Buying Your First Mountain Home

12 June 2019
 Categories: Real Estate, Blog

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Buying mountain real estate will be a different type of experience than buying properties in more traditional locations. However, the beauty and privacy that can be enjoyed by owning these homes can be invaluable. As you are looking at your options for buying a house in the mountains, you should make sure that you are aware of some of the considerations that need to go into your choice of a mountain home.

Consider Whether Snow Will Make Accessing The Property Difficult

For individuals that enjoy skiing and other winter activities, living on a mountain can provide more convenient access to snow. Unfortunately, this can also make some properties difficult to reach during the winter months. If you are wanting to avoid traveling over iced roads or needing to invest in a four-wheel-drive vehicle, you may want to limit your choice of properties to those that are reasonably close to major roads and that have paved driveways.

Review The Water Supply For The Property

Due to their isolation, getting water to mountain properties can be a surprisingly challenging task. While homes in areas that are disconnected from water grids can often have wells drilled, this may not always be an option with mountain properties. This is a result of the fact that the water may be too deep to reach with a traditional well. For homes facing this issue, it will be necessary to have water delivered to the property on a regular basis.

Evaluate Whether Solar Panels Will Be Beneficial

When strong storms move through areas, mountains can experience some of the strongest effects of these storms. As a result, power outages can be extremely common following these storms. Luckily, technological advances have made it possible for homeowners to mitigate these problems with the installation of solar panels. These panels can provide your home with a self-sustaining power source so that you can make it through these periods with as little disruption as possible.

Determine Whether You May Want To Rent Out The House

If you are buying the mountain home to serve as your family's vacation property, it may be a useful option to rent out the property when you are not using it. However, you may want to make this decision before buying the property as this will help you to choose a property that both meets your family's preferences while also allowing for the highest demand and rental rates. Additionally, you will need to limit your choice to communities that allow short-term rentals as there are many communities that may not allow this type of rental activity.