Product Description

The Complete Guide to Second Homes for Vacations, Retirement, and Investment

Choosing the perfect location

Finding the right home

Forecasting investment potential

How to save thousands on financing

Here’s the knowledge you need to find, buy, and get the most fun and profit from your second home

If you’ve been thinking about buying a second home for getaways, vacations, investment, or retirement, now is the time to do it. You’ll gain from low interest rates, easier financing, large tax savings, and strong potential for appreciation. Smart buyers are getting into the market now, before aging boomers push prices even higher.

But what’s the best way to afford a second home? How much should you pay? What are the tax benefits? How can you be sure you’re getting good value for your money? What kinds of financing are possible? How can you negotiate the best deals and bargain prices?

Nationally renowned real estate expert Dr. Gary Eldred provides complete answers to these and all your other questions concerning the purchase of a second home. In a simple and clear style, he fills you in on everything you need to know to:

• Develop a strategy to increase affordability
• Research the market to find your best location
• Choose a home that will quickly appreciate
• Make the most of current tax-saving techniques
• Select the right homeowner’s insurance
• Rent to minimize risk and maximize profit
• Create value through home improvements
• Vacation free worldwide through home exchanges

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #711224 in Books
• Published on: 1999-11-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

From the Back Cover
The Complete Guide to Second Homes for Vacations, Retirement, and Investment

Choosing the perfect location

Finding the right home

Forecasting investment potential

How to save thousands on financing

Here's the knowledge you need to find, buy, and get the most fun and profit from your second home

If you've been thinking about buying a second home for getaways, vacations, investment, or retirement, now is the time to do it. You'll gain from low interest rates, easier financing, large tax savings, and strong potential for appreciation. Smart buyers are getting into the market now, before aging boomers push prices even higher.

But what's the best way to afford a second home? How much should you pay? What are the tax benefits? How can you be sure you're getting good value for your money? What kinds of financing are possible? How can you negotiate the best deals and bargain prices?

Nationally renowned real estate expert Dr. Gary Eldred provides complete answers to these and all your other questions concerning the purchase of a second home. In a simple and clear style, he fills you in on everything you need to know to:Develop a strategy to increase affordability Research the market to find your best location Choose a home that will quickly appreciate Make the most of current tax-saving techniquesSelect the right homeowner's insuranceRent to minimize risk and maximize profitCreate value through home improvementsVacation free worldwide through home exchanges

About the Author
GARY W. ELDRED, PhD, has been involved in hundreds of real estate transactions as a homeowner, investor, and market consultant. He has also held faculty positions in real estate at Stanford University, the University of Illinois, and the University of Virginia. Dr. Eldred is nationally known for his "Stop Renting Now"TM seminars, as well as his other popular books,The 106 Common Mistakes Homebuyers Make (and How to Avoid Them), Yes! You Can Own the Home You Want, and Investing in Real Estate, all from Wiley.

Customer Reviews

pathetic waste of $
This piece of garbage was the worst ripoff I've ever come accross. I am convinced that all previous reviewers are somehow related to the author. There was not even 1 piece of valuable info in this pile of junk. The author simply points out the most basic concepts in real estate. The 1st 100 pages or so are dedicated to picking a good location, because real estate in good locations appreciates in value faster than other areas.... wow! what a concept! 100 pages to point this out? JUNK! Don't get ripped off by this poor excuse for a real estate "expert". There is no specific info in this book which could possibly be of help to anyone. Beware!!!

Opened my eyes-Highly recomended
If you're about to invest several hundred thousand dollars in a second home (as we recently did), you'll find good practical advice in this book. We were set on a specific location, but after reading Eldred's book we started looking around and found a much better deal. Just since January, our home has jumped more than 10 per cent in value. We credit our good choice to the location and investment advice we got from this book. If you remain undecided about where and what kind of second home to buy, we think this book will "open your eyes" as it did us.

This book saved us thousands
Although we are experienced homebuyers, we picked up much useful advice from this well-written book. Most importantly, it told us how to really learn the property values in an area where we were unfamiliar. Good discussion of how to save money on financing and taxes, too. Overall, anyone thinking about buying a second home or retirement home will be alerted to a lot of things they may have forgotten from past purchases or were never aware of. We especiaaly liked the chapters that helped us explore our locaton options.