When Good Renovations Go Bad

It is common sense to think that if you fix up your place, maybe add a little more counter space in the kitchen or maybe another bathroom, you’ll be able to sell your home for more than you bought it for. And in most cases, you would be right. But in a recent study done by Remodelling Magazine, there are some renovations that can actually cost you money and hurt the value of your house.

One of the biggest signs in today’s world that you’ve “made it” is the back yard pool. Maybe no other home improvement screams to the world that you’ve reached a level of financial security that you’re comfortable with like a pool. Well, not everyone feels the same way. Studies done in Florida and Arizona show that having a pool is still a big part in building equity in your property. But what about the rest of the country? How about places where it isn’t warm year-round? It turns out that a pool can work against you in parts of the country that have four seasons. The cost of upkeep and insurance are the main turnoffs. But there is one other turnoff, too. The risks of raising young children in a home that has a pool has become a red flag for many new parents. The fear of a drowning accident is very real for many, and the presence of a pool can turn a first-time home buyer away from your property.

Be careful when you try to get too trendy when you go to remodel. An extremely important point to remember is that while you may think a special touch is cool and fashionable, the people coming to look at your house may not think so. And while most remodel touches can be changed, you may have a hard time talking a prospective buyer into that. If you are not completely sure that the house you’re living in isn’t going to be the house you die in, try to make any remodelling touches neutral so that if the time comes to sell, you won’t regret what you did.

A final risk to avoid is the Jacuzzi tub. While you may have the time to sit in a hot tub for an hour a day, most people don’t, and most people won’t use it. You would be better off with an elaborate shower system than a big, fancy bathtub.

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When Disaster Strikes: Keeping Your Investment Safe

Once you’ve finished searching for that real estate investment of a lifetime, you’ve gone to the open houses, you’ve gotten the financing, made an offer, sat at home worrying if it’s going to be accepted, had the celebratory dinner once it was and then moved in, you’re faced with the chore of protecting it. The number of threats that your property faces can be staggering. It’s not just termites and crude neighbours that are looking to sink your land value, natural disasters are a part of owning land, too.

It doesn’t seem to matter where you live in North America, there is a natural disaster with your name on it. The south has their hurricanes, the northeast and Midwest has blizzards and the west has earthquakes. A quake is the most sinister of all natural disasters. People in the rest of the country can see a hurricane and blizzard coming days, sometimes even weeks away and properly prepare their property for the coming storm. With quakes, there is no warning (usually), there is no report on the news that morning saying you’re scheduled to get one. They just happen. So, how can you protect your investment from getting a bad case of the shakes? Here are a few tips.

A good first step would be to pick up the phone or log onto the company that carries your home insurance. Almost no homeowners policies cover earthquakes. If you have the extra cash every month, earthquake insurance is a very good idea, but be warned, it is considered catastrophic insurance, so the deductible is going to be very high, usually between 10-15 percent of the amount of your policy. It’s still a good thing to have. Check the website of the US Geological Survey to see if you live in a high enough risk area to warrant extra insurance.

A quick quake-proofing of your home is another good idea. This won’ so much protect your house as it will protect you if one strikes. Use latches to keep cabinets closed, always make sure you have fresh water around and working batteries in all flashlights. These are common sense steps that anyone who lives in any sort of disaster area should follow, whether it be earthquakes, hurricanes or blizzards.

A final step to safeguard your home is to know where your utilities shut offs are. Fires are common after earthquakes and you’ll want to know where your gas main shut off valve is so that you can turn it off and hopefully keep your house safe after a major quake. Also, do not turn the gas back on until you are told it’s safe to do so.

Keeping your investment safe from natural disasters can seem impossible, but with a little common sense planning, you can minimize the damage.

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Tips for a Smooth House Purchase

Making the decision to buy your own home can be one of the most stressful but rewarding choices of all. If you’re a first time buyer, the entire process can seem very intimidating. A few common sense tips can help you ease your way through it much easier.

First off, go visit your local library and borrow a few books on basic real estate principals. Make a sincere attempt at learning the jargon associated with the real estate process, so once you’re sitting in a meeting with a seller, a real estate agent and a bank officer, you’ll have a better idea of what everyone is talking about.

Second, know what the difference is between “pre-qualified not pre-approved”, “pre-qualified” and “pre-approved”. Sound confusing? It can be. It all relates to how serious of a buyer you are. If you’re “pre-approved not pre-approved” it simply means that you have given a letter to a potential seller that you can afford their property. It’s nice, but it doesn’t mean much. If you’re “pre-qualified” it means that you have a letter from a mortgage broker saying what he thinks you can afford. This is better than not having a letter, but you can do better still. If you’re “pre-approved” it means that you not only have a letter from a broker, but everything in the letter was shown to be true by a lender and most of the work for a loan has already been done. You’ll have a MUCH better chance of getting the house you want if you’re “pre-approved” than if you are only on one of the other stages.

Choose the right lender. One of the phrases you’re bound to get sick of hearing when you’re thinking about buying a home is, “do the research!!” This can’t be emphasized enough since banks offer different rates across the board. The more banks you visit, the better the chances are of you getting a better deal.

Make sure that you plan for possible delays in processing. Any business that deals in red tape is going to have problems getting things done on time. Real estate purchases are no different, so make sure you factor these likely problems into your plans.

While none of these tips are fool proof, they can help you through a very stressful time. No doubt you will still have times where you feel like putting your fist through a wall, but a little common sense goes a long way when dealing with real estate, and the more you know, the better off you’ll be.

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The Prediction Game

While discussion on the state of the current US housing market is pretty much finished, experts have turned their attention from Is the housing market falling to Where is it going to fall first? And hardest?

There are many methods to predicting, and while none of them can even be qualified as scientific, there are trusted voices in the din that people look to to see a glimpse of what might happen with real estate markets around the country.

Mark Zandi is one of those voices. He works for Moody’seconomy.com, and he has taken it upon himself to attempt to formulate a prediction as to which housing markets are doomed and which may get off easy.

The results? Zandi predicts dire results in Cape Coral, Florida, where he sees a decline in home values of almost 19 percent. Reno, Nevada will be hard hit as well, with a predicted 17% drop in housing prices. Stockton, California will also be creamed, suffering from a 15% drop. How did Zandi come up with these numbers? His recipe consisted of a few heaping helpings of supply and demand, a generous serving of changes in local mortgage rates, a smidge of demographic trends, a teaspoon of job market analysis and a pinch of new housing numbers.

A second, and far less analytical prediction method is floating around, too. Traders at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange can actually trade real estate futures in ten different housing markets. Their findings? San Diego will be the hardest hit, with declines around 8 percent. Los Angeles won’t be much better off, with an expected decline in value of just under 7 percent. Las Vegas, which many people see as being over valued because of the endless influx of new residents in the last 20 years, is predicted to see a drop of almost 8 percent.

There were several areas where the two predictions matched. Both predicted almost the exact same decline in San Diego and in Washington D.C.

But there were also major differences. Boston, which has already been taking the brunt of the current housing market is predicted by Zandi to only see an increase of just over 2 percent in value lost. The CME traders, however, see a continued decline of 7 percent.

While no one knows for sure what’s going to happen, the one thing pretty much everyone agrees on now is that the market is headed south. The best choice might be to just hang onto that property until things start going your way again, but it’s anyone’s prediction as to how long that is going to be.

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The Incredible Falling Mortgage Rate

Of all the factors that helped push the recent real estate boom of the last 5 years, low mortgage rates were perhaps the biggest. A recent climb in mortgage rates was also thought to be one of the big reasons the market can cooled so quickly. But with recent economic news showing a drop in rates, does that mean the bust is coming to a premature end?

Not so fast say the experts. Housing inventories are through the roof across the United States, and sales are down in most of those same markets. Recent rate news is good, however, with mortgage rates peeking in July of 2006 at 6.79 percent for a fixed mortgage (30-year), while rates in mid-October have slid to 6.40 percent. While that may be cause for relief on the surface, if you take a look at where rates were last year at the same time, they are up from 5.8 percent.

Rates were at their lowest in the last 5 years during June of 2003 when they sat at 5.2 percent.

The reason the mortgage rate has such an impact on housing sales is because the rate has direct bearing on how much a person’s mortgage payment is going to be. The higher the rate, the more the payment and vice versa. Most industry experts believe, however, that if the mortgage rate continues to fall and return to its 2003 lows, the housing market will recover nationwide sooner rather than later.

Many experts, however, point to the longer trend in mortgage rates and point out that while rates are up a bit over the last three years, they are still extremely low compared to trends in the last 50 years.

Adding to the pessimism is the absolute glut of inventory on the market right now. There is an increase of almost 40 percent in inventory available compared to last year, and while lower interest rates may persuade first-time buyers to take the leap, it’s convincing those that helped fuel the boom the last five years (people that bought homes for either investment purposes and people buying second homes) to re-enter the market. This, as they say, is easier said than done.

Taking a broad view, the mortgage rate is an essential part of a healthy real estate market. But its impact can be overstated. There any many other factors that would need to line up for the current housing slump to evaporate. If some of those other factors can line up, than a lower mortgage rate can help lead the real estate market back to the promise land.

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Should you Refinance?

For homeowners, a great way to get some quick cash is with a home refinance loan. They are usually easy to get based on the amount of home equity you have and they are usually at a lower interest rate than most credit cards, making them idea for debt consolidation and paying for college for the kids. But with the recent hikes in mortgage rates, is it still a good choice or would you be better off seeking extra cash from other avenues?

The first step in seeing if a refinance is right for you is to take a look at your current mortgage. The Federal Reserve has raised rates 15 consecutive times, and if you already have an adjustable rate mortgage, or if you’re looking to refinance to get one, you may want to think twice. The best thing you can do is to check out the promissory note that came with your original loan and see when your locked in interest rate expires, how much the bank is allowed to raise your rate per year, and how much your rate can go up for the life of the loan. For almost all loans, there are caps on how much it can be raised. Make sure you know your limits since market analysts aren’t predicting mortgage rates will be going back down anytime soon.

If you’ve crunched the numbers and you see that it’s worth it, than the next step is to calculate the costs. Refinancing can get pricy with all the fees, so once you see how much you would be saving per month, if it’s not significant, you might just want to stick to the loan you have, since closing costs on some refinancing loans can be as much as 3,000, and that doesn’t even include things like appraisal fees and originating fees.

The next step if you’re still interested is shopping around. And don’t be afraid to use the home computer to do so. There are great sites that will offer lower rates than your local bank, and even sites that will get multiple offers from many different banks for you. It’s a buyers market right now, make sure you take full advantage of it.

Refinancing is a major decision during one’s life and it shouldn’t be entered into lightly. But if you approach it with eyes wide open and you know the process, it can be rewarding and help you meet your financial goals.

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Protecting Yourself from Mortgage Fraud

It’s hard to believe, but there are people out there looking to prey on people’s ignorance when it comes to buying property. The mortgage fraud game is larger than you think, and every year, thousands of people fall victim to over-appraised properties, higher than normal interest rates, and loan amounts that are way more than their budget allows. How do you know if you’re being hustled? It’s not as cut and dry as you might think, but here are some tips to help you see through the charade.

The first tip is to trust your gut. For this scam to be pulled off, you’re going to have to deal with a crooked real estate agent who points you to a piece of property, than an appraiser who will over-value the property, and then a bank officer who will validate that price. With all these dishonest people floating around, your gut should tell you something is wrong at some point. Keep your eyes open and if something starts to smell fishy (like the land they are trying to make you buy) than start asking questions.

Keep an eye out for scams like these targeting the elderly. They tend to be more trustworthy than younger people, and tend to take people at their word. These scams have also been known to target first-time buyers who don’t know how transactions like these are suppose to go. Also, if you live in Illinois, Florida, California, Nevada or Arizona than you’re more likely to run into one of these shysters.

So, how to protect yourself? Here are some warning signs to look for. If your real estate broker demands that you use a particular lender (i.e. the lender that’s in on the scam), just say no. Tell your broker that you’ll use whatever lender you want and that you’ve shopped around and you’ve chosen a different one. If your broker or agent gets a little testy at this, you might want to consider dumping them.

Another good sign that you’re dealing with less than honest people is that your lender is trying to talk you into borrowing more than what your budget allows. This is never, ever a good idea. You should go into every discussion with your lender knowing exactly what your limits are.

This one is just common sense, but make sure you get copies of everything you sign. If you don’t, demand them. Also, if you feel you’ve signed something less than honest, take the documents to another lender or to a lawyer to have them looked over.

Scammers have been a part of the real estate scene for as long as there has been swampland in Florida or a bridge in Brooklyn to sell. They aren’t going anywhere (except maybe to prison) so you have to equip yourself with the knowledge of how to deal with them.

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New Home Buyers Look to Save Energy

With oil prices spiking to record highs in recent months, the home building industry is beginning to feel some repercussions. In a recent survey done by the American Institute of Architects, the number one request by prospective home owners is that their new home be as energy-efficient as possible.
The survey asked members of the AIA to list what people were asking for in a new home compared to requests from previous years. According to their findings, 54 percent said that they wanted a way to help manage their energy in their home. That is a significant jump from last year, when only 38 percent of respondents gave that answer. Maybe most telling is that not a single member who filled out the survey said that demands for that kind of system have dropped.
These energy management systems can be broken down into two different categories: high-tech and low-tech. The popular high-tech systems essentially employ “smart-house” technology and use a series of computers and sensors to help manage and monitor the house’s energy usage. The various computer systems can tell residents if there is a leak that heat is escaping from somewhere in the home, it can automatically turn the thermostat down if the house is empty and alert residents if a window is left open in a room that’s empty.
But it’s not just high-tech solutions that are growing in demand. Low-tech, basic changes to house building and design are growing in popularity, as well. Simple changes such as an increase in insulation (an increase of 45 percent from last year) and water heaters that don’t use a tank so they don’t lose any heat during storage have become common. Requests for double-pane windows are up as well as appliances that qualify as energy efficient.
The AIA survey showed that people are also willing to put their money where their mouth is. Results showed that the average home builder would be willing to pony up an additional $5,000 dollars to help make their home more energy efficient.
Some jurisdictions give discounts or tax credits to home builders that meet energy conservation guidelines, so that can act as encouragement to incorporate these bits and pieces into a new home.
With heating oil and natural gas prices still at or near record highs, the trend of building more energy efficient homes looks to be here to stay. People are finally beginning to realize a few more dollars up front can save you thousands over the next few decades when it comes to energy conservation.

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Moving Costs More than you Think

One of the single most stressful things a person can do in this day and age is move. Not only do you have to say goodbye to a place you lived and most likely loved, you have to find a trustworthy real estate agent, or if you decide to go it alone, you have to weigh the pros and cons of what you think you can do versus the reality of what you can and can’t do. If that wasn’t enough, the process of house hunting is exhausting and frustrating, and then you have the fun of closing costs and then once that’s over with, the actual move.

Well, here is another piece of good news. According to Move Inc, a company that operates many online home-serching-and-buying sites, reports that the average home buyer spends approximately $9,000 on services and products related to their move. That’s nine grand per household, per move. If you factor that out to every move made in the United States in the past year, that’s $170 billion spent on moving expenses.

Yes, that’s billion with a b.

If you didn’t think you could spend nine grand on boxes and packing tape, let’s take a look at what exactly the average family is spending that money on.

Move Inc broke down the survey into 40 different categories, and found that about half of the total moving expenses were eaten up by fixing up your old home in preparation to move. Things like repairs, improvements and decorating costs usually end up running higher than most people thought.

The rest of the money was spent on switching services that are used on a daily basis in the home. Things like switching the cable or satellite TV, switching banks, internet access, telephone service, as well as pharmacies, insurance companies and auto mechanics. All of these moves come with costs and fees that most prospective movers don’t figure into the budget.

The study showed that most of the purchases were impulse, last-minute buys and were concentrated around the last two weeks before a move and the first two weeks after a move.

The lesson to be learned here is that when you’ve finally decided that a new place to call home is needed, you might want to review your expenses for the move to include a few extra rolls of packing tape and a few more boxes.

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Make Your Home the Best it can be by Staging

With the housing market groaning under its own weight these days, potential home sellers need every advantage they can get. One way that a family can help move their home faster is with a practice called home staging. The logic behind home staging is simple: try to make your home look as special as possible when people view it and you will have an increased chance of selling it.

Some tips on how to stage your home properly include simple things like picking up after yourself and taking out the garbage. But there are hundreds of other things that you can do to make your house more memorable.

Try baking a batch of cookies about 30 minutes before you show your home. The inviting and pleasant smell can make people remember your home over others they might have seen.

If you have pets, try to either board them at a shelter or groomer, or at the very least, have a neighbour watch them for an hour to have the home pet-free. You never know when you’ll show the house to someone who might be allergic or someone who simply doesn’t like pets.

The same can be said for a baby or kids. While you can’t board your children (unfortunately), see if a friend can watch them while you’re showing your house. You don’t need little Johnny creating a mess or baby Sue crying at the top of her lungs when you’re trying to show your place.

Vacuum everywhere. There probably isn’t a bigger turn off when viewing a home than dirt. Although logic would suggest that the first thing you do when you move into a new home is clean every last inch, the sight of a dirty floor or carpet can lower people’s opinions of your home.

If you have rooms that are barren, spend a few dollars on basic decorations or plants to give a room a warm, inviting look. The same goes for other rooms in your house. Stay away from clutter and dark, cool colours. Try to focus on warmth. You don’t want the people viewing your property to ever want to leave.

As you can see, the idea of staging your home for viewing makes perfect sense. Take away these added touches and the home becomes just a lifeless house. But integrate these basic steps into your house-showing routine, and you can expect to sell sooner rather than later.

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Credit History can Bite you in the Butt

A recent study has shown that the number of people who pay more than they should for their mortgage is rising. And if you look at the surface, the number one reason this rise is happening is because of race.

A study done by the Federal Reserve shows that around 55 percent of African-American borrowers pay higher than normal interest on their mortgages. But it’s not just the African-American community. The same study showed that 46 percent of people who identify as Latino also pay more due to a higher than average interest rate on their loan. As for Caucasians, only 17 percent of borrowers fell into that category.

The overall numbers of people who pay more than the average interest rate is up considerably, from 11.5 to 24.6 percent in the last two years.

While these numbers appear to be caused by rampant racism amongst seemingly all lenders, there might be another explanation. The connection between the interest rate offered and the borrowers credit history.

The interest rate that is offered on a mortgage loan is directly proportional to the amount of risk the lender feels that they are taking. If you have sparkling credit, the chances of you getting the best possible interest rate are fantastic. On the other hand, if you have declared bankruptcy or if there are any other black marks on your credit history, the chances of you getting a great loan are almost zero.

Another possible culprit is the rise in speciality loans that have gained in popularity over the last few years. While the idea of buying a house without a down payment was once a rarity, these days, it’s fairly common. And in almost all cases when this happens, the interest rates are higher because the lender is taking an additional risk by not having a down payment.

Sometimes, home buyers are agreeing to let the closing costs associated with buying a home be figured into the interest rate. Again, this is a less than honest way for a family to buy a home with very little to no cash on hand. The catch is, of course, that you will end up paying significantly more over time than if you had just paid the closing costs up front.

While no one can suggest that racism is dead in America, it is possible that while African-Americans and Latinos pay more for their mortgages, it could be caused by various other factors that may or may not be connected to a persons’ race.

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Canadian Markets Hot and Cold

For many Americans, Canada has been a refuge from instability for generations. Canada was the final destination for thousands of runaway slaves before the American Civil war, and then later during Viet Nam, for draftees that felt the war was unjust. The slow and steady migration to Canada continues to this day, although it’s mostly to get away from gun violence and George W. Bush. For those looking to buy real estate in Canada, the third quarter numbers had both good and bad news.

The good news? Canadian real estate is on a record pace in 2006.

The bad news? The third quarter numbers are down sharply from the second quarter of this year, and even down from the third quarter of last year. What does all this mean?

It basically means that Canada’s sizzling real estate market is still hotter than ever, but that it can’t keep up the incredible pace that it’s been on.

Breaking down the numbers, Canadian real estate is down 6 percent compared to the same quarter last year, and down 2.5 percent from the second quarter of this year, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.

Overall, sales during the first nine months of this year are still up over the same nine months from last year, but things do appear to be slowing down.

The hardest hit cities during the third quarter slow down were Vancouver, home of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, red-hot Calgary, which is still booming thanks to the local oil industry, and Toronto. Sales in Edmonton, Alberta and Hamilton, Ontario are actually up for the third quarter, helping to offset the losses in other cities.

Proving that the incredible Canadian real estate market is still on fire, year-to-date sales records were set in various cities all across the country in the third quarter. Montreal, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Saskatoon, Edmonton and Calgary all reported record sales for this year.

The average price for a home in Canada has been sky rocketing in recent years, with the total now at $258,000 (US dollars) up from $234.000 just in the last calendar year.

This real estate frenzy is being led by the province of Alberta and their incredible economy. The cities of Calgary and Edmonton, which reported their highest level of new real estate listings ever in the third quarter. Montreal and Toronto reported their second highest amounts of new listings for any quarter, as well.

The Canadian real estate market is still breaking records and making money despite the third quarter downturn. The breakneck pace simply couldn’t be sustained. But if you’re looking to move north of the border, do so knowing that it might cost you a few more loonies than you thought.

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Are you House Poor?

The great American Dream has always revolved around owning a home. Sure, having the 2.3 kids, the cushy corporate job and the stylish car to drive to work everyday are part of the myth, too, but nothing quite summed up Americana quite like the white picket fence. But if recent economic numbers are any clue, this dream is becoming a nightmare for many in the US.

According to date released by the United States Census Bureau, an increasing number of homeowners are spending a larger and larger amount of their incomes on housing than in previous years. People in 49 out of 50 states reported an increase. The only state that didn’t, Alaska, spent the same amount. The report showed that people are spending around 21 percent on their housing needs, up from 19 percent in 1999.

This is a huge problem for first-time buyers who may now be priced out of housing markets all across the country. Economists point to rises in home prices in the last 7 years, as well as higher interest rates, coupled with stagnant wages over the same period.

While everyone seems to be in agreement that the housing “bubble” is either bursting, or getting ready to burst depending on where you live, housing prices are still up a remarkable 32 percent since the beginning of the decade.

Household incomes, on the other hand, haven’t done a very good job of keeping up. The same Census report showed that income has actually dropped, not risen, over the past 7 years, down 2.8 percent.

Maybe the worst news in the report was the percent of people who allot more than 30% of their income for housing. The numbers are up almost 8%. National guidelines suggest that more than 30% of household income for housing is excessive and not financially healthy.

What does this mean in the long run?

Most experts agree that until income can catch up to housing, the real estate market will remain lifeless. And since real estate is one of the biggest drivers to the overall economy, a weak real estate market means a weak economy.

Things appear to be the worst in California. Not only do they have the most expensive real estate in the nation, 48 percent of California homeowners spend more than 30% of their income on housing related costs.

Until income can begin to grow as quickly as the real estate market, this trend shows no signs of slowing down. Which could mean that the upcoming real estate slump could last much longer than anyone predicted.

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Buying a Home Overseas: Practical?

For those of us that have been lucky enough to travel to Europe, Asia or Australia from North America, we have seen some of the most beautiful land on Earth. The people, the sights and especially the food make international travel one of the most exotic and special things you can do. But what about making that trip to another country permanent? If you can afford a second home and the thought of spending your summers in the Hamptons isn’t doing it for you, what about buying a little place in Italy? Or Ireland? Here are some tips on making your dream a reality.

First off, rest assured that you’re not the first person to do this. It’s estimated that about four million US citizens live abroad right now. The first thing you should do is check the local country’s property rights. There are websites run by the International Real Estate Association that can tell you if it’s even legal for non-residents of a country to own land there. You should also check with the US Government about the stability of a particular region. Remember, if you vacationed somewhere nice, that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily safe once you leave the resort.

The next step would be to seek out a real estate broker in that particular country for help. This is when a possible language barrier could be a problem. Luckily, there are websites available that will have links to international brokers who do speak English. A broker who is familiar with the local laws and customs of the region you’re looking to move to will be able to help you find out how the local laws work when it comes to real estate.

Another good tip is that you should expect to pay cash. Most countries don’t have as sophisticated a system for loans and mortgages as the US and Canada, so you are looking at either paying cash or if you are looking to move somewhere where you might be able to get a loan, a down payment of almost 50 percent wouldn’t be unusual. If that’s too rich for your blood, you might want to think twice about the whole thing.

Being able to retire in that pretty Tuscan villa overlooking the vineyards is a dream millions of Americans have, and while it may only become a reality for a select few, you CAN make it happen with proper planning, a helpful heaping of common sense and a few tips to help you on your way.

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A Second Home: Take it or Leave it?

For many, wanderlust is just a part of life. You buy a beautiful home somewhere, settle down, have a family, but there is always a part of you that’s itching to get away. Vacations are part of that wanderlust; the chance to get away someplace beautiful. And then you see it. The local newspaper at your vacation destination, and lo and behold, there is a real estate section right there. Dare you even look? You can’t afford it, can you? Two homes? Is dual home ownership for you?

A second home can work for you, but you have to go into the process knowing what to expect. If you’re looking to get rich quick, don’t count on it. According to recent data, the price of real estate in areas that are deemed “Vacation Markets” has risen twice as fast as real estate in other areas. So, not only is a second home in your destination of choice going to cost you a pretty penny, it’s no longer a well-kept secret anymore and the chances of you flipping it to make a quick buck are slim.

The best piece of advice a possible vacation home buyer can heed right now is to buy for love not for money. Recent sharp downturns in vacation markets like Naples, Florida, Lake Tahoe, Nevada and Cape Cod, Massachusetts, have shown that trying to turn a profit in a vacation market is close to impossible. But there is a bright side to all of this. With the housing bubble going poof all across the country, those that are looking to sell will be doing so at lower prices. Now could be a great time to buy a place that you’re planning on keeping for a long while.

But how do you know if you have your head on straight about the whole thing? Well, take some time and evaluate the pluses and minuses of buying another home. Once you’ve decided on a area, spend some time there to make sure you like it. If it’s going to be a vacation home, you’ll want the scenery to be relaxing (if that’s what you’re looking for) or exciting (if that’s what you go on vacation to experience). A final check should be the bottom-line cost. If the price of the two houses makes up more than one third of your total income, you’ve spent too much.

Buying property is a huge investment for everyone, even the rich. Take the time to properly evaluate the pros and cons before you decide to own a second home or you could find yourself on a permanent vacation.

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