January 23, 2006
Your Very Own "Tree Tent"
Dutch sculptor Dré Wapenaar's green tree tents aren't exactly your typical vacation home at the beach, but they certainly are memorable. It's not quite the same as sleeping in a tree house, but with a nine foot diameter at the bottom and a twelve foot high peak, there is room to move around inside. And unlike a true tree house or vacation home, the tree tent is portable (if you don't dismantle it, you'll need a full-sized pickup for transport, but if you dismantle the framework, the tent can be packed in a 12x4x2 foot crate). The outer skin is supported by a steel frame, which gives the tree tent a weight of about 440 pounds (for safety reasons, it is recommended to hang the tent relatively low on the tree). Each tent is individually made.
http://www.drewapenaar.nl/
January 21, 2006
Tiny Tumbleweed--the Vacation House You Take with You
The Tiny Tumbleweed is somewhere between a vacation cabin and a recreational vehicle. Like an RV, you can hitch it to the back of your truck or SUV and take it with you when you go. Like a cabin, wood exteriors and interiors give the tiny vacation homes a warm old-fashioned feel. Prices for Tumbleweed homes start at $39,000 for 125 square feet plus a porch. At the high-end of the scale is the $70,000 "Fat Bull's Eye," which is 500 square feet plus porch and includes two bedrooms. Though the spaces are small, they're designed to have everything you need, including built-in shelves, sleeping lofts, bathrooms, and kitchen areas. You can get the plans from the company to build the units yourself if you're handy and want to save money.
http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com
January 04, 2006
Build Your Own Castle
Thinking of building a vacation home from scratch? Or maybe your next permanent home? Have you ever thought... castle? Well, maybe not. Moats and dungeons aren't for everyone, but if the idea piques your interest, Castle Magic is ready to serve your needs. Based out of Idaho, the company will travel to your site and construct the castle of your dreams (complete with such modern amenities as garages and air conditioning). The price runs $154 to $274 per square foot for "basic medieval castles" and $300 to $600 per square foot for more elaborate ones. As with any custom-built home, land is not included, so you'll have to factor that in as well.
http://www.castlemagic.com/
via Cool House Plans
December 21, 2005
Tree Houses for Grown-ups
Maybe you've bought a piece of land out in the wilds somewhere with the intention of building your dream vacation home some day. But what kind of home will it be? Well, if you ever read/watched Swiss Family Robinson as a kid, you may still harbor dreams of tree houses. Just because you're an adult now doesn't mean you have to give that up. The TreeHouse Company builds custom tree houses all over the world. From simple (under $20,000) to luxurious (well over $100,000), the tree houses can be made to suit your whims (the one pictured here comes complete with Aga stove installed inside). You can browse their site for more information and pictures of tree houses they've already completed.
http://www.treehouse-company.com
September 12, 2005
Yurt Homes
Yurts may not exactly be luxury homes, but if you've priced houses lately, you can guess why more people are choosing to buy a piece of land somewhere and building a kit home on it. Kit homes can be anything from houses to log cabins to, yes, yurts. Pacific Yurts, one of the largest manufacturers of yurt homes, operates out of Oregon and sells kits of various sizes. The price for a 150 square foot yurt is around $4,000 while you can get a 700 square foot model for $10,000. The appeal? Unlike something like a log cabin, a yurt is relatively easy to assemble. They're also more environmentally friendly than stick built homes: "Typically set upon wood platforms supported by simple post-and-beam systems, Pacific Yurts have minimal impact on the surrounding soils and, though durable, can be removed without a trace." Pacific Yurts has a photo gallery on their site, if you're not sure what a yurt looks like (or you just want to see how one would look on that 5 acre lot you just bought in the mountains...)
http://www.yurts.com/
http://www.yurts.com/gallery/photo-gallery.aspx
August 16, 2005
Build Your Own... Water Tower?
When you think of water towers, you probably think of those metal municipal tanks that hover on the outskirts of most cities. http://www.water-towers.com wants to change your perceptions of them. They sell building plans for water towers meant for residential use... just in case you ever wanted a tower in your backyard. Well, why not? Maybe you want to get back that view you used to have before the neighbors added their second story. Maybe you've got a piece of land and want to build a cool vacation home. Maybe you want to stash extra water for emergencies. Or maybe you've always wanted a unique guest house. (Maybe you think this is a crazy idea and we're nuts for suggesting it.) Do check with local building codes before you decide to put a thirty foot tall structure on your property...
July 20, 2005
Vacation Homes and Taxes
It's been a while since we mentioned vacation homes, and I came across an article that deals with how they are tax deductible and figured I'd share the details:
Assuming you finance your vacation home, the interest on the loan is tax deductible (so long as the mortgage isn't greater than the home's market value).
If you file an itemized return, its real estate taxes are deductible, too.
Thinking of renting your vacation home?
If you rent it 14 days or less a year, the rental income is tax-free. It gets more complicated if you rent it out more than 14 days a year. Then you have to compare the days rented to the days of personal use. "When the personal use of the home exceeds 14 days--or 10 percent of the total number of days rented, (whichever is greater), all rental income must be reported and deductions must be allocated between rental and personal days." Yeah, my brain went a bit fuzzy at that, too. The article earnestly recommends seeing a tax professional if you're planning to buy a vacation home with the primary intention of renting it out.
Source: "Tax Talk" in American Dream Homes Winter 2005
June 13, 2005
Vacation Homes As Investments
More and more people are purchasing vacation homes. For some, it's just a way to make vacations easier and less hassle. But many are buying second homes with investment in mind. According to David Lereah in Are You Missing the Real Estate Boom?
, "A vacation property, given favorable demographic trends, is a powerful, long-term investment, one that will significantly increase your ability to profit from today's real estate boom. In the most popular vacation markets, properties are appreciating at more than twice the rate of homes in the national housing market, suggesting that vacation purchases could be the most rewarding of all residential property investments" (p. 184).
Lereah goes on to talk about how vacation homes can be a good investment for families who can afford them because of their likelihood to appreciate more quickly than residential homes (especially in areas where there is limited buildable land, such as with beachfront properties). He also spends about a chapter talking about rental properties as investments; a vacation home can be both a place for your family to use and a way to earn rental income when you're not using it.
Sites he suggests are http://www.escapehomes.com/, a place for browsing vacation home listings, and http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/. Both sites have done articles on the fastest growing vacation home markets.
Source: Are You Missing the Real Estate Boom?
March 21, 2005
Vacation Home Monitoring
A vacation home can be a great getaway, but one of the drawbacks is the inability to check in on it often. Vacant homes can be an appealing target to thieves, and even simple problems like leaks or power outages can be problematic when you live hours away. Devices like Sensaphone's CottageSitter help vacation homeowners keep track of their real estate assets and provide peace of mind.
The CottageSitter allows you to remotely monitor temperature, sound level in the home, possible water leaks, and power. If an alarm is tripped, it will call up to 8 people to relay the problem.
Sensaphone CottageSitter.
February 08, 2005
Luxury Treehouse?
I found a post from the History Channel (assuming the post is legit) on Craigslist. "The History Channel is launching a, well, historical makeover series, and our professional builder will build, in your back yard, an authentically detailed treehouse modeled on the 17th century Pitchford House in England." The email address is included at the bottom of the post: History Channel TreeHouse.
February 05, 2005
Earthships
If you're looking for an environmentally friendly vacation home (or even a primary residence), you might want to take a look at the Earthship Biotecture site. Designed to limit human intrusiveness on the earth, the Earthship is "a completely independent globally oriented dwelling unit made from materials that are indigenous to the entire planet."
Also related: Green Home Building: Earthship.
January 15, 2005
Las Vegas Vacation Homes
It's been "Las Vegas Week" on the Travel Channel and I got sucked into watching some of the shows. Apparently, Las Vegas is the fastest growing city in the U.S. One of the shows touched on vacation home options, mentioning that condominiums in secured buildings made a great choice since you don't need to worry much about maintenance or break-ins when you're not using your vacation home. Las Vegas' Park Towers was mentioned specifically as luxury high-rise living with great views and a location close to the strip. Prices for a condo start at $750,000 and go up into the millions. More at High-Rise Living in Las Vegas.
The show also suggested gated communities for those who prefer houses to condos. Likewise, security is less of an issue, since there are generally neighbors around all year, and entrance requires a key or special remote.
If you're wondering what's out there, try searching for Las Vegas at Realtor.com, a site that links into the MLS database with all the houses on the market. If you're looking for a FSBO (for sale by owner) house that might not be listed, you can try the Las Vegas Real Estate section at Craigslist.
January 08, 2005
Vacation Homes & Tax Breaks
Are you one of the millions of Americans who owns a vacation home? According to an online article in the South Coast Today, many vacation homeowners "often fail to maximize their tax savings from their part-time residences." The article advises that by "...keeping simple tax records for your second home can result in saving hundreds or even thousands of tax dollars." It suggests four different ways you may be able to save.
Realty tax tips: Vacation and second home tax breaks