March 6th, 2010 → 2:37 pm @ mmatchev
Vacation Rentals Maintenance
Fixer-Upper – As for the structure itself, I would not recommend you purchase a property that requires a lot of maintenance. Even if you are the handyman type, this new venture will be quite different than fixing things up around your own residence once in a while. It’s not just a quick trip to the local home improvement mega store to pick up a new storm door or a washer for that pesky leaky kitchen faucet. No, if you buy a high maintenance house, costly repairs will require frequent attention. And here’s the key — you’ll be doing it at a distance. Chances are, your vacation property is not going to be right up the street from where you live (otherwise, going there wouldn’t be much of a vacation!). So every time the vacation home needs maintenance, you will have to get in the car and make a long drive, arriving worn and tired before you even begin the work. The alternative — hiring workers to do the job — can be quite expensive. And, you won’t be there to supervise the work they do and to make sure they don’t run up the bill. Not a good idea. There’s a good deal of truth in the old adage: “If you want something done right, do it yourself.” But it can be rather difficult when you live 300 miles away.
