A Guide to Moving to Fort Myers
There are many important facets to consider when deciding whether to purchase a second home in an area you like to spend your holidays or summers, like Florida.
While it does make your stays much easier and more personalized, you also have the rest of the year to think about! Part of homeownership means understanding the commitment and choosing the best investment.
My colleague, Brandon Paton, and I have compiled some of our top tips we share when homebuyers ask us questions about buying a vacation home in Florida!
Should I Buy a Vacation Home?
You should weigh your current finances, travel abilities (with work and other commitments), logistics, and willingness to commit to maintaining two homes before making your decision.
A second home will require work to keep up to snuff with regular maintenance, to protect from various weather elements, to pay bills, and to decorate.
It’s also key to critically assess your yearly plans and engagements. Will you have the time to regularly visit your vacation home and thoroughly enjoy it?
Experienced real estate agent Chuck Vander Stelt offered the following advice in a US News interview for anyone thinking about taking the second-home leap:
"It is feasible to buy a second home if you are really going to get meaningful usage out of the home. If having the second home will improve the quality of your life, you should buy one.
"If you will only ever get to use the home less than 30 days of the year, stick to renting other people's properties. Let them pay the taxes, maintenance, insurance, and mortgage."
Something else to consider is if you want to visit this spot for the majority of your vacations. If you’re well-traveled and have settled on Florida as your happy place (we couldn’t agree more!), buying a vacation home here is an excellent move!
Where Are the Best Places in Florida to Buy a Vacation Home?
Some of the top areas for vacation homes in Florida would be Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa Bay, or in the panhandle (Pensacola area).
Orlando and Tampa are both centrally located within the state, making it very easy to travel throughout Florida for fun day trips, and both provide a number of surrounding-area options to keep you close to all the action. Check out the best places to live in the Orlando area.
It’s all about what’s important to you: whether want to be close to the beach, amusement parks, family, lakes, recreation, etc.
What Would I Need to Do to Maintain a Vacation Home Throughout the Year?
As a vacation homeowner, you’ll need to ensure you have a property manager or someone nearby to check on the home year-round in case of any issues while you aren’t there.
It also helps to have more smart home features so you can control features of the home (such as A/C, lights, etc.) from anywhere at any time.
Finally, make sure you’re able to visit your home regularly enough to take care of all seasonal maintenance needed to keep this oasis beautiful and ready to unwind and make wonderful memories in!
Here’s a summary of what to remember as you decide to buy a vacation home:
- Make sure it’s in a location you’ll truly enjoy visiting and living for a portion of the year.
- If you are looking to rent out the space for other times during the year, ensure you know any HOA restrictions and what is allowed for the community you decide to purchase in.
- Choose a community that includes the amenities or features on your must-have list for a vacation home, like a community clubhouse, private pool, pickleball courts, etc.
We’re here to help you find your dream vacation home in Florida! Contact us today to get started.
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