Second Home Vs Investment Property

[Courtney Kelly]

We have been looking to purchase a multi family in Massachusetts for the last year but unfortunately (after about 10 offers) have still not been able to secure anything. Considering changing gears and purchasing a second home or an investment property in the Woodstock/Lincoln NH area. We spend a lot of time skiing in that area and are considering a property that we could both use and rent out. Looking for guidance on this. From what I understand the second home interest rates and down payment required are lower- and we would qualify as long as we used the property for 14 days per year or 10% of the total time we would rent it. I would appreciate any input from someone who has done this in terms of tax benefits, preferred lenders for a second home, and any input on having a second home in another state from your primary residence. Thank you!

[Tracy Ross]

@Courtney Kelly this is exactly what I ended up doing. I live in Idaho and bought an oceanfront condo on the Oregon Coast because that's where I like to vacation. As a real estate agent I usually pay hefty taxes but this year we may be getting money back because of that condo. We write off everything and every time we go we fix something. Last time we went we switched out the queen bed for a king. It has been amazing! You can write off the milage on your car to get there, gas, meals, furniture, property management expenses, maintenance and depreciation. 

Also- because this STR is in a vacation destination we stay about 85% booked or more. We even had a midterm renter for the whole month of December (which is usually seasonally slow there).