When it comes to financing your vacation home, not all loans are created equal — so choose wisely.
Ready to buy that ski cabin or lake house? Renting it out while you're not using it is a great way to make it happen — but not so fast. Lender rules may not allow it, so here’s what you need to know.
The first step to financing your vacation home is understanding what mortgages are available and their rules about renting:
The best thing about a second-home mortgage is that the rates are the same as a primary residence mortgage. The worst thing is that you can’t rent the home.
This is an often overlooked provision of second-home loans, but it’s the most important, because if you ever rent your vacation getaway, you'll violate the loan's terms.
When you get a loan, there's a document called the note, which spells out the loan's amount, rate, payments and fixed versus adjustable periods. Depending on what state you live in, you’ll also have either a mortgage or a deed of trust in addition to your note, which spells out additional loan requirements. (See which states use mortgages versus deeds of trust.)
At first glance, a second-home mortgage or deed of trust seems like it has the same requirements as a primary residence. Provision 6 says you must move in within 60 days and live there for at least one year — then you’re free to rent it out. Here’s a sample:
However, there’s an addendum — called a rider — in mortgages and deeds of trust that replaces this friendly requirement with a new, much more strict requirement saying that you can’t rent out the home. Here’s a sample:
This language, though hidden deep in the loan documents you’ll sign before closing, makes two critical points:
So, if you plan to afford a vacation home by renting it out, you can't finance it with a second-home loan. But you'll need to review non-owner-occupied loan options with your lender to meet the objective of using and renting a home that’s not your primary residence.
As noted above, this means you’ll need to put down a larger down payment, and your rate will be slightly higher. But it’s a small price to pay for the flexibility of earning income from a home that you also use for your own enjoyment.
Top photo from Shutterstock.
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Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or position of Zillow.
Originally published October 4, 2016.
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Zillow
06.04.2018