Perfect City for Your Vacation Home? Try Ocean City MD - We Have It All :)

How to Choose the Perfect City for Your Vacation Home

       

RISMEDIA, Thursday, October 29, 2015— Purchasing a vacation home is a great way to ensure that you always have a place to escape, without worrying about crammed hotel rooms and the inconvenience of living out of a suitcase for a week. When you own a vacation home, you can pack and leave at your convenience, because you always have a home away from home ready for you to utilize. If buying a vacation home appeals to you, you will need to choose the right location to ensure that the home remains a valuable, welcome part of your family. Here are some factors to consider as you make the decision.

Convenience to Your Home

First, determine if the location is convenient enough to make a vacation home appealing. How close is the vacation destination to your home? While it is great to "get away," the reality is that you may not wish to fly every time the opportunity to go on vacation arises. Especially with the rising cost of airline tickets, you may wish to choose a location within a short drive of your home.

Of course, sometimes driving is not an option. If you long for the convenience of a tropical retreat, but you live in the mountains of North Dakota, then go ahead and purchase somewhere tropical. However, before you do, check your local airport to ensure that regular flights are available.

Ongoing Appeal

Your vacation home is an investment that you will use year after year. Before you buy, make sure the area has staying power for your family. You need to buy in an area where your family will want to go annually for vacation. No matter how appealing an area may be the first two or three times you visit, you are investing in years of vacation. Is there really enough for your family to do to be interested long term?

The answer to this question is going to depend largely on your family's vacation style. If you are a lounge-on-the-beach-and-do-nothing type of vacationer, then a cabin on the beach in a remote area is ideal. If you like to see sights and do activities, then you will want to ensure that the city or town nearby has plenty to keep you interested — or even that the vacation home is located near a major amusement park or big city.

Potential Rental Income

Another consideration is what you will do with your vacation home when you are not using it. Do you want to rent out your property to earn some income when you are not using it? While the majority of vacation homeowners do not choose to rent out their property, if you think you may want this option, you will need to buy in a popular destination where vacationing is common. Consider shopping near the mountains, ocean, a lake or a river.

Potential Investment Value

Vacation homes are, at their most basic level, an investment. Evaluate the location to determine if it will be a wise investment with growing value.

In 2014, the number of vacation home sales rose by 57 percent, which is a peak since 2006, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. The vacation-home market accounted for a full 21 percent of the homes sold that year as well. This means there is currently a strong market for vacation properties.

Yet that does not mean a strong market will remain for your vacation property. For that information, you will need to research the area where you are buying with the help of a skilled real estate agent. Choose an area where sales prices are on the way up and where a continuing demand for real estate is projected in the coming years.

Family Interest

Finally, find out what your family thinks. Do they picture themselves vacationing with you, annually, in the same spot? Does the city have enough to appeal to them as well as you? Remember when buying a vacation home you are purchasing your family's memories for years to come. Make sure those memories are tied to a location everyone loves.

With a vacation home, you can build the memories that your family will cherish for a lifetime, and you will also be able to invest in your future financial security. Choose your location wisely, and you will find a vacation home is a welcome addition to your family.

This article was originally published on RISMedia's blog, Housecall. Check the blog daily for more winning real estate tips and trends for you and your clients.

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BUYERS: 5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Getting an Appraisal

5 questions you must ask yourself before getting an appraisal

October 25, 2013 By Tom Horn  Birmingham Appraisal blog

I had a reader email me a question last week asking why they should get an appraisal on their home, and I want to share with you the answer I gave them with the hope that it can help you make a similar decision. This person asked me “Why do I need to get an appraisal, I don’t want to have to pay for one”? In their particular situation a family member had died and left a home to the family. They wanted to sell it and needed to know what to ask. Some situations require you to get an appraisal such as when you buy or refinance a home, and you usually do not have a say so in the decision, however there are other times when you can make the decision yourself.

I told the person to ask themselves these 5 questions to help them.

1. Do I have access to a recent appraisal? The owner may have had a recent appraisal done on the home that could be used, such as with a refinance or a recent purchase. A recent appraisal can give you a good estimate of value if the real estate market hasn’t changed much since it was done, and if this is the case I wouldn’t recommend getting a new one.
2. Can I get information on home sales in my neighborhood, and if so are the homes very similar to my house? Some neighborhoods are what we call cookie cutters, meaning that they are all very similar in age, style, size, and appeal. If this is the case, and there have been recent sales and some current listings, then you may be able to estimate the value on you own. You can read more about doing this on a past post I wrote.
3. If I get an appraisal will the cost be offset by the money saved? I recently did an appraisal on a home a person was buying. They were not getting a loan from a bank so they did not have to get the appraisal, however they wanted to know if they were paying the right price. The appraisal value came in approximately $15,000 lower than the contract amount! The cost of an appraisal varies across the country, but in the Birmingham, Alabama area the average is about $350-$450 for a typical house. Would you pay this to save $15,000?
4. If I don’t get an appraisal will it prevent me from selling my home in a reasonable amount of time? This is related to #3 because it compares the additional cost you may have to pay if you don’t get an appraisal. By asking yourself this question you take into consideration the cost of holding on to the house for an extended period of time. If you price your home too high, and it takes 4 months longer to sell than if you had priced it more competitively with the market, then this additional cost must be weighed against the cost of the appraisal. If your mortgage payment is $1,000 then this additional cost would be $4,000, which would be about 10 times the cost of the  appraisal we discussed previously. You need to determine if this is a good return on your investment.
5. Am I committed to actually using the appraisal? Some people get an appraisal but will not use the value estimate to set a list price because they don’t like the value. Sounds crazy, huh? Why pay for an appraisal if you’re not going to use it? People allow their emotions to take over and ignore the value arrived at by a professional and unbiased appraiser. The appraiser is trained to be unbiased and provide a report that reflects the local market. If used correctly the appraisal will help you price your home to the market so it sells in a reasonable amount of time for the what the market will support.

If you have read through these five questions and decided that an appraisal can help you sell your home, please give me a call. I can answer any other questions you may have-no strings attached. I am committed to helping homeowners sell their home by pricing it properly and look forward to speaking with you.

Read more http://birminghamappraisalblog.com/appraisal/5-questions-you-must-ask-yourself-before-getting-an-appraisal/

Money Saving Maintenance Tips for Rental Properties

By Silvia Englert, General Manager at Houserie.com

RISMEDIA, Wednesday, August 05, 2015— One of your responsibilities as a landlord is to take care of maintenance and repair issues in your rental. Regular maintenance can help you catch small problems before they turn into big expansive problems and will in the long run save you lots of money, time and reduce the number of tenant complaints!         Buying A Home VS Renting: Weigh All the Factors   consider options when looking at beach resort real estate.  Ask Long & Foster Real Estate - Ocean City for advice on the local market.   Visit:   http://www.susanantigone.com/ Here are some maintenance tips that can save you money: 1. Test all smoke and carbon monoxide detectors regularly.  Set a regular schedule to test all detectors. Also be aware that the average lifespan of a carbon monoxide detector is five years, and of most smoke alarms 10 years. Replace according to manufacturer recommendations. These devices save lives and can help minimizing damage by alerting people when there is a fire! Be aware that if these devices are not in working order, you can face legal action.  2. Have a thorough electrical inspection done by a qualified technician at least once every 10 years. This inspection will reveal any problems with unsafe wiring and circuits that could cause an electrical fire. In addition, if your rental unit comes with appliances, make sure that these are in good working order before new tenants move into the property. 3. Check for water damage and leaks. Check for leaks and soft spots after heavy rain storms. Also look for signs of water around windows, showers, and toilets and check under sinks, boilers, and water heaters. Identifying water leaks early can prevent major damage to walls, ceilings, and a tenant’s possessions. It also prevents dangerous mold! 4. Inspect shower caulking and grout between tiles. Wear and tear on bathroom and kitchen surfaces can result in mold and even cracking of tiles. Prevent any moisture or mold from getting below the surface by making sure the areas around tiles, tubs and sinks are sealed. 5. Inspect and treat for pests on a regular basis. Even if you do not currently have a pest problem, you should exterminate on a regular basis to prevent such problems from occurring. Tenants hate seeing bugs in their home and keeping up with pest control will prevent a larger pest problem later on. In addition, regular termite inspections should be performed as well. Pest control is usually best left to a professional. 6. Inspect heating and air conditioning systems regularly and replace air filters more often. Heating or air-conditioning systems should be inspected at least once a year. This will help to ensure that such systems are able to run safely, as well as efficiently. Filters should be replaced regularly at least a couple of times a year. A simple $15 filter for a furnace or air conditioner can potentially save a landlord thousands of dollars in repairs. Dirty filters can increase your utility bill by causing the system to work harder or can lead to malfunctions in the systems. Replacing the filter will help prevent the air duct from becoming contaminated. If clogged, the ducts will need to be professionally cleaned, and that is an expense you do not want to incur. 7. Paint your property before damage occurs. Painting inside and out does not only make your property look better but it can actually help to prevent water damage, mold and rot. If you have noticed that the paint on your property has started to peel, paint immediately! 8. Flush your water heater. Once or twice a year, you should drain and flush your property’s water heater. This needs to be done to remove the sediment that can build up in your unit which can reduce the efficiency of your water heater and clog the drain valve. Replacing a water heater is expensive!  By spending a little time and money now to perform property maintenance, you can save yourself a lot of time and money in the future. Another way to save money in the long run as a landlord is to perform a comprehensive tenant background screening on every prospective tenant. For more Information, please visit www.houserie.com, follow and like us onFacebook or visit our Landlord Blogs. RISMedia welcomes your questions and co