Bill and Joan Messenger were finally at the point in their lives when they had extra time to travel. Bill had to spend only minimal time at his Seattle office, and Joan no longer owned her own
business. The last of their six children was in college. With many previous commitments gone, the two decided to sell the timeshares they had enjoyed with their family and instead buy a vacation home. They started with a place in the private community of Desert Mountain near Scottsdale, Ariz. Because the pair are avid golfers, Desert Mountain, with its six Jack Nicklaus golf courses, proved to be a good fit. “There is no facility like it in the world. And it’s private,” says Joan.
Bill adds, “It’s got everything.” With baby boomers reaching retirement age and more young families able to afford another house, it can seem like everyone has a vacation home. In fact, says Tere Foster, associate broker at Windermere and owner of fosterrealty.com, “In the upper-tier market, 23.5 percent
of that market all own second homes.” The tricky part, however, is finding a vacation home that is the right fit for you and your family. Start, says Tere, with “really sitting down and asking yourself: Why do you want it?” Families need to create a list of wants and make sure a vacation home is going to fit those wants, she says. It could be possible that an actual single-family
home doesn’t seem to fit the bill. Other available options include timeshares, condos and even renting a home during a vacation. For the Messengers, timeshares fit the bill while they had a family. Because they had obligations that prevented them from spending weeks at a vacation spot, owning a timeshare gave them the opportunity to get away without the worry of maintenance, if they were gone for months at a time.
“If you’re still working most of the
time, there’s no point (in owning a vacation home),” says Joan. “Get a timeshare.” Another advantage to a timeshare is the ability to really become familiar with an area without the investment and commitment of owning a home. When you are in a position to own a home, you already know if you will enjoy the area. Condos, on the other hand, give owners the freedom to stay whenever they wish without all the maintenance worries of a single-family home. Because there is often a homeowners association and staff maintaining the buildings, condo owners do not have to try and keep up a yard, pool and exterior while they are away. Another point of consideration is location. “You have to really be clear: What is the reason for the purchase?” says Tere. “Then based on that, you really look at those specific locations based on your own specific want list.”
Many popular vacation locations are resort communities, or areas that offer outdoor recreation, favorable weather and other amenities. “People are interested these days in using their vacation homes more often than in the past,” says Alex Hillinger, director of communications at Suncadia, a resort community near Roslyn, Wash. “A lot of people are looking for a four-season place to go.”
He adds, “People are seeking out places that offer an experience that is quite different from their home experience.” Suncadia offers residents hiking, swimming, golf and fly-fishing opportunities, along with shopping and dining. In close proximity to Suncadia is Washington wine country, the Gorge and national parks. For Dennis and Deanna Johnson, who own a home in Indian Wells, Calif., one of their primary requirements was the location’s climate. “We wanted a place to get out of the dreary Puget Sound winters,” says Dennis. “We desperately wanted
to be in the sun. I was contemplating moving out of the area when I met my wife.” The pair compromised, keeping their house in the Seattle area near family and purchasing a vacation home in the Palm Springs area of California. Now their 5-year-old twins are also enjoying a change in climate. “It’s great to have the kids outside during the winter,” says Deanna. The family loves to hike and ride bicycles in the sun, and at night, go stargazing.
The Messengers originally owned timeshares in ski areas. But after Bill had knee surgery, skiing changed
to golf. And with homes in Arizona and near Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and a timeshare in Jamaica, they have plenty of opportunities to get a round in. “We’ve got our golf clubs at each location, even in Jamaica,” says Joan. Other popular location possibilities are vacation homes on lakes or in the city. Wherever the home is located, however, potential homeowners need to consider that purchasing a property means vacationing often in the same place, says Deb Tebbs, co-owner and broker with Sotheby’s International Realty, Cushman and Tebbs, in Bend,
Dennis, Deanna Johnson and Twins
Ore. Because a significant amount of money often goes into purchasing a vacation home, owners can feel obligated to use it. No matter where the property is or how often it is going to be used, “Do your homework. Go stay there,” says Joan Messenger. That will not only give you an idea about what it will be like to return often, but it also alerts you to potential turnoffs that might otherwise go undetected. Joan and Bill found out how valuable staying at a
location is when they stayed in Belltown overnight. They were considering buying a condo in the Seattle neighborhood, but, “we left at 4:30 in the morning. We couldn’t do it. It was too noisy. It’s so beautiful down there and I love it, but we just couldn’t do it,” says Joan.
“At the end of the day, you want to stand in the place where your vacation home is or is going to be and just take a deep breath and get
a feel for if this is where you want to be,” says Alex Hillinger. If you find a location you love, and possibly a property you love,
it’s time to crunch numbers. “You have to have a serious talk with yourself,” says Tere Foster. “Look at the realistic things.” Included in Tere’s list of things to consider are: how much time you will be able to spend there, who will maintain the property when you are not there, and what the cost is. “Everybody has different threshold points that they
can say, ‘I don’t mind paying X dollars to have this, even though I’m only using it three times a year,’” says Tere. “That’s a personal choice.” Dollar amounts need to include insurance on the house, money for maintenance, possible homeowners association fees, utility bills and more. “People need to think when they buy something they’ll have to furnish it,” says Deanna
Johnson. For example, the Messengers keep clothing, cars and golf clubs at their vacation homes. The trade-off, of course, is that they travel without checked luggage and don’t have to worry about rental cars. They do have to pay insurance on cars that sit idle much of the time, however.
The Messenger’s Home in Cabo San Lucas
For the Messengers, owning more than one home means they are investing their money in a tangible way. “Instead of sitting and looking at your bank account grow, we’re using our money to enjoy it,” says Joan. “We’re there, we’re in it, we’re seeing it, we’re sleeping in it, we’re swimming in it. Our opinion is if you do your work, it’s a good investment.” That investment is something to consider when choosing a place to purchase a second home. “Do the math,” says Tere. “Are you purchasing in an area where prices are going up and you’re going to see some good upside and profit?”
Ideally, says Tere, if you want a return on your home when you sell it, it needs to be located in a place that is easy to get to. “To me,” says Bill Messenger, buying a second home is “just like buying real estate anywhere. Location, location, location. You’d better buy it at the right location.” And while some might choose to rent their vacation home for some extra help with expenses, “We don’t rent,” says Bill. “So there is no way you can justify it economically, other than at the end of the day, when you do go to sell, we’ll make more than we spend. But on a monthly basis, year over year, it’s a loser.” Deb Tebbs warns that rental income doesn’t pay for expenses. “If it is being rented,” she says, “it will not cover a mortgage and expenses.” Deb also suggests that buyers might want to research the rental history in the area. Is the property in a place where people are interested in renting? The Johnsons did rent their home in Indian Wells, Calif., when they first purchased it. And although they no longer rent the house, Deanna says, “It’s fabulous for renting out
if there is an economic hardship.” Homeowners that rent should also consider having someone at
the site that will show the property and interview potential tenants, says Tere. The home will also need to
be cleaned and inspected once tenants leave. Tere suggests finding a property manager to take care of rental duties. Just make sure, she says, a reliable company is doing your property management. Look around the neighborhood and find out which companies have the best places. “It becomes obvious who is doing most
of the property management.”
Property managers will also help keep an eye on things when you can’t be at your second home. Bill and Joan Messenger have a house manager for their properties. “They check on (the house) weekly to make sure everything is right,” says Joan. “In Mexico, the house manager pays all the bills. He does the landscaping, chemicalizes the pool. Everything is taken care of.” For Dennis and Deanna Johnson, their real estate agent helps them. “Our realtor really helped us quite a bit. He hooked
us up with a really good gardener and a really good pool person,” says Dennis. “He comes by about once a week to make sure it looks like it’s maintained correctly.” He added that their agent was able to alert them to
a leak in the irrigation system and provide the name of
a reliable plumber to fix it. “Having a local realtor or manager has been a tremendous benefit to us down here,” Dennis says. “I would highly recommend anybody get someone local to manage or at least come by once a week to look at your property.”
Security at your properties is also a concern. For the Messengers, owning homes in gated and guarded communities is important. “We don’t have to worry about it,” says Joan. “For us, that’s key. Even here, the house that I’m building now (on Mercer Island), I have it gated so I don’t have to worry about it.” Potential buyers also need to pay attention to weather-related hazards when considering a home. Although the location might be beautiful for much of the year, is there a chance for flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes or something else? And what weather-related maintenance issues are there? “In some of these environments, they require more maintenance,” says Tere Foster. For example, she says, Utah is very
dry. Wood exteriors require more preservation work on the actual structure. If you are in a snowy location, can the roof handle the snow load without leaking? “It’s things like that, that you have to kind of think about, unless you’re going to go often or have
a neighbor or somebody check it,” says Tere. At the end of the day, however, buying a vacation home needs to be treated like buying any other property. “People get all excited when there is the pitch,” says Bill Messenger. “They’re in Mexico, they love it, and they buy this thing. You’ve got to think, how are you going to use it? Do you have the time, will you use it? That’s a big thing.”
Tere doesn’t believe buying a vacation home
is too different from buying a primary home. “It’s very much like buying any kind of a house,” she says. Shoppers need to have the house inspected and make sure they aren’t overpaying.
Suncadia Tumble Creek Cabin
If you do find your perfect vacation home, enjoy it. “We really enjoy sharing it with friends and family,” says Deanna Johnson. “It’s a nice way that they can come and stay and get a vacation.” “Don’t hesitate (to buy a vacation home),” said Dennis Johnson. “It’s the best thing somebody can do. We’ve been very happy with ours.” Bill and Joan Messenger also love their vacation spots. “With the two spots (Cabo San Lucas and Desert Mountain), every time it’s like Christmas,” Bill says. “I look forward to getting there.”
TO BUILD OR TO BUY Whether you want to buy a ready-to-go home, buy a fixer-upper or build a home from the ground up, is really a matter of personal preference. Many people know what they want to do before they start looking, but it doesn’t hurt to check all of your options, just in case. “We looked at several vacant lots down here with the intention of building,” says Dennis Johnson. “We might have gone that route had we not found this house. We definitely did consider building down here.” They managed to find a 3-bedroom, 2-bath house with a pool and
a mountain view for a good price, however. “It needed some work,” says Dennis, “but I am a contractor, so it was not an issue.” There is no general trend in building a house versus buying something ready to go, says Deb Tebbs. “People feel pretty strongly about it either way,” she says. “Their past experiences influence the decision.” Simple preference might also be an influence. Bill and Joan Messenger prefer
to have a hand in everything that happens when they build a house. The architect does not draw a detailed plan when working on a home for the Messengers. “Joan and our builder go in after the basic plan and do it all, board by board and rail by rail,” says Bill. Options are often available for either choice at resort communities. At Suncadia, near Rosyln, Wash., for example, there are condos, existing homes, new ready-to-move-in cabins and empty lots. At Tumble Creek, a private club and community within Suncadia, prospective owners can buy an empty lot and design a house, or they can choose from one of three cabin-style homes.
“What we’re trying to do,” says Alex Hillinger, “is create different options that work with different lifestyles and different mentalities.” Alex says people need to consider how much they are willing to spend and how much time they are willing to invest in the process. “Not everybody wants to start from the ground up and design a home,” he says. Some people want to buy something that is ready to move into. In any case, says Alex, “You really need to understand what you’re buying.” At some places, you may only buy the house or the lot, whereas in other places, like Suncadia, you are buying the house or the lot and community amenities and events, he says.
