SECOND HOME CONSIDERATIONS

Buying a second home requires different considerations from buying a primary home.  Yet, we often see buyers apply similar standards, such as, square footage, acreage, number of bedrooms.  Or  buyers dream of a historic home, farm house, or waterfront home, without weighing environmental or maintenance issues.  

Here are some thoughts to mull over when you buy:

·        Take your future plans into consideration when evaluating the size and location of a second home.  A small beach house or a large spacious home with bedrooms for all the grand-kids is alluring, but if you are planning to move-in full time, within 3-5 years, you may want to consider a home that gives you enough space and storage to live comfortably and yet not so much space or so many bedrooms that you will have to move when you decide to retire. 

·        Privacy and space is often an important consideration for city dwellers.  Just remember large tracks of land come with outdoor maintenance that will consume precious weekend time, unless you budget lawn service upkeep.

·        Also plan for maintenance like exterior and interior painting, carpentry repairs - add more if you buy an older home.   An older home can be renovated, insulated and restored to the level of a new home and become a true gem, if you can swing it!

·        Invest in technology so you can run your vacation home remotely.  There are very good systems that regulate heat remotely from your phone. They also provide warning alerts if the heat goes off. Remote cameras act as motion detectors and tell you what’s going on from your phone.  Ask any twenty-year old to help you!

Once you have purchased your second home, the most important thing to do is to view your weekends on the North Fork as a vacation, leave all your week’s stressors behind, unwind and enjoy the natural environment we are so blessed to be able to experience!