Buying a vacation home seems like a dream investment, but it’s a big decision that requires a lot to think about first.

“A second home has countless life-enriching benefits, as it specifically gives you that place to spend time with friends and family and create memories which I find to be super important to set aside time for,” says Austin Allison, co-founder and CEO of Pacaso, a San Francisco-based real estate service that aims to expand second home ownership.

“There’s something relaxing and special about revisiting your favorite hiking trail or your favorite coffee shop and having those moments of peace and reconnection that people value more now than ever before,” he adds.

1.  Weigh the Pros and Cons

You may be set on buying a vacation home, but you still need to consider the positives and negatives. Some of the pros include:

• You can rent it out for extra income. You could create a passive income stream by renting out your vacation home to travelers.

• It’s an investment. Not only does a vacation home offer rental income, but the property could also appreciate over time. Vacation rentals can increase in value, especially in areas with growing market demand.

• It saves you money on your next vacation. Instead of spending money on a hotel or other short-term rental, you could save by taking a trip to your vacation home.

• There could be tax benefits. There are significant tax advantages available to second home owners, such as deductions on your property taxes and mortgage interest.  

• What to Consider Before Buying a Vacation Home | Real Estate | U.S. News (usnews.com)

Concert pianist James Dick established Round Top Festival Institute in historic Round Top,  Texas, in 1971. Dick, a performer with a distinguished career, was uniquely qualified for the  task of creating a 200-acre campus and organization to operate one of the major music festivals in the United States. Dick graduated from the University of Texas with special honors in  piano in 1963 and was a student of pianist and pedagogue Dalies Frantz. Subsequently, Dick  received two Fulbright Fellowships for study at the Royal Academy of Music in London and  private study with Sir Clifford Curzon, a major pianist of the twentieth century. Dick was also  a top winner in the Tchaikovsky, Busoni and Leventritt international competitions and since  has represented the United States on the juries of the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.

The campus is also used for conferences, meetings and retreats. The Festival Concert Hall,  completed in April 2007, is one of the best in the country, acoustically speaking and strikingly beautiful. It is used for recordings. Major business groups, museum administrators, music  critics, law firms, and numerous university and professional organizations have held conferences and retreats here. A series of distinguished museum lectures is presented at Festival  Hill each year. The campus, famed for its gardens, rare trees, herbal collections, cascades,  fountains and unusual landscaping, is a destination for visitors from all over the world. An  outreach program of public services concerts featuring students and faculty extends the benefits of the Festival-Institute to the surrounding community. Be sure to check out Round  Top’s newest country acreage community…The Estates at Astoria, walking distance to Festival Institute!

*Pulling into Round Top, Texas (population 93) for the first time feels like discovering a hidden gem. The stylish small town appears almost suddenly after miles of country roads, a  drive accented by white fences and sightings of longhorn cattle. Barely a square mile in size,  Round Top is made up of a collection of historic buildings which house antique and vintage  shopping, clothing boutiques, and even a cheese shop, a candy store, and a Hallmark-esque  coffee and pie counter.

The New York Times deemed Round Top “the Cotswolds  of Texas,” and a local was quoted in CultureMap San Antonio calling it “the next Jackson Hole.” Texas  Monthly even gave it the title of “the Aspen of  Texas.” But while there are touches of each affluent destination throughout Round Top — where the charm of the English countryside  meets the Western flair and sky-high real estate  prices found in the mountain towns — it has a  distinct personality and appeal, even outside of  the tri-annual Original Round Top Antiques Fair.  Since the late 1960s, Round Top has played host  to “The Show,” a multi-day extravaganza that  has grown exorbitantly over the years. Today,  hundreds of thousands of visitors descend upon  the town and the tents, barns, and hayfields  along Highway 237 in hopes of finding or selling  a variety of antique furniture, art, and textiles.   *article by Lydia Mansel Travel + Leisure