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Wednesday, October 11, 2000 Search farther for vacation home deals
The vacation home market seems to know no bounds, the pricier the better. But where does that leave the middle-class buyer, apart from gazing wistfully at ads for million-dollar palaces? "Today's vacation homebuyer has to search harder for bargains," says Richard Roll, president of American Homeowners Association (AHA). "It just requires digging a little deeper and looking a little farther abroad to locations where the prices are still reasonable." Fueled by the high-flying economy, the housing market is just responding to higher incomes and higher demand for luxury vacation homes. Costs in traditional vacation areas are rising as available property gets snapped up. So, where do you look? Hint: It's a big planet out there. That's right, don't restrict yourself to the United States. Certain trends are favoring the foreign home market. First, the U.S. dollar remains strong, so you can get a lot more for your money in most foreign countries. Second, you might be surprised at how accessible a foreign vacation community might be. A flight to Mexico or Canada might take less time than fighting traffic from other commuters heading for allegedly "convenient" vacation homes. A cautionary word or two, however, for adventurous types who want to explore the far flung vacation home destinations: research, research, and research. Some places are friendlier to foreign buyers than others. First of all, these places aren't discovered for a reason. Finding a home and getting a loan isn't exactly the consumer-friendly experience that it is in the United States. Remember that the real estate and home finance industries are regulated here but you may not have the same recourse as a consumer if something goes wrong abroad. Also, be sure to check out laws restricting property ownership by foreigners. And watch out for clouded property titles. You don't want to buy a jungle-view hacienda only to discover that three local families have claims to your title. And there still are some relative bargains left in the U.S. The expanded sunbelt now includes places like Nevada, or the Florida Panhandle, where you can still find fairly good deals just remember it's still rural in many of these areas. For more information on any aspect of buying a home, go to www.realhome.com, the web site for American Homeowners Association.
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