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by Erica Poyauan

Is Buying a Vacation Home a Good Idea?

In Home, Home & Living, Investment Properties
April 9, 2022
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Many of us love to travel. After two years of restrictions, globetrotters are keen to make up for lost time.

If you long to travel more and enjoy a better work-life balance, you may be thinking about investing in a vacation property. If this idea sounds appealing, here are some tips to help you decide whether or not to go for it!

Picture source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-house-near-beach-2468773/

Explore investment opportunities

Before you spend money on a second property, it’s crucial to think about different types of investment opportunities. If you buy a vacation home, are you looking for a base to retreat to or relocate to for part of the year, are you eager to earn an income through hiring the house out, or are you thinking about joining an agency or attracting visitors through websites and apps that market rental properties?

If you are considering renting the property, it’s critical to bear this in mind when searching for a house or apartment. You want to make sure that you love the property, but also that it will work as a commercial venture. Define your ideal tenant or visitor and make sure the location, property type, and rental price are relevant to the target market. 

Consider different property types

There are all kinds of properties available and some are better suited to vacation homes than others. Before you start searching, think about where you want to buy, how much you want to spend, and how you want to spend your time while you’re on vacation.

From budget-friendly apartments and log cabins in the mountains to villas, farmhouses, and coastal boltholes, it’s wise to focus on properties that suit your budget and your preferences. In urban areas, townhomes are popular, but what is a townhome? Townhouses are often seen as the middle ground between large, family homes and apartments. If you’re buying in a city or a large town, this could be a good option. If you’re looking at rural areas, you may be more focused on views, outdoor space, and access to beaches or national parks than proximity to shops and restaurants. 

Think about your lifestyle

Having a vacation home is a dream for many of us, but it is possible to have a rose-tinted vision of owning a second property. Think about your lifestyle and how much you would be able to use the property before you start searching. If you have a job that requires you to be in the office most of the time, opportunities to take a break may be limited. It’s also important to factor in additional costs, for example, upkeep charges and cleaning fees if you plan to let the house or apartment out when you’re not using it. 

Image credit: https://www.pexels.com/photo/cottage-house-exterior-in-winter-day-7031404/

If you love to travel, you may dream of having a vacation home, but is investing in a second property a good idea? If you are thinking about buying a bolthole in the countryside or a beach house, it’s important to research, weigh up the pros and cons, calculate costs and think about what kind of property you want to invest in and how to earn money. 

Author

Erica Poyauan

Erica is a former PR pro turned entrepreneur. Her greatest joys are family, blogging, music, skin care and social justice. As a Muay Thai enthusiast, Erica prides herself on working with increased focus, humility and diligence. She believes in living a fit life doing everything with a flair of creativity and love! Stalk her social channels @thegirlwiththemujihat

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Alternative ways to travel to avoid high fuel prices

In Home & Living, Travel
July 16, 2022
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The ongoing geopolitical crisis in Europe has affected fuel supply on a global scale. Prices of petrol are uncontrollably rising which could trigger a recession any time soon. With the unpredictable petrol prices in the market, commuters are finding alternative ways to travel to avoid high fuel prices.

Consumers are becoming wiser when it comes to spending their hard-earned money. Classic strategies are in place to save money on fuel which include inflating tires to correct gauges, avoiding traffic to using credit cards that give more gas rewards.

If you worry about the rising gas prices there are alternative ways to travel:

Fine tune your driving habits

  • Limit car usage. One of the obvious ways in reducing expenses for gas is to drive less. Of course, you cannot entirely avoid using your car so you to drive strategically by planning ahead errands and combining them in one go. This is supported by a report from Fueleconomy.gov that confirms short trips initiated from a cold start consume double the fuel as compared to just one trip for various errands while the engine is still warm.
  • When driving, drive with caution avoid aggressive driving, and easy on acceleration, braking and speeding. Being aggressive on the road will lower gas mileage by as much as 10 to 40 percent.

Consider carpooling and using public transportation

  • Public transportation is accessible in every area – buses, trains and even boats. You should temporarily take advantage of it. It costs much less than driving your own car.
  • Start considering carpooling with family or friends for work, doing errands or to evens. Carpooling could be a fun way of bonding with friends or family while saving on gas.
  • For short-distance travels, you can opt to use electric vehicles instead of a car or a motorcycle. E-bikes nowadays can travel as far as 40 kilometers before their batteries get discharged. Another pro of using e-vehicles over motorcycles is that they can carry more loads because it has bigger space for baggage.

Be physically active

  • Walking is still the best form of exercise and if you can walk your way to an errand do so. Another alternative to driving is biking. Biking helps you get in shape, and burn some calories too with every pedal.

The rising fuel prices have affected us in a lot of ways, especially our planned travels and vacations. Lucky for those who have booked their tickets long before this crisis happens. But for those who still love to travel and see the world but on a limited budget, you may opt to travel locally for now. The countryside is beautiful and we still have a lot to discover in our own town, city, or country – new food, new restaurants, local and start-up businesses, new services, and more. Don’t let this crisis prevent your desire and passion for travel. A true-blooded wanderer and globe-trotter will always find a way to travel for less and see what the world has in store for him or her every day.

How to Recover From a Disaster

In Home & Living, Investment Properties, Lifestyle
October 9, 2022
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How to Recover from a Disaster

Natural disasters can strike at any time, and they can be devastating to a family. There’s nothing you can do to prevent a disaster, but there are things that you can do to prepare for them and recover. This way, you can put your home and life back together.

Here are some ways that you can recover from a disaster that strikes your home.

Physical and Mental Recovery

The most important thing to consider during a disaster and in the aftermath is the health and safety of your family. Lives are irreplaceable, belongings are not. With this in mind, if someone was injured during a disaster, your focus needs to be on their recovery. Seek medical help as soon as possible to increase the chances of recovering well.

Once you’ve dealt with the immediate aftermath of a disaster, you or a loved one might be left dealing with the trauma of the event. Disasters are inherently traumatic and scary occasions, even if someone wasn’t physically hurt, they could still struggle to cope with anxiety. In this case, don’t be afraid to contact a therapist or counselor and talk to your doctor about further support.

Financial Recovery

Disasters are, by definition, expensive. They can cause huge amounts of damage and have financial consequences that can last for years. You might be injured and unable to work, which only compounds the financial stress. While your main focus would be on recovering from physical injuries, you also need to be able to recover financially.

Financial recovery is far more likely if you have the right homeowner’s insurance. When shopping for insurance, make sure that you research what kind of disaster is more likely to strike in your area. This means that you can heighten the likelihood of being covered.

You should contact your insurance company as soon as you can after the disaster. Other than making the building safe, resist the urge to clean up or make repairs until after the insurance company has been able to look at your property. 

Take photographs of the scene as well. Ideally, you should stay somewhere else until things can move forward, but if you need to move back into your home, then the photographs will help your case. 

Repairing and Rebuilding

The final step to recovery is to repair and rebuild your home. Depending on the degree of damage, this could be a huge job and your family may need to stay somewhere else. If you were covered under insurance, then the price of these repairs will be covered.

You will need to clean up your property and check for hidden damage. The insurance company, along with contractors will be able to find this damage. When making the repairs, choose experts in their field. For example, drywall experts will be able to deliver drywall texture repair so the wall looks like new.

Finally, you can make your house a home again and move on from the disaster. 

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