Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1324321
By Marilyn Kennedy Melia CTW FEATURES Thisyearwe're logging recordtime athome.Nowalot ofownersthinkthey coulduseaspare —near abeach,the mountainsor the woods. RecentZillow data showthatviewsof ForSalelistingsin vacation-homemar- ketsareup nearly50 percentfromlastyear, andpending saleshave jumped30percent. TheWFHtrend islikely fueling that newfoundinterest, saysZillow senior economistJeffTucker, speculatingthatsome second-homeshoppers liketheoption ofwork- inginamorerelaxed locale. Butthere'salso a less apparent sweet- enertoowningasec- ondhomethatmay bepromptingsometo seal thedeal:getting thegreenlightfrom amortgagelenderto rentthehomeout. Mortgagerules onrentingavacation homewereclarifiedlast yeartoclearlystatethat ownerscouldrentthe houseonashort-term basisduringtheirfirst yearofownership,as longasrentalsdidn't totalmorethanhalfthe yearandoccupancywas underthecontrolofthe owner,notamanage- mentcompany. Previously,rules appeared toban rent- als —short-term, long- term,anytime. Now,notonlyare theAirbnb-styleshort- termrentalsallowed forpartofthefirstyear, butlonger-termrentals arepermittedthesec- ondyearandthereafter. Previously,buying asecond home to rent required an "invest- ment"mortgage, where rates couldbe as much as 1percent higher, says JoeNunziata, co- CEOof FBC Mortgage. Therental abil- ityhas "for sure given more incentive to buy- ers to purchase these types of homes,"says RalphDiBugnara, vice president of Cardinal Financialand presi- dent of HomeQuali- fied.com. Whilerentalincome appeals to buyers as a waytooffsetthe cost, mortgagelenders still examine whethera borrower's income will supportthe loan, Nun- ziata concludes. Thesweetnewappeal ofbuyingasecondhome NEWHOMECOMMUNITIES For advertising info, contact SandyLek at (925) 847-2135 or slek@bayareanewsgroup.com Bay Area News Group's next 15 th Upcoming Publishing Dates: March 7, May 23 & September 26 The Mercury News East Bay Times | Marin IJ & March 5, May 21 & September 24 27 Community Weeklies *Source: 2020 R1 Scarborough Research 2021 Dates Sunday Readership 662,400* H8 BAYAREANEWSGROUP 111 Homes | Advertising Section