All Forum Posts by: Pat Chamara

I have 100k+ in savings and would like to invest that in real estate. I also rented until now and am in a situation where I need to buy a home to live in. I am currently considering using 20-30k as down payment for a residence and using the rest, about 100k for an investment property (probably a vacation rental). However, also wondering whether there's another way I could approach the situation. For example, buy a duplex with the savings I have and rent out one half; buying a multi-family and renting part of it etc. Would like to know whether any of you have been in a similar situation and how you approached it. The current plan I am leaning towards is to buy a home as primary residence and then buy another as an investment property.

I am new to vacation rental investing (or any real estate investing for that matter) and trying to decide between buying my first vacation rental property in Cape-Cod, MA, and Newport, RI. I got in touch with a realtor regarding a Newport RI property that I came across and she mentioned to me Newport RI is becoming more desirable than Cape-Cod for vacation rentals. However, Newport rentals have a minimum 1-month stay requirement as opposed to the Cape. According to her, a 3 bed 2 bath rental would go for about 11 to 12k during the Summer and a 3 bed 1 bath apartment would go for about 6-7k. Apparently, such apartments also get rented in the winter for about 2k. Would like to know whether these stats are correct and if you own properties in the Cape or Newport what your experience is. Btw, I checked AirDNA and the average monthly rental rate for Newport is about 4,700 USD (and for Middletwon about 5,900), and for places in the Cape, is around 4,500 USD (Dennis).

@Jonathan Schwartz a realtor told me recently Newport RI has become more desirable than Cape-Cod for vacation rentals. Do you think that is a correct assessment of the two markets?

Thanks @Jonathan Schwartz. Do you think even if the cape-cod rental is left vacant during the off peak season it is going to be profitable? And do you think 500k is a good enough investment for a cape-cod house? Just asking because 500k would be the investment I would able to be make towards my first rental property.

@Kathleen James, thanks. I have about 100k for investing. I guess with a mortgage I could get a place worth about 500k. Is that a good budget? Or should I spend less and get something smaller since this is my first?

Thank you @Dan Weber. Do you think Portland ME is a better option than Cape-Cod as far as by the beach vacation rentals are concerned?

I am planning to buy a vacation rental property in New England. What would be the best place to buy a vacation rental that has the best rental income potential? Is a year-round rental place (like in Vermont) better than a summer-only rental property like in Cape-Cod? This would be my first such property and have no experience in vacation rentals.