Architecture & Architects

From the book, Second Home
A second home can offer a wonderful weekend getaway, as well as a potential retirement location. Before you buy or build, use our advice to assess your best personal options.

Assessing Your Needs

When you want to get away from it all, where does your heart lead you? For some, it's a shore thing for beachcombing and romantic sunsets. Others take the first backwoods exit to solitude. Whether there's a mountaintop or a rural hamlet in your daydreams, the perfect spot for a getaway home is any place that renews your spirit and lets you do the things you love.

When researching a second home, be certain to try out locations. Here are several tips to consider when site shopping:

- If possible, visit a potential getaway for two or more years in a row.
- Camp out on that mountain site you're thinking of buying.
- Take home-swap vacations to check out different locales.
- Take a virtual vacation, touring homes and locations on the Internet.

What Do You Want?
Second home locations are inherently inspiring, so emotions can run high when you shop for a getaway. To make the best choice, shop with a clear vision of what you really want.

- What hobbies do you want to indulge or develop? Does your dream include great fishing, or perhaps a nearby town dotted with antique shops or a great flea market?
- Do you crave peace -- or partying? If serenity is at the top of the list, you might want to choose a lake that allows only canoes and johnboats with trolling motors. No noisy jet skis!
- How often do you plan to get away? It's easy to "vacation" every weekend if you choose a site that's a two- or three-hour drive from home.
- How much light do you need? A log cabin in the woods is fine if you fantasize about Davy Crockett's wild frontier. If you lean toward light and airy, think bright beach house instead.

From Second to Primary Home

Beyond the Weekend Retreat

Does spending more than the occasional weekend at your cottage figure into your plans? Maybe it should. Taking retirement or early retirement, starting a home-based business, or telecommuting can open up new possibilities for enjoying your second home. So, as you shop, keep in mind that the right location and the right home could be the long-term answer to change -- planned or unexpected -- that may come your way.

If you're eyeing a second home as a potential home office, home-based business, or retirement spot, select one with enough footage to accommodate your future needs, or one that can be remodeled. Be sure to check zoning restrictions to see if it's legal to operate a home business in your area.

Better Homes and Gardens

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