Greenbook: A Local Guide to Chesapeake Living - Issue 3 | Page 63

6 Reasons
Why It's Smart to
Buy a Vacation
Rental Home Now

Lately, you've been thinking a lot
about investing strategies. You have
a small nest egg that needs to grow,
but frankly you don't trust the stock
market. And while real estate has
been somewhat of a rocky road in
recent years, it's still a solid long-term
investment strategy—and clearly
we're in a buyer's market. But you
aren't really interested in being a
landlord. So what can you do?
Christine Karpinski has a suggestion:
Purchase a vacation home and rent it
out to travelers.
"Vacation homes are almost always
a good investment," says Karpinski,
director of Owner Community for
HomeAway—one of the world's leading vacation rental marketplaces—
and author of How to Rent Vacation
Properties by Owner, 2nd Edition:
The Complete Guide to Buy, Manage,
Furnish, Rent, Maintain and Advertise
Your Vacation Rental Investment.
"First, if you're looking for a good
long-term investment, real estate
tends to be a good bet," she adds.
"Second, vacation properties have
the ability to pay for themselves, and
owners often earn a profit in rental
income. Third, the investment comes
with the desirable perk of having a
place at the beach or in the mountains
to call your own. And finally, there
has never been a better time to buy
a vacation home—it's like th