If you think watching Vacation House for Free on HGTV is all you need to dominate the world of owning a vacation home – think again!
Sarah & Irma sat down with SoCal Interior Designer Daisy Vasquez from DVI Decor for some great tips on buying and renting your vacation home. After years of dreaming about it, Daisy and her husband David finally dove into the world of vacation homeowners/renters. And boy did they learn a lot in their first year!
#1 – do your homework. Talk to rental agencies and ask what kind of place rents the best in the area you are considering. Ask about floorplans, amenities etc.
#2 – don’t cheap out on appliances and décor. As Daisy says, “No one wants to vacation at the Goodwill”.
#3 – Buy the biggest washer and dryer you can find! Unless you want to pay top dollar for the cleaning crew to sit and wait for your towels and sheets to wash & dry. Yea – we didn’t think so.
# 4 – know your ‘why’ and break down the numbers so you know what to expect in pay and earn in the first year and every year after that.
One of the greatest perks Daisy and her husband David discovered – vacation home exchanges! Here’s an excerpt from her blog (http://dvidecor.com/unexpected-advantage-of-owning-vacation-home/)
When we first purchased our vacation home my husband had read an article about vacation home exchanges. Then my sister mentioned her close friend travels the world on a home exchange program. What? Huh? This exists? It’s brilliant!
We immediately started researching home swapping networks and found so many available programs. In the end, we chose the Home Exchange. You know me and my need to research, the Home Exchange was big, had great ratings, was affordable, user friendly and had an incredible worldwide reach. They also allowed you to choose from Simultaneous, Non-Simultaneous and Balloon Exchanges, narrow down to primary homes or 2nd homes and let you comment on your experience by signing their online Guestbook.
It was like opening a whole new world to us.
We started almost immediately – our first, exchanging for a trip in Vegas, our virtual toe in the water. What we got was incredible! An amazing 4 day stay in the Veer Towers on the Strip overlooking the Cosmopolitan Hotel and the Bellagio Fountains. A 3-bedroom 3-bathroom penthouse in the sky – I told our host she had ruined me for Vegas forever – where else could I stay that would be lovelier or more exquisite than this view?
Read more about this unexpected perk of owning a vacation home on Daisy blog http://dvidecor.com/unexpected-advantage-of-owning-vacation-home/
And don’t miss the full interview with her on our podcast.