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You should consider a few facts prior to purchasing a Poconos Vacation Home. One out of three-10 homes sold in 2007-10 was a vacation home or investment property, indicating demand for second homes remained strong despite a slow housing market. The reasons for buying a second home are many and range from recreational and vacation enjoyment to investment to retirement planning.
Since it is a "buyer's market" in the Pocono Vacation Home market, now may be the time to buy that second home that you have been considering. Whether you're dreaming of a home that you will consider for relaxing or or for the long term growth in profit, start with considering these four steps:
Information Aout Second Home Onwership
Median age of vacation home buyers: 46 (baby boomers own 57 percent of all second homes)
Median household income: $99,100
Median price of second home $211,000
No. 1 reason for buying: Family retreat
No. 2 reason: Future primary residence
No. 1 location to buy: Within 2 hours of primary residence
Most popular type: detached single-family homes, followed by townhomes and condominiums
Most popular area: suburbs, followed by small towns, urban areas, resort and vacation areas
Vacation Home Buying Tips 1. Decide Your Main Reason For Buying a Vacation home
Most vacation home buyers want an active vacation spot, an sound rental investment property, a future retirement home or some combination of these. Before you begin to look, you should decide on the priority of these reasons and how the home will fit into your lifestyle along with a good idea of how often you will use the home.
2. Find And Work Closely with an Experiences Poconos Real Estate Agent.
For second home b working with a seasoned, knowledgable local Poconos real estate agent or broker is imperitive. Do not wait until you are here to set an appointment. The good ones will be booked days or weeks in advance. To get the best benifit of working with an agent, begin before you come, ask for a list of homes that meet a list of criteria that you create prior to a visit. This helps keep the emotionality out of the purchase and give the agent time to research all (including the last minute listings) the homes that might work for you.
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3. Get Mortgage Preapproval from Your Local Bank AND a Local Poconos Bank.
You will want to decide, in advance of looking, on the down payment and monthly payment you can afford. Even if you are counting on rental income to pay for a some of your mortgage, don't get in over your head. And a preapproval with help you convince the seller that you are serious. We can not tell you how many of our customers over the years have said " I wish I would have gone with a local Poconos Bank that knows the market and understands second home buyers." Most major banks and ALL mortgage brokers do second home mortgages as an after thought. This means they are unprepared on how to process them.
4. Talk to Your Accountant About How a Second Home will impact your taxes.
Usually second home ownership will help you defer taxes to the future and often at a lower tax rate. This is important to understand and may impact the price range of a vacation home purchase. For instance, if you rent your vacation home, but stay in it at least two weeks a year (or more than 10 percent of the time it was rented, whichever is longer), you can deduct your mortgage interest and property taxes. An investment property or a home that's rented out and never used for personal pleasure will be subject to different deduction standards, so check with an accountant.
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