How to Choose a Great Vacation Home

There is nothing like the specter of another winter at home to trigger the worst of impulses in people, impulses typically expressed by the words, "Gee I wish I had..." at the beginning of a sentence, followed by either "... a beach house in Florida" or "...a ski chalet in Vale" at the end.

Winter does that. Suddenly you start looking hard at your check book to see if there is some way you can avoid winter or embrace it, either temporarily relocating to a winter wonderland or a warm beach. Of such impulses is the vacation home market made, and for more and more Americans, it is a market being successfully and happily explored.

It is not one without peril, however. A vacation home should be an investment in leisure, but that does not necessarily mean you toss out the fundamentals of business in making your purchase.

Even in saying that, you also need to keep in mind what you want the property for — leisure, not an investment. There is a difference between your favorite weekend retreat and your favorite vacation destination. Buying a weekend retreat, for instance, usually means you will use it more because it is closer. But that also means you're going to be hesitant to rent it out too much, specifically because you are going to want to use it yourself. That cuts down on the amount of revenue it can generate to offset your mortgage payments.

On the other hand, a vacation home at your favorite distant resort may turn a good profit in rentals, but will you use it enough yourself to make it worthwhile? You can literally take out a piece of paper and list your own pros and cons, and you'll quickly find many on both sides, some that will actually cancel each other out.

For instance, the "pro" may be: If you buy vacation property at your favorite resort, it will be a good place to retire to when that time comes, especially since it likely will be smaller, easier to afford and easier to keep up than your primary home.

But the "con" is: You'll be permanently away from a lifetime of family and friends and your new place won't be large enough to accommodate many of them when they come to visit.

Here is a great list of "Dos" and "Don'ts" in searching for that hideaway from the very first day.

—Buy a vacation property for enjoyment, not for investment.

—Test-drive your vacation locale by renting there before buying.

—Find out if a developer there is offering an inexpensive try-out vacation in the area.

—Ask yourself if you might like to retire eventually to this place.

—Inspect your vacation home choice as carefully as you would

your primary home.

—Shop in the off season to find better deals.

—Ask at least five owners in the same resort area if they are happy

with their choice.

—Give yourself a cooling off period after hearing a sales pitch before you sign any papers.

—Get all the details about renting out your second home when you are

not using it.

—Check a developer's credentials with the local resort association,

Better Business Bureau or the local Residential Developers Association

—Get references from at least three current clients of a management

company before signing a management contract.

—Buy in an area you are visiting for the first time, no matter how

wonderful it seems.

—Be tempted by recreation property in an area you visit rarely or

never at all, no matter how much of a bargain it is.

—Buy on the spur of the moment.

—Expect good rental income unless the property is in a major destination resort.

—Assume that any services such as lawn mowing or snow removal

are provided by a resort or management company unless they are specified in a written contract.

—Disappoint yourself by shopping in a resort that you cannot afford.

—Purchase a fixer-upper as a vacation property if you are not going

to be there most of the time to supervise contractors.

—Succumb to sales pitches for condo hotel rooms, since most are

bad investments.