5 Things to Consider When Looking For The Right Location in Maine to Buy a Vacation Rental
Are you thinking about buying a second home in Maine and want to use it as a vacation rental? Well, in this short video, I will outline the top five things you should consider when looking for a property to short-term rent in Maine. This will help you avoid looking in locations that aren't right for you, or even worse, buying a home and finding out you can't use it the way you had planned.
Maine is an absolutely amazing state with many picturesque and beautiful locations, all ideal for vacation. However, there are many things to consider if you're looking to buy a home as a vacation home that you're also going to short-term rent. I'm going to outline the top five things that you need to consider when looking at different towns to buy a vacation rental in.
Home Prices and Average Price Per Night for Short-term Rentals: This is something you really need to consider. You start by figuring out what you can afford for a property, then you look at different towns to see if that price point works for the type of property you hope to buy. Conduct some market research to figure out what you can charge per night for your rental. Then, determine if those numbers make sense. Can you charge what you need to cover your costs? Are the rental prices correct? Are the home prices correct in the location you're considering? Will you be able to rent it as much as you would like to cover all the costs, or just some of the expenses?
Emotional Attachment to the Location: Is there a location that is really special to you for any particular reason? Buying a second home is as much of an emotional investment as it is financial. It's an emotional investment for you and your family, a place for you to make memories, maybe something you can pass on to your family. If there's a specific location where you want to be for any particular reason, you really need to take that into consideration.
Desirability of the Location for Vacationers: Is the location you are considering for a home a desirable location for vacationers? Is there any seasonality to the town? Will you be able to rent your property out all year, or only certain seasons of the year? Will there be times of the year that maybe you need to put a long-term renter into the property or times that you're not able to rent it, or you need to reduce the rental amount in order to get people to rent?
Regulations on Short-term Rentals: Does the town or city that you're looking in allow short-term rentals? Are there any restrictions there? Are permits needed, fees that you need to pay? When you are buying a property for the sake of short-term renting it, you want to make sure it's allowed in that town because you certainly don't want to find that you have bought a property and now you cannot short-term rent it and now you're not able to afford the bills. That's certainly not a situation you want to get into.
Resources Available for Rental Owners: What types of resources does the town that you're looking in have for you as a rental owner? Is there a property management company that you would utilize? Are there cleaning services, reliable landscapers, or people in the town who can help you out if you are not there to manage the property yourself? It really depends on how far the property is from you. If it's in the same town you live in, you may be able to manage it. If the property is 2 or 3 hours away, you're going to need to rely on some services in that town to help you manage that property. You really want to make sure that those are available before committing to an area.
Now that you have some things to consider when thinking of the perfect location for your rental property, be sure to check out my other video where I share my top 10 tips that I have learned as a vacation rental owner myself. This will give you some things to consider as you think of different locations for vacation rental.
As always, if you have any questions about real estate or Maine in general, please feel free to reach out. I am always happy to chat.