For some, future dreams come in the form of owning a second home. One where you can truly relax and revel in your family and entertain close friends. I’ve known this very well through my business as a Mortgage Lender. My clients have shared their dreams with me and I’ve helped them achieve it through planning and financing.
My husband and I ventured into the second home market over 4 years ago with much joy. After years of us boxing up mismatched dishes, household items, no longer prime-time furniture – storing and labeling, marked, “Cottage.” Finally. A lovely cabin in the woods with ample space for us and visitors.
Our cabin is a labor of love. We, and our visitors, always remark at how it feels to enter the home. It’s instantly relaxing. What’s up with that? I’m not quite certain, but I think the vibes are so very good there because of our love for it. We eat great food (I no longer do serious cooking at home), we hang out by the fire pit in summer months and around the fireplace in winter, we listen to music, drink good wine, and we dance all the time! Sunday’s are for getting up early and watching a movie before we pack up to go home. Sniff. My kids laugh at me when we depart up the driveway as I say “Goodbye house. Be good until I see you next time.” They think I’m goofy. I just worry. We’ve had some frozen pipes, broken pipes, furnace repairs, and the occasional critter to deal with. But, the love goes on toward our little slice of heaven…
The other day, we got a call from someone we know in the area. He noticed something wrong – the garage door was wide open. He stopped by and found that several windows in the garage had been broken. The fridge had been emptied, but otherwise, nothing else of value was missing. All the beer left over from my husband’s Wild Hogs weekend was gone. All of the other man-toys were untouched. Whew! Beer can be replaced!
No one had entered the house. Thank heavens! Right now, I don’t feel the “violation” that I hear from break in victims. It was only the garage, right? Wrong! I need a security system now because someone knew that we weren’t there. The next time, it will be the house.
I’ve been all over the internet looking for a complete solution that’s cost effective – no luck at all. Indoor/Outdoor monitoring and Do-it-Yourself. It’s a maze of information and vendor websites promoting themselves and subscriptions. I don’t understand my options. I suppose this is equivalent to someone shopping for a mortgage when their expertise is in security systems.