My family and I just returned from a 1 week vacation on the Outer Banks. The weather was beautiful, the beach was wide open and uncrowded and the house we stayed in was amazing!! The best part of this is that the house we stayed in is our own.
We bought a house on Hatteras Island in 2008 and because we live out of state and are trying to maximize our investment value by renting to vacationers, we rarely get to enjoy our Outer Banks vacation home ourselves. There are several reasons why I would strongly recommend regular visits to your vacation home:
1. Appreciate It! Owning an Outer Banks vacation rental home can be both costly and time consuming. My husband and I have looked at each other on more than one occasion and said “what were we thinking?”. But the Outer Banks is beautiful and we realized we are so lucky to have a place there. We have renewed enthusiasm for making this investment work!
2. Experience It! We were able to experience our home from a vacationers point of view. What works, what doesn’t; what needs replacing, what doesn’t; what should be on the list for next year and the year after that. Only homeowners who vacation at their own rental for at least a week or 2 every year will have the unique perspective of the cost vs benefit of repairs, upgrades and amenities.
3. Evaluate It! Being non-resident OBX vacation homeowners has its challenges. The biggest challenge is that we have many workers and contractors cleaning, repairing and caring for our home, while we are writing them checks from many hundreds of miles away. Some of these workers are people we have met and developed a relationship with, some have been recommended by others and some we have little or no knowledge of. Either way, it is very important that we check and evaluate the work that has been done on our house. If our “vacation rental business” is to continue working, we have to make sure that the work we are paying for is being done and meets our standards.
So Outer Banks vacation home owners, plan your OBX vacation today. It will give you time to Appreciate, Experience and Evaluate the best place on the beach – yours!
OBX Rent Direct Homeowner Blog 
I agree, even if you’re in vacation somewhere, still it feels like home. It’s relaxing and comfortable for the whole family because you know that someone taking care of it.
Yes Daisy, you are correct which is exactly why the vacation rental business is growing so rapidly. Vacationers want all the comforts and conveniences of home while they are away on vacation, not to mention the savings compared to staying in a hotel!