finding the lender and Realtor that specializes in the market is vital.

Anderson Brothers Bank is comfortable and knowledgeable about appraisals in Myrtle Beach and along the Grand Strand. They understand the rental history of the different Grand Strand areas and they know the real estate growth trends in Myrtle Beach and the surrounding areas. The mortgage professionals at Anderson deliver what they promise when they promise to deliver it. They’re experienced working through appraisal issues and they’re able to breeze through tricky lending situations on their client’s behalf.

A Keller Williams The Trembley Group Realtor will work to clarify local taxes, transaction fees, and see the process through, beginning to end, when it comes to issues related to zoning and rental fees. They are full-time experts at everything Myrtle Beach real estate. The different vacation communities along the Grand Strand have different regulations when it comes to vacation properties. Hiring a Keller Williams The Trembley Group Real Estate Professional means hiring an expert who is already got a keen eye for all the real estate quirks in any particular Grand Strand area.

In addition to being an expert in a specific market, a Keller Williams The Trembley Group Real Estate expert provides help in structuring offers, negotiating sales, and generally guiding a Myrtle Beach vacation home search – relieving the stress of one of the largest financial transactions the vacation homebuyer will likely make.

5. And Finally, Find a Place to Love

Every Keller Williams The Trembley Group Real Estate Professional believes the most important aspect of the vacation home buying process is finding a vacation home to love. That should always be the Number one goal.

Vacation home buyers will, of course, need to consider the financial costs involved in purchasing a vacation home. They will need to determine exactly what they need in a home, as well as what, exactly, their intentions for the space are. Vacation home investors need to find a lender and a Real Estate Professional that will work hard to guide them along the way.

But most of all, they will need to find a vacation home that they love.

Some vacation home buyers found that drafting a list that detailed their your vacation home needs in one column, and your vacation home wants in the other was very helpful. What things that cannot be lived without? What things that it might be to compromise?

According to a recent study (https://www.inman.com/2017/08/03/homebuyers-on-inventory-affordability-and-buying-experience/), 44% of homebuyers are satisfied with their home buying experience, while 40% claim they are unhappy. 16% say they are indifferent in terms of their satisfaction with their home buying experience.

Most people, especially those with the means to purchase a vacation home, work hard to earn their money and value their personal time. So, why should they invest the time, energy, and money into buying a vacation home if they are going to just join the 56% of buyers who were sort of blah about their home buying experience and their brand new vacation home?

Vacation home buyers should allow enough time to find the perfect home. Some house hunts take longer than planned, but in the end, they are often worth the wait.

When seeking out a vacation home where you will have the freedom and comfort to relax, sunbathe, and make memories, commit to the vacation home buying experience and come away with a place you will love for years to come.

Want More Information on Buying a Vacation Home?

Well, yes, Keller Williams The Trembley Group Real Estate Professionals are not surprised! The thought of having a place where you can go and relax is just too appealing.

The process of buying a vacation home can seem overwhelming and a little scary, but the fact is, it is a lot simpler, safer, and more enjoyable than most think, especially when they have the expert advice of a Real Estate Professional at Keller Williams The Trembley Group and the professionals mortgage loan professionals at Anderson Brothers Bank.  

Whether a vacation home buyer is ready to pull the trigger on a gorgeous oceanfront cottage or just wants to talk about starting the process, Give us a call and let’s get excited about all the possibilities when it comes to buying a vacation home!

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