The Perpetual Tourist

You probably think I’m crazy for even addressing this question, when all we hear on the news is how bad the housing market is, how awful the economy is, and how things are only getting worse. True, the situation is bad — worse than it’s ever been in my memory — so unless you are already in a really good place financially (and most Americans are not these days), you should not even consider tying yourself up in a mortgage right now.

If you are one of the lucky ones with your head still above water and your bank account still well in the black, it may be worth it to you to dig a little deeper than the doomsday news reporting. Yes, the housing market is awful — for most people. Given the credit crisis that kickstarted this whole mess, you will have to have excellent credit to get a decent mortgage. But for those who do have good credit, mortgage rates are very low right now, and might be as low as they’re going to get for a while, since the Fed finally put an end to its string of rate cuts earlier this week.

More good news for home buyers — it’s the sellers who are hurting the most right now (besides those being foreclosed). Prices are dropping and the market is absolutely saturated with houses for sale — that means that sellers must be willing to cut their asking prices and put up with more demands than ever from buyers. If you are a buyer with good credit, you hold all the power in this market.

You probably can get a heck of a deal on a vacation home now, but there are still some other factors to consider before you call your realtor. If you are buying a summer home on your favorite beach to live with your family for a few months out of the year, there may never be a better time to do it. But if you’re thinking of a second home as some sort of investment or income generator, don’t get too excited.

What are you planning to do with your beach house? Rent it out to vacationers? Don’t count on it. Economic woes are keeping travelers closer to home this year, and there’s no telling when the economy will be healthy enough to fill all those beach houses again. Can you afford to maintain the place if no one is renting it? Think about the cost of gas and your own travels — how much are you going to realistically be able to use the place?

If you’re simply thinking of real estate as a better investment than the stock market right now, well, that could be true, but this is a risky gamble. Prices are likely to continue to drop. We won’t know where the bottom is until we’ve already hit it. Don’t expect to be able to flip any properties for a profit anytime soon. People are still out there trying this, and there are some success stories, but these are the exceptions.

All these caveats in mind, if what you want out of a vacation home is just a place to kick up your heels when you want to get away, and you’ve got the money and the credit to get into the market without stretching your finances thin, then this is a great time for you. The house may drop in value in the short term (and possibly, but hopefully not, the long term), but as long as you are able to afford the mortgage and don’t depend on the equity, you don’t need to be scared off by all the bad news in the media.

Every year, my family takes a week-long vacation to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. This year, I was actually invited. We’ve been doing this for so long that we’ve got beach vacationing down to a science. To have a great beach trip, it helps to have a flexible schedule. Everyone wants to come to the beach in the summer, but picking the right part of the summer can make or break your vacation.

When the beach is really crowded, it can be hard to have a good time. Someone’s frisbee is always flying into your personal space, you can’t ride a boogie board without running over some kid, and it’s just too loud and hectic to ever relax. That’s why the best times to come to the beach are before the end of the school year in May or early June and after the kids go back to school in August or early September. Of course you don’t have this luxury when your own kids are in school — so if you really hate crowds, get your beach vacations in before they start kindergarten and return to the tradition after graduation.

Another advantage to going early or late in the season is that prices will be lower for rentals. Hotels at the beach are either really expensive or really crappy, so we’ve always preferred to rent vacation houses. Some people find a house they like and keep renting the same one year after year, but there are so many different styles and locations on the beach that I think it’s better to mix it up a bit. This year, we rented a large house just a block off the ocean from this company. According to the listing, our house sleeps 20 — but our family of 9 fills it comfortably. Just because there’s room for 11 more bodies doesn’t mean that many more people could be comfortable here — keep that in mind when you select a rental. If you have a group of 20, look for a house that sleeps 30, or divide your group between two houses. You’ll be much more comfortable that way. The number a house will advertise it holds usually assumes two people to every bed and sleeper sofa, so if everyone wants their own bed, divide that number in half.

We used to always stay in Myrtle Beach, but lately we’ve been finding rentals in North Myrtle Beach, in the Cherry Grove area. It’s just a few miles north, but it’s much less commercialized and crowded, so we prefer it. And it’s still not a long way from all of the great beach attractions here.

When you rent a house or condo with an ocean view, you’ll pay a premium for that luxury. But ask yourself this: is standing on your deck to watch the waves a few minutes each day really worth an extra $1500? We look for the cheaper rentals that are a block or two back from the ocean — still just a short walk from the beach, and at a fraction of the cost. Many of these homes are situated on the manmade channels that run throughout the city, so you still have water in your backyard. These channels are a great place to park or launch a boat, and also a great indicator of the tides, as the water levels will rise and fall with the ocean.

If you want to save even more money, you can rent a place a little way inland, and drive to the beach when you want to spend time at the ocean. There is plenty of free public parking around here — something you don’t find often at other beaches.

It’s usually warm enough here by May to get the most out of the ocean — the water has been very comfortable for us at around 80 degrees this first week of June — and it generally stays nice at least through September, so no matter how early or late you celebrate your summer, you can make the most of this beach nearly any time you visit. For vacation house rental information, these three realty companies seem to be the most popular here in Cherry Grove: Century 21 Thomas, Elliott Realty, and Grand Strand Vacations.

Before getting into the reasons to buy a second home in the Hamptons, let’s first address the housing crisis that’s been all over the news for the last year. Now is a miserable time to sell a house. That’s making a mess for owners and developers, but this is good news for people looking to buy property — if you have stable enough finances to comfortably take on a new mortgage. Assuming you can handle the finances, the ball is completely in your court as a buyer. With more and more homes for sale flooding the market (there are over 5,000 properties for sale in the Hamptons right now), you as the buyer have the freedom to take your time, negotiate your own terms, and walk away from a deal that doesn’t meet your expectations. As sellers get impatient and desperate, the housing market begins to look like a giant clearance sale. So don’t let the news about the housing crisis scare you out of looking for a vacation home now. It’s not a bad market for everyone.

So why do you want a house in the Hamptons?

Everything about the Hamptons exudes style — especially the houses.  This is a great place to host a party,  or to escape for a quiet weekend of R&R.  Every home is near a beach, and outside of the peak summer season, you can practically have the beaches all to yourself.

Even in the popular summer months, you won’t find the beaches nearly as crowded as some other major tourist destinations.  This is largely due to the residential nature of the Hamptons — no skyrise hotels line the shores like other east coast beaches.

Some homeowners live in the Hamptons year round.  It’s a much quieter place outside the peak season, but there are enough people around to keep the area alive and businesses open.  For shopping and dining, you’ll find strip malls with luxury boutiques and cafes in the downtown areas, mostly away from the beaches, designed in ways that give the area a quaint-but-sophisticated small town feeling.

The climate in the Hamptons is generally comfortable.  You’ll have four seasons a year, with cold (but not too snowy) winters and hot summers that will make your backyard pool your favorite hangout.

Owning your own vacation home means pets are always welcome, and dogs will love having the run of the beaches in your neighborhood. 

Whether you’re looking to buy a getaway cottage or a sprawling mansion of a second home, the Hamptons are a great place to start your real estate search.  With all the rich and famous that you’ll have for neighbors, your housewarming party could be the next hot item on Page Six.