The tradition of Spring cleaning is a natural process, when you think about it. After a long cold Winter, the first days of Spring offer the welcome opportunity to throw open the windows, air out the stale, heated air, then refresh and renew the space with a thorough, deep clean. This process is even more important for second homes, for a variety of reasons.

When did you first get the idea of buying a second home in the Truckee/Tahoe Donner area? Was it on vacation? Did you have family or friends in the area? Whatever sparked that first thought, it’s a great day when you finally find the right vacation home for you and your family and sign on the dotted line.

Your primary household budget is probably the part of your financial life that you are most aware of. Your primary mortgage, car payments, tuition payments, and other bills are probably fairly familiar to you. You may even have a well-developed system for tracking your monthly budget and know how to adjust as needed. Are you as aware of the expenses involved in owning your second home?