You may be considering relocation to another part of town or city. It is perfectly normal to do. Circumstances surrounding our lives may require it, or you may be looking for a fresh start for your family. Whichever the case, the decision to buy a second home is one to make without looking at the cons. Homes come with long-term responsibilities that are not easy to see in the excitement of the moment. Whether you want a summer home or a country home, knowing what to expect is helpful.
Financial burden
A home is an expensive venture. Unlike a business, a home does not provide recurrent revenues to take care of its expenses. It comes with a tremendous financial responsibility in the regular maintenance. If you have a sewer line problem in your main house and shortly after in your other home, you have to incur double the costs. It is therefore essential to make out a budget for what it would cost in the long run.
Mortgage
To support the acquisition of your second home, you may want to consider mortgage options. You will still be paying off your primary house, and so your incomes must show the ability to repay a new loan. The challenge with a second home repayment is that it reduces your overall net income. The tremendous outflows can mean that you do not have sufficient income to support renovations and crucial upgrades needed at the new or old home.
Traveling may be limited
A second home may be in a venue that the family enjoys spending time at once a year. After several years of frequenting one locale, the decision to buy a house there may be made. Like habits, preferences change. But since you already committed to the second home, you may find it challenging to pay for expenses to travel to new locales that may be of interest while still paying for the second home.