Newbie looking @ vacation rental as first investment purchase

[Alyssa Czopor]

I'm super green with everything to do with REI. I'm more excited than fearful at this point which is why I know I'm ready to jump in and look for my first investment property. I started learning more about real estate when I decided to look into buying a vacation home in upstate NY several months back. I picked up the ABCs of Real Estate Investing and then two more books and now I'm hooked.

Does anyone deal with vacation rentals as their main investment? Is this a good idea for a newbie? What are the major cons of this type of investment property? One I have found already is the hefty down payment required. 

I'm currently looking at a property in the Catskills that isn't on the market yet. It is in a great location, beautiful setting and appears to be good rental opportunity from what I have researched. However, again, I'm brand new to this and I know there are no guarantees but any advice and or suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks!