Choosing the location.
Start from where you live. Think about places you went and you loved it within 2 hours of driving. Think what you liked there and what you didn’t like. Imagine what you you would do if you went there for 1 week. Are there any nice dining places? Are there any activities to take the kids to? Is there water where guests can swim, fish or bring a boat? Are there hospitals near by? Are there mountains, a forest, a creek or any other setting?

Things to consider:
Families with children (activities for kids and hospitals)
Couples and adult companies (activities for adults and places to dine)
Mixed groups (all of the above)

What would be the activities for kids:

Swimming (beaches on any water – lake, ocean, river, creek)
Tubing, water rafting, canoeing (lakes and rivers)
Horse back riding
Amusement parks
Movies
Zoos
think about you when you were small and your kids, what they like to do?

Some activities for adults:

Golf
Casino
Restaurants
Bars
Clubs

you can make this list bigger just using your common sense :)

Why you should ask yourself that if you know this perfect secluded area in the mountains? Because people like to be out there, close to nature, but they want to have all the civilian attributes close by. If given a choice, people would prefer a cottage in a forest 5 miles from downtown of the small city, as opposed to a beautiful cabin on top of a mountain with an unbelievable view to which that you have to drive for 30 minutes. I am not saying that this cabin won’t be a good vacation place for someone; I am just saying it will bring less business in my experience. We are very accustomed to the luxury of life and we don’t feel good when it’s too far to the store where we can buy a box of milk or a loaf of bread.

So let’s suppose we know this place and it’s just perfect,; it’s close to a some small city with little stores and a country meal available, it has many sightseeing places around, there’s beautiful nature and it’s only 2 hours for you to drive there. Or perhaps it is this another place right in the downtown area of your city, next to Six Flags and museums with so much to do in the day time and many places to party at night. See the picture? I would start my property search right here.

But perhaps you don’t recall places like that close to you. And after you did a lot of research, you still can’t find it and you are very firm on wanting of making money. You can be a long- distance owner, but prepare for the task. This will be a harder business. It can be very successful, but it requires more time for you to invest. We will talk about this in chapter 5.

I guess it can be summarized as following: If you are to buy it to have it as a business, look around you and take it as a business move. If you want it as pleasure from the place you really love, try the long- distance.

TIP: There’s something to consider. If you live in Florida but absolutely love to ski in Colorado, don’t rush into buying and renting in Colorado. You can make a very successful vacation rental where you are and spend money that you make right there for this nice vacation in Colorado Aspen (name of famous resort???). Or you can simply exchange with the owner. I can assure you there are plenty of vacation rental owners in Colorado that want to spend their own vacation in Florida. All you need to do is ask.