Private Holiday Home Guide

As fun as it is to see new parts of the world and explore unknown cities and landscapes, sometimes you find a place you can’t stop thinking about. Something about it just speaks to you, it makes you feel at home, and you end up going back again and again. If this is the case for you, you might want to consider investing in a holiday home of your own in your favorite vacation spot. If you add up all you’ve spent over the years on hotels and meals in restaurants, you’ll see that it might even save you some money in the long run. Not to mention the ease and convenience of being able to keep a closet full of clothes and everything else you need on your vacation in your second home instead of packing a suitcase ever single time.

How Do I Find Holiday Homes For Sale?
Chances are you are buying in an area you have visited many times, so you will have some idea of where you’d like your home to be and what the local real estate market looks like. (If you think that you’d like to buy a home in an area you have never visited, I strongly suggest finding a home to rent there for a season first. You never know how you’ll like a place until you’ve experienced it for yourself, no matter what others are saying about it.) Searching on the Internet is a given option of course, but I think it is always a good idea to work with a local realtor, especially if you’re looking to buy in a very popular vacation destination. They are there full time and can let you know about new properties the moment they come on the market. They will also check the property out for you, and decide if it’s something you might like, saving you several trips just to see a property.

One important thing to consider is whether you are planning to rent out your holiday home or just use it for yourself and your family – it can make a difference in your mortgage. If you plan to rent it out, you may have to get a commercial loan with a slightly higher interest rate. But don’t let that hold you back, just crunch the numbers and make sure that your rental income covers (and hopefully exceeds) your mortgage payments. Talk to your lender and discuss all aspects of your second home investment before jumping in.

Exchanging homes is a fabulous, affordable option for vacationing in a private home. It does take a bit of work to find a home in an area you want to visit, contact the owners, and get your schedules matched up, but it is worth every second. Not only do you get to stay in someone’s nicely furnished every-day (or second) home and live just like the locals do, but you often end up with friends for life.

The first time you do a home exchange, it does feel a bit weird walking into somebody else’s home when they are not there (and they are people you most likely have never met), and you do have to be able to trust others since they will be living in your home, and maybe driving your car as well. But we have had nothing but positive experiences and still exchange Christmas cards and the occasional email with our “exchange families”. I have found that most people who do home exchanges are open, friendly and incredibly welcoming.

The best way to find homes to exchange is to join one of the many home exchange programs available (we use HomeExchange.com) and post your own home on the site. People are more likely to exchange with you if your home is listed as well. Make sure to include photos and as much information as possible, both about your home and the neighborhood. Be honest about your home and car: it’s better to be up front about any quirks and shortcomings than to have disappointed house guests. When you contact people to inquire about an exchange, they can easily look at your place and decide if they are interested.

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If you happen to be lucky enough to own a luxury home, yacht, island, estate, or vacation home, there are home exchange organizations especially for you. I can certainly understand that nobody wants to exchange their 10,000-sf fully staffed mansion for a 500-sf condo with drafty windows, and this way, you are sure to get an equal exchange. Most work a little bit differently from a traditional home exchange setup, using points and non-simultaneous, multi-property swaps.

This is how it works: since you probably don’t spend all your time on your yacht or in your vacation home, you can allow other members to stay while you’re not there. Every time another member stays at one of your properties, you gain points that you can use towards a stay at one of the other properties listed with the agency. So you wouldn’t necessarily be swapping properties with the person who stays at your home. Instead you have your choice of luxury accommodations throughout the world whenever you want to travel.

Regardless of the level of luxury your home or other property offer, I encourage you to try a home exchange. It’s a unique, fun and very affordable way to vacation.

For those who enjoy spending time on the water, renting (or owning) a houseboat or barge is a fantastic way to vacation. When you think of renting a holiday home, what comes to mind most often is a Tuscan villa, a quaint seaside cottage or stylish city loft, but houseboats and barges can be every bit as luxurious and comfortable, and come with the added convenience of a constantly changing scenery (should you choose to pull up anchor). Picture falling asleep to the soothing sound of tiny waves lapping against the side, and enjoying your morning coffee sitting on the deck with your toes in the ocean/lake/river while watching birds glide soundlessly just above the water’s surface.

There are many houseboat rentals available both in the US and worldwide, mostly on lakes and rivers, but there are some on the oceans as well. It’s usually a bit easier to navigate your houseboat on a lake and the water is calmer than the ocean. The four most popular house boating lakes in the US are Lake Shasta in northern California, Lake Cumberland in Kentucky, Lake Lanier in Georgia, and the breathtaking Lake Powell on the border between Utah and Arizona.

Rivers, also with calm waters, have locks you have to get through, but you’ll learn that in no time. Traveling on a river often means you don’t have to go back to where you started, so you get to see a lot of new places. Popular rivers for house boating in the US include the Mississippi (no surprise there) and the northward-flowing St. Johns River in Florida.

If you want to stay in a houseboat on an ocean, but are worried about navigating it, you can always just stay in one place. Some rentals are more like houses and not even intended to be moved. And there is always the option of renting a fully crewed or skippered boat. That way you can just kick back and relax and let the captain worry about the navigating.

The price for renting a houseboat obviously depends on the size, location and season. You can find a 38′ houseboat that sleeps four for around $1,300/week in Florida in high season, a 65′, triple deck model that sleeps 22 on Lake Shasta for $16,000/week, as well as everything in between.