I retired 4 years ago and like many who have just given up the world of work, I felt a little lost and I was unsure how to pass my time. I realised very quickly that I would need a project to keep me busy or at least something that I could sink my teeth into. I worked and saved very hard throughout my working life and that left me in a healthy financial position so I decided that an investment of some form would be a good way to keep me from being bored.
After a chance meeting with real estate expert Radha Singh Hazlet NJ resident like myself, I was convinced that the best thing that I could do would be to invest in a vacation rental and that is exactly what I did. I had pondered the idea for a long time before deciding and if you are like I was, here is why I think a vacation property is the perfect choice for retirees.
Vacation Home
The most obvious reason is of course the fact that you will have yourself your very own vacation home that you can jet off to whenever you feel like. For this reason I would recommend that you buy a vacation property in a location that you will be happy to spend much of your time in. I bought a place near Philadelphia which has the perfect distance between sea and city, since buying the property I have probably spent at least 3 months each year there and I cannot see this changing.
Making Money
When I am not staying in my property, I like to use AirBnb to rent it out to others who are looking to stay in the area. Because of the location of the property, I very rarely have it empty and this provides me with a nice monthly dividend on my investment. In truth, I had bought the property as somewhere that I could stay whilst on vacation but the additional revenue which the rental of the property brings in, is exactly what I use to pay for my time down there and for my transport. If you do buy a vacation property, make sure that you are maximising its financial potential.
Management
The management of the property is not something that takes up a great deal of my time but it is something that keeps me occupied when I need it. I spend many hours speaking with guests, fixing issues and doing the overall management of the property. This never feels like work and I actually enjoy connecting with the guests from all over the world who are calling my vacation rental home for a short period. It is always nice to have a little project to get involved with once you are no longer working and the management of my vacation rental was just what I needed in order to keep me busy.
