Are you in the market for a vacation home? Maybe you've put it off until now in hopes that housing prices would drop. Maybe that special dream location in fact has cooled off in price.

Well before you tie yourself into owning that vacation getaway destination, ask yourself this – should I rent or buy?

Nowadays there are a number of web-based calculators that will help you compare the cost. Check out www.tcalc.com. It has a rent versus buy calculator that will show you which makes more dollars and sense for you.

Also remember, if you buy there are lots of other costs that the tcalc calculator doesn't include, such as real estate commission, utilities, taxes, and furnishings, just to name a few.

Renting it out when you're not around will alleviate some of those costs. If you want to be a long distance landlord, go to www.tcalc.com first.

Know the score.

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