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WHY
INVEST in a
SECOND
HOME?
“Just two more years, honey, and the party’s gonna start!”
How often have you heard about retirees from past generations
slaving their lives away to save for their golden years, only
to find there was precious little time left to enjoy it?
Either their time was just too short or they didn’t have the
health and vitality left to enjoy it with their children and
grandchildren when “golden years” finally arrived. Instead of
the quality time their families were looking forward to
spending with grandma and grandpa, all they were left with was
the fruits of years of their hard work.
Family Memories – Your Best Investment Yet
So much more than an investment in real estate, a second home
in Southwest Michigan is an investment in irreplaceable family memories – the
highest dividends available. Anyone who has grown up with a
vacation home, lake home or cottage can attest to the
indelible memories of their youth spent playing with family
and lifelong friends. For many urban families, these times
represent the lion’s share of childhood time spent outdoors
getting exposed to nature. Whether it was
fishing with dad,
mom or friends, exploring in the woods, catching frogs,
spotting deer and other wildlife, or just swimming, boating
and waterskiing, the days spent away from their everyday
“city” life was part of their education about the world around
them.
A Shifting Trend
Perhaps this is why the trend has shifted toward buying second
homes well before retirement: Life is too short to put off
spending quality time with children and grandchildren until
they’ve grown up. In fact, second home owners will tell you
the best way to get your kids to come visit more often, with
or without grandchildren, is to invite them to the lake house.
Other factors enter into this trend. While a second home may
help you escape technology for the weekend, it is also helping
bring about the dream earlier. Availability of high speed
internet access in second home communities has allowed parents
to bring the family for much longer weekends or even weeks at
a time during the summer. After getting a few hours of work
done around the kids’ schedules, or even working remotely all
day, parents are then able to spend time on the lake with the
kids during the longer daylight of summer.
Financially Wise, Too
At a time when home prices have been depressed and interest
rates are at historic lows, an investment in a second home is
also a great way to diversify a personal investment portfolio.
Most investment allocations are far too heavy on stocks and
bonds and too light on real estate. Real estate, over the long
haul, has consistently been one of the safest and strongest
investments available to most people. With interest rates in
the mid-single digits, there has never been a more affordable
time to lock in your dream: a new
Southwest Michigan lakefront home. Buying a home now is like
taking the lemons the recession dropped on us and making “Lake
House Lemonade”. Even if you never sell your home investment,
its dividends – cherished memories – will continue to be
collected by your family, perhaps for generations to come.
“My doctor made me buy it.”
Ask any second homeowner what they like most about their home
away from home and you’ll likely hear the same refrain: “It’s
just a whole different atmosphere with a lot less stress.
We’ve reconnected with our kids. They hardly ever watch TV or
play video games, they don’t have their iPods stuck in their
ears all day, we play together, we eat together, we all read
more, we make s’mores around the fire at night and actually
talk. It’s just more laid back than when we’re with all the
other distractions of the real world.” And it’s not just the
stress relief, it’s actually just what the doctor ordered . .
. it’s healthier. Most second homeowners report they spend
more time on activities like taking walks, swimming, water
skiing, kayaking, canoeing, motor boating, hiking, biking,
cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, chopping firewood and just
spending far more time in the fresh outdoor air.
Let Me Entertain You
Some people also use their
Michigan vacation homes to entertain
clients. This real quality time is far more effective and
memorable than another round of golf or a restaurant dinner.
Your tax advisor can tell you which of your expenses can be
written off as a business entertainment expense. Whether you
want to be the social butterflies of your group of friends and
clients or make your second home your own private getaway, you
control the guest list. Speaking of guests, nothing makes them
feel more welcome than being included in the weekend
preparations for a visit. See Lake Home Entertaining for ideas
on how to involve your guests to make it more fun for them and
easier for you.
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