We have a few that we use as vacation rentals. They can really be terrific investments. One in Vancouver that we have never seen since completion. Currently we are building a home in Fla. and the builder will lease the home back for a year that covers 80% of the mortgage. We hope to retire there. When the lease is up we will not rent it and use it as a vacation spot 3-4 weeks per year. There's also a new property in SD that we will rent entirely for the next several years, again as an investment, hopefully we'll get to enjoy it some day in the future. No more in the stockmarket for us. Hopefully this will be a good venture.

I would definitely purchase the home, it will appreciate in a good area, whether or not to rent it out is up to you. Another plus is that you get to explore the US from your new home base. Haven't been to SC but it sure sounds beautiful. Good luck.

Just a counterpoint to K 999 9's message above about condo appreciation in Myrtle Beach.

We sold our North Myrtle Beach condo at a 40% gain after holding it for 4 years, and I believe we under-priced it, so the potential gain was a little more. I wouldn't consider 10% annual appreciation chump change.

That said, there is a LOT of property in the Myrtle area. And yet MB is one of the fastest growing resort areas in the nation (or was as of a few years ago). My observation, just anecdotal, over the past 3 years is that new upper end properties appreciate greatly, especially in the first few years (e.g., Grande Dunes). And there are some bargains at the lower end of the market (such as the older condo we bought). There is only so much oceanfront--it is extremely hard to go wrong with oceanfront property (not impossible, though, especially the mid-range condo towers going up in NMB for say 200K to 300K, I'd say there is a risk of that being overbuilt and oversold).

Anyway, my thoughts.

In addition to what Chuck wrote, my parents home on Pawleys Island has appreciated astronomically. Even though it isn't Myrtle Beach it is close enough to the Grand Strand that their property value appreciation greatly affect my family's home.

We (my family) also bought one of the very few condos on the island about 12 years ago. For what it is now worth, we could by a half dozen homes inland.

My point is that location also plays a big factor.