Vacation Hunting

It's that time of year again. We are doing our annual vacation house hunt. And this year, it's tough. I am not sure why we are having a tough time this year finding the perfect house.

It just seems like that the houses in Stone Harbor/Avalon are really pricey. I mean - they have always been pricey which forces us to go during the last week in August or the last week in June. If we go during those weeks then the price drops significantly. But - if you look for houses during the dead of summer - the prices can be $8000-10,000 per WEEK. Now, I ask you - who can afford that???? That is a lot of money for 1 week. If I was going to spend that kind of money, I would go to Europe for a month! Or maybe Hawaii. Or Fiji. I certainly wouldn't spend that kind of money to go to Jersey. But - anyway - I digress.

We are looking for houses at the beginning of the summer that are more in the $4000 range and then can be split between the four couples. That is reasonable.

But - we are picky. We want a house within short walking distance to the beach. We definitely have to have a pool. And we like a nice house. I don't want to stay in some beach shack. I want the luxury. If I am going to spend $1000 on a house for 1 week - I want it to be the best that it can be.

So - for the past 2 weeks, we have been searching, and searching, and searching some more. We are also trying to negotiate prices. They always say that with this economy - prices on vacation homes can be negotiated. However, some people are not budging on the prices. They are saying it's too early in the season to negotiate price.

Aghhh. So - we are having some tough luck. I have confidence that we will find what we are looking for. We just have to keep looking.