Miami Beach’s international flair and convenient location make it the perfect place to invest in your second home.  

Miami Beach the Best Place for a Second Home

Miami Beach: Best Place for a Second Home.

People choose their second home in Miami Beach for a multitude of reasons. As locals, we intimately understand each reason. With its warm welcome, Miami Beach has demonstrated a STRONG rental tourism market over the long term benefiting from the city’s staggering amount of tourism traffic.  Peak season is January through April and many come as “snowbirds” to escape the bitter northern winters. Ask any New Yorker in February, if they would like to escape to Miami Beach!

Beaches are the number one place to buy a second home and, of course, we are known for our beautiful beaches with crystal clear blue waters. Uniquely, Miami Beach is one of the best beach cities in America located closely to a metro area making it perfect for people to live, work and travel. Miami Beach is full of diverse neighborhoods that will please anyone at any stage of their life. In our experience, buying in foreign countries, like Mexico and the Bahamas, has many unforeseen challenges.  Miami Beach has the feel of a Caribbean resort, but the conveniences of the USA, like a predictable banking system and familiar grocery stores.

How are buyers using their second home in Miami Beach?

Miami Beach the Best Place for a Second Home - luxury home with pool

1. Many Miami Beach home buyers like to invest in property for their own personal use as a vacation home and to host friends and family.

2. Some savvy investors invest in property to create secondary income. Especially investors close to retirement look to create “passive” income through real estate establishing financial comfort in their retirement years.

3. Other buyers choose to do a little of both. In this case, the secondary partial year rent income works to subsidize the expense of the second home.

How to know if a second home or vacation home in Miami Beach is a good fit for you and your family?

1. Do you already come down as a tourist so often that you are wasting away money at hotels during peak season? Would you prefer more conveniences of home while you are here?

2. Would you like to rehab a home to flip and resell? Have you renovated before? Do you have the time to put into this kind of project?

3. Are you looking to find a property that has shown strong and consistent rental demand year over year?

4. Do you have investment income? Cash buyers can get really great deals!

Remember when you are choosing your second home that the same tips apply as when you choose your first home.  

1. Location, Location, Location! Protip: Miami Beach is a prime location!

2. Would you prefer a single-family home or a condominium?

3. Be realistic with your estimates and what you can afford.

4. Make a list of things that are “must-haves” and “nice-to-haves.” Do you have to have parking spaces or a garage? Do you need to have a pool for daily exercise or for your children? Do you need to have a gated entry to your neighborhood?

5. Get a feel for the neighborhood at each time of the day – morning, noon, night, weekdays and weekends.

When you are purchasing a second home in Miami Beach for investment income, remember this advice.  

1. Make sure you love the place and others will also love it.

2. With increased popularity of Airbnb and VRBO, investment properties have become a more popular use for a second home. Remember to check local laws before you commit to a purchase. The city of Miami Beach has many regulations around short term rentals and have very few exceptions. Your best option in Miami Beach is long term rentals, six months or longer for a single-family neighborhood. Some Miami Beach condominiums allow for monthly or 3-month minimum rentals. There are also a few hotel-condo options where they offer flexible reservation times. Short-term rentals require high turnover and therefore are better for investors who live locally or who have the time to manage the process and requests of short-term guests. For this reason, many prefer the long-term rentals for less hassle.

3. If you plan to buy a condominium, ask about the rules and regulations related to rentals, short or long term? Do they have very strict pet policies? Is the building self-managed with a voluntary board or do they have a property manager? A self-managed board will usually be less responsive since they often hold full time jobs and do this on the side. Some condos also have clauses where you must use the property for personal use 1-3 years before allowing any type of rentals. How does the property manage security?

4. Make sure you have a local, Miami Beach realtor, who is knowledgeable about the unique Miami Beach Real Estate market.

5. Decide whether you would like to be a landlord or not. If not, pick a local property management company located in Miami Beach to give you the level of support you require to have peace of mind.

No matter how you choose to utilize your second home in Miami Beach, you will soon discover why Miami Beach is the best place for your second home.  As locals in North Beach, Miami Beach, with a combined 200+ years of experience, we live here, work here, and play here. We are happy to assist with your real estate and property management needs!  Call us at 305-403-8686 for advice today.