Has anyone converted a rental into a vacation home?

[Adrian Teng-Amnuay]

I'm interested in buying a vacation home that can double as a real estate investment. I'm hoping it's possible to have my cake and eat it too, so curious to see if anyone else has attempted something similar before.

I'm a Los Angeles native working in tech with a pretty good income. Despite the fallout of the pandemic, 2020 was a pretty good year for stocks to say the least, and I'd like to diversify some of that into a more tangible asset like real estate. I'm currently looking at homes in Chandler and Scottsdale AZ, as well as Austin TX as I believe these to be great opportunities for appreciation, and I could see myself potentially moving out there after a few years.

I would be looking to buy with a loan due to all time low interest rates. At the same time, I don't want to buy a home which will simply sit while I pay the mortgage down, so ideally I would buy a SFH and rent in the meantime, eventually converting it into a vacation home somewhere down the line. I realize the implication is that loans on a rental are usually less favorable than say a primary or secondary residence, but I would imagine it still beats (from a financial perspective) holding an unused second home by a long shot.

Would be interested to see if anyone has done something similar. This is primarily an appreciation / vacation home play. I don't mind being slightly cash flow negative if it means I can take advantage of low interest rates and a booming geographic market.