When you finally decide that you and your spouse are ready to pull the trigger on that awesome vacation home you've had your eye on for all those years, it can be an extremely exciting time. It can also be the time when you realize that there might be a lot more to consider when you're looking for a vacation home, and now that old cabin doesn't quite meet the needs that you didn't have all those years ago. We'll talk about some of the most important things to consider when you and your spouse are looking for a vacation home to get for your family, so that you can make the most out of your new investment.

1. Size. Think about how big your family is now, and think about how big it's potentially going to get in the future, if that's still an option. This should be a huge factor in the vacation home that you purchase, as you want it to last you a good, long time, and you want your family to be able to avoid outgrowing it. Do your due diligence and make sure you purchase a property that fits in line with you and your spouse's plans for the future.

2. State of Repair. Consider the shape of your vacation home before you purchase it. If you haven't yet visited it in person, this is highly recommended before actually purchasing. Pictures can be misleading, whether intentionally or not, and you want to make sure you know exactly what you're getting into. Nobody wants a vacation
home that's breaking down and requires a ton of expensive solutions right as soon as you move into it.

3. Local Attractions. Go ahead and let the nearby attractions influence your purchasing decision in a huge way. This will go hand-in-hand with cost, but you should do some research as to what kind of attractions are nearby. If you have a large family, you want to make sure there are nearby attractions, landmarks, or activities that will properly engage all of them.

4. Nearby Traffic. Does the area get an unsightly amount of foot or road traffic during peak seasons? You might want to think about how out-of-the-way your vacation home is, because it it's constantly surrounded by a bustling and teeming flow of tourists, then it might not be the serene getaway that you had originally envisioned it to be.

5. Is It Rentable? The best vacation home will be rentable. You might think initially about keeping it all to yourself, but it'll quickly become apparent that the value coming from renting your vacation home out is well worth the trouble of not getting to stay there year-round. Make sure that your property is rentable ahead of time, and you can easily find an online estate agent to help you do this. It's never been easier to track down information on your vacation home before you actually make your purchase, so you can rest easy and know that your investment was a great one.