For those looking to invest in a vacation rental property, there are many options available. These options span across various areas, such as property type, property location, the potential for renovation (or flipping), and the potential to generate a steady stream of income if the home is rented out. Of these factors, the most important one is certainly location. People go on vacation to places, not live in specific properties.
Of course, though, you are not going to get anywhere if you don’t invest in the right type of property too. Coming to the question of property type and architectural style, you need to be sure to tie this close to the location.
Debt factoring company Thales Financial says that if the property is to be an investment for renting to others, then further costs suddenly become relevant, not least the investment itself and the ongoing upkeep.
Furthermore, ongoing profitability is tied to the property style. For example, you might find that lakeside or forest vacation locations are filled with properties that resemble log cabins featuring porches for relaxing in the sun and which play up the rustic and wild charm (the whole reason vacationers go there in the first place).
Accordingly, there is an especially important point to get out of the way before going on to different vacation home types and their relative advantages. This is because all these advantages are overridden by the importance of the location.
We can list the endless excellent advantages of, say, a colonial-style townhouse, but this property is not the best one to go for if the vacation spot is, for example, a beach resort town.
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What Type of Investment?
Another important consideration if you are considering investing in a vacation home is what type of investment you are going to make. For example, you could be planning on flipping a derelict property and putting it back on the market, or you could be thinking about purchasing an existing vacation home and then renting it out. Furthermore, you could be purchasing a vacation home to use yourself, at least for part of the year.
All these considerations will also influence what property style you go for. In most cases, the location will decide the best type for you anyway.
Popular Vacation Rental Properties
With all of that said, here follows some of the most consistently popular vacation rental properties:
City Townhomes
Cities offer the most attractions of any individual location. They are limited insofar as they cannot offer the type of relaxing vacation that some are seeking, but generally what they do offer is very diverse. The same goes for the properties you will find there. The city townhouse, however, is one of the most popular because it is widely considered a good example of perfect urban architecture, something that suits the location very well.
Log Cabins
These properties prioritize cozy shelter from the elements and are aesthetically in tune with the natural settings in which they are found. In hiking vacation spots, for example, you will find the log cabin well-represented.
Beach Houses
What better type of property to rent to beach vacationers than, well, a beach house? Beach houses have large open fronts and porches which allow occupants to enjoy the sunny climate of beach locations. They also provide idyllic sea views and, of course, easy access to the beach.
In a great many cases, the location will decide the property type for you. Nevertheless, if you are after a specific property type, you can look in the appropriate locations. This is still a choice that you can make.