Long Distance Vacation Rental Investing

[Adam Dow]

I am thinking about buying a vacation rental in a warm climate (Florida, the Caribbean or Central America is what I am considering) as both an investment and to use for my family for a couple weeks out of the year. My idea is to make a little money and have a place to use myself to essentially have a free vacation home. I am just wondering if anyone has any experience with this? What locations did you invest it? What do the numbers look like and which management company are you dealing with? On the other hand I could just buy another rental in my area and use the income to pay for my vacations. Any feedback would be appreciated!