Thinking about buying a second home? You’re not alone. New research from the National Association of Realtors finds that second-home purchases are growing at a rapid pace and baby boomers are leading the way. Boomers are still in their peak earning years and are purchasing second homes not only for vacation purposes, but as investment vehicles to diversify their portfolios.

According to the National Association of Realtors:

• Second-home sales accounted for four out of 10 residential transactions in 2005;
• Sixty-three percent of investment-property buyers purchased for rental income, while 49 percent wanted to diversify their investments
• Fifty-three percent of investment-property owners own two or more investment homes
• Twenty-one percent of vacation-home owners own two or more vacation homes
• More than 1 in 10 second homes are now owned by minorities.

Are you considering a second home for a college bound child?  Perhaps you have thought about buying your dream getaway.  Whichever it may be, consider what you are getting into financially before you sign on the dotted line.

Questions Regarding a Home Purchase for a College-Bound Son

Benefits of Owning a Second Home

Purchase Your Own Private Getaway

It really isn’t a topic for proper conversation; death and burial are still things we just shun in everyday conversation.  But Baby Boomers have never hesitated to say, and do, what they please, and it seems this holds true for these topics as well.  And because they talk about it, they change it – well, not death.  That and taxes are certainties.  But burial?  Baby Boomers, as aware of the environment as they are, are changing how things are happened for that last decision.

In Great Britain, where these statistics originate, 70% of people still opt for cremation.  But a new “environmentally friendly” method of burial is gaining popularity.  It seems a bit too natural for many people, but becoming one with the earth, may be the wave of the future.

Ethical Burials Take Root Among The Baby Boomers  (This is their title – I am not that bad with puns)

It is an inescapable fact of life:  Financial planning is a necessity.  For Baby Boomers the necessity of good financial planning for retirement is right on top of us – we don’t have the option anymore of delaying and hoping it will all work out.  There is no way Social Security can take care of all of us and there is no way we can go from a paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle and then suddenly one day meet on the flip side and let the government foot the bills.  It just isn’t going to happen.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that research and education about financial planning are key to organizing our future.  What is harder is knowing what resources to trust. 

To begin, there are two blogs at Syntagma Media that can be very helpful.  They are written by intelligent authors who are informed about the topic.  They have forgotten more than I will ever know about this area of life; money to me has always been a difficult thing to manage – now that I am widowed, I don’t have a lot of choice about whether I learn.  Being a Baby Boomer, I need to learn fast.  I have found both Money Finesse and The Money Blog to be great resources.

Another source that I will be investigating more fully is a new book by Mark Cornwall.  He has addressed a topic that is vitally important for a family’s security and although no one likes to think about it, estate planning is just as important as the planning we do to live daily right now.  The book is entitled, Everything a Baby Boomer Should Know - An Insider’s Guide to Estate Planning, and is available at the link below or through the publisher, Baby Boomer Publishing, which also offers a great deal of information on financial and estate planning.

Judge Judy thinks that Baby Boomers are in control of the world, and they just have to understand how to tap into that power.

 ”Baby Boomers run the world. People who are 55 and over don’t buy a Chevy. Most of the guys driving the little black Porsches have gray hair or no hair.” Baby Boomers have the dough, she explained, but “they don’t know how to exercise this kind of power.” To help empower her generation, the judge is considering launching a “gossipy high end” magazine.
Judge Judy

Apparently Judge Judy is more interested in how Goldie Hawn feels about being a grandmother?  (Is that really possible?  Wasn’t Goldie the bikini-clad icon on Laugh-In in the 60′s?)  Judge Judy may have a point because our age group hold a disproportionate amount of the wealth in this country.  But does that mean we are financially prepared to retire?  We may have clout, but what are we going to do about it?

 Baby Boomers!  You’re Still Relevant – Claim Your Power