If you've long dreamt of owning an oceanfront house, beach cottage or other second home to while away your leisure time, stop dreaming. With family incomes up, mortgage rates down and resort-real-estate prices depressed because of worries about possible changes in the tax treatment of vacation get-aways, this may be the best time in years to hang out that "Home Sweet Second Home" sign.

Contrary to the popular image of a Charlotte County NB second home as a luxury that only the rich can afford, a weekend or vacation retreat in [Profile.market11] is within financial reach of many middle-class families. There are about several million second-home owners in this country, with a range of value of all types of second homes.

Location, always a key factor in the way real estate is priced, can count for even more when it comes to vacation homes.

Experts say that the soundest investments in the Passamaquoddy region are second homes are along the ocean where the supply of oceanfront housing is limited. Anything that's near something man-made has a lesser potential for appreciation than anything that is close to a God-given feature like the Bay of Fundy.

Even modest houses in resort areas like St. Andrews-by-the-Sea those here in [Profile.market11] can command huge premiums. Those in less fashionable but still attractive spots can be great buys.

Access to recreational facilities is another consideration in how resort homes are priced. Many developments are jammed with extras such as tennis courts, swimming pools, hot tubs and more.

Shopping for a Southwestern New Brunswick vacation home in many ways is no different from buying a principal residence. In either case, it's important to check the reputation of the builder and to price comparable homes. If you're buying a condominium, it's crucial to scrutinize the condo association's operating budget. There should be funds set aside for capital repairs, for instance. Some condo owners may scrimp on improvements, figuring they will have unloaded their units before a structural problem -- say a leaky roof -- becomes evident.

Since access to recreation rather than shelter is the main reason that many people buy Charlotte County NB vacation homes, keep in mind that factors such as the size of bedrooms may not be as important as they are in your primary residence.

Be sure to examine construction for both its quality and its suitability to the site. Ocean homes should be built of wood. They will weather beach conditions much better than brick houses.

Find out the zoning regulations in the area of your prospective second home. If you are buying a retreat for its bucolic setting, you don't want someone building an office building nearby. Also, if you want to renovate or expand someday, you don't want to be limited by onerous restrictions.

In the end, the kind of vacation home in [Profile.market11] will be limited by what you can afford. But if the experts are right, the current combination of choice and price may not recur for quite a long time.

There is a lot of free information available to you about buying, selling or investing in [Profile.market11] real estate. For complete information about the [Profile.market11] real estate market including current homes for sale, and more please visit the most complete website online dedicated to everything [Profile.market11] real estate.

Comments

Printer version

 Tags: Southwestern New Brunswick Real Estate, Charlotte County NB, St. Andrews NB, Vacation Homes

Article's Author

Cheryll Carter
Charlotte County Online.com
Vineyard Haven, MA

Contact Cheryll Carter