Owning a vacation home is a wonderful asset, both financially and emotionally.
On the financial side a statement is made that says "Hey, I am doing well and can afford a vacation home." You have worked hard, earned a great living and decided to invest in something concrete that could be shared with family and friends.
The emotional side, what can I say. A lakefront home is something that you will be talking about. Your children, your grandchildren, all of your relatives, your friends, your guests for special events and of course, the chosen ones from your work environment will all be talking about this special place. Memories will be made here that will be cherished forever. The swimming lessons, the canoe tipping over, the first fish caught by your grandson, your puppy barking at the waves,these are just a few of the examples of special moments.
So now you decide to sell your lakefront home in the Finger Lakes. You start looking at different companies and their approaches to marketing your property. A couple of companies will talk to you about the advantages of listing with them, they will also put your home in a property management program and rent your home out for you. This will give you cash flow until the right buyer comes along.
Whoa, stop right there...consider the disadvantages as well. For instance, it is quite difficult to sell your property when it can not be shown. This is what happens if your property becomes popular with the renters and it is continually booked up. It is very difficult to reach the renters when they are vacationing, the property management staff do not like contacting the renters to let them know someone would like to go through the property while they are there and the agents have a hard time receiving keys for the property. So when the client asks" Is my property not selling because of the market? " You will respond, possibly, but more so because people will not buy a property unless they can see it.
The other issue comes up with maintenance. When you the owner and your family are the only ones to utilize, there is a tendency to keep it maintained and updated. On the other hand if it is in a rental program, you never see it but once or twice a year and all of those little things go unnoticed one day you realize there are numerous little things to correct. And that usually comes up with a home inspection by a prospective buyer.
Information about the Finger Lakes brought to you by Mary St George a Lakefront Property Specialist
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