If you have reached that point in your life where you are ready to buy a second home, you should make it a condo. Here are some of the reasons condos make perfect second homes:

Good Security When You Are Away

The design of condominiums makes them safer than single-family homes. This is a huge advantage to anyone, but it is particularly advantageous to an absentee homeowner, such as the one you will be if you buy a second home. This is particularly true if you don't buy the condo on the edge of the development or by the gate. It would be difficult for criminals to access your home while bypassing other easier pickings by the gate. This will not be the case if you buy a single-family home.

Hands-Off Maintenance

It has already been established that, if you are buying a second home, it means you will not be living in the property some parts of the year. Maintaining a property remotely is not easy, and a poorly-maintained property quickly loses its value. Luckily, the condo homeowners association (HOA) will take care of most of the maintenance services; in many cases, condo owners only have to worry about maintaining areas inside their houses. This means your property's value will not plummet just because you are not living in it full time.

Favorable Purchase Deal

If you are buying a second home that you won't be living in all the time, then it makes sense that it should not be as expensive as your second home. This is another point for going the condo route; condos are generally priced at favorable prices compared to single-family homes assuming other factors are kept constant.

Hotel-Like Amenities

A further advantage of buying a condo as your second home is that most condos are equipped with amenities and infrastructure that make them almost hotel like. For example, the development may have a swimming pool, tennis court, children's playgrounds – amenities that you would pay an arm and a leg to have in a single-family home. In fact, if you are buying a second home to use as a vacation property, you are much more likely to enjoy your vacations if the second property is a condo than if it is a single-family home.

If you are ready to buy a condo, don't forget to involve a real estate attorney to help you with the process. Note that there may be a few differences between the first and second home purchase process; for example, government loans are usually not available for second homes.