Pocono Mountain Vacation Home Construction

One of the first questions asked by those looking for a Pocono Mountain vacation home is if they should have a new home built or buy an existing home? After working on hundreds of homes in the area through the years, I've come to the conclusion that you should always buy an existing home. The only exception would be if you had acquired a piece of land many years ago and wanted to capitalize on its increase value.

New Pocono Vacation Home Construction-Whats the Problem?

Actually there are some excellent builders in this area as well as any other areas in the north east. If you are going to consider building a new home, be sure to check out any builder before committment. Economic times have taken a toll on the majority of builders in the area as well as elsewhere throughout the USA.

I've spoken to many owners of homes less then a couple years old and it seems as if customer satisfaction is never any higher, but sometimes lower then those who have purchased older homes. The truth of the matter is that the buyer expects a new home to be 100% perfect and this simply never happens. In fact, due to rising material costs over the years, they may find their home has some products inferior to those used just a few years ago.

There have been complaints from poor plumbing installations, poor electrical wiring, cheap appliances and house mechanicals to squeaky floors and splits in sheet rock on ceilings and walls. Another area of discussion that comes up all the time is most new homes are purchased without any landscaping. Most buyers are watching their budget and it is very seldom they actually follow through and landscape their new homes beyond the gravel driveway that the builder provides at cost. Consequently, their homes end up looking unfinished for years after they move in. This is a simple fact of life.

Buying an Existing Pocono Mountain Vacation Home-Good Idea?

The benefit of buying an existing home is that you see exactly what you are getting. If you hire a reputable home inspector you will know exactly what might be wrong with the construction before your purchase. Until quite recently there was no uniform building code in the state of PA. Consequently, the importance of hiring a reputable home inspector before the purchase.

Assuming you employ a home inspector, you start out on a level playing field as if you purchased new, Actually I honestly feel you have an advantage over buying new for many reasons. You see the actual home and all its contents and landscaping. As mentioned above, hopefully you will have landscaping completed. Many new home buyers haven't a clue as to how expensive this can be. It's nice to move into a home that is already something to be proud of.

Types of Pocono Mountain Vacation Homes

I've worked on and painted all types and sizes of Pocono homes through the years.  My favorites have always been the wood sided, stick construction.

You will find all sorts of home design in the Pocono Mountains. I like to refer to the typical mountain style Pocono home as the contempory style, sided with T-111 as pictured to the right.  But you can also find typical colonial or traditional style homes throughout the region as well. Generally speaking the typical T-111 sided homes are among the oldest and should be the least expensive in the region.  But be aware it is very easy to find that many of these older homes are electrically heated and have no insulation at all.  They were originally build as inexpensive get-away places twenty or thirty years ago. 

You will also find a good number of cedar or red wood sided homes in the region.  Most of these are very similar to the previously mentioned style only they have a better grade of siding material presenting a more desirable appearance.  Yet another mountain style home is the log cabin.  While these present a beautiful appearance, they also require the most exterior upkeep.  Just ask an owner of a log cabin what he knows about carpenter bees and you'll see why I say this.

As a contractor, I love these wood sided homes since they require reqular exterior maintenance.  I have seen some examples of homeowners letting them go for a decade or more without staining or sealing and consequently I'm called in to make repairs.  This is good for me and bad for the home owner.  The bottom line is to remember that wood siding needs regular maintenance and that cost of upkeep over the period of several years can add up quickly.

You will find the majority of newer homes in the Pocono Mountains will be sided with vinyl siding.  While colored siding might not be as rustic as the wood seen above, the benefit is that the homes are virtually maintenance free.  There are many things to look for in the style of a vacation home, but the picture at the right is a good example.  This style home is a contempory ranch style with a center hall way and an upstairs suite including loft, full bath and good size bed room.  This four bed room and three bath home has an easily maintained exterior and excellent roof line.  This style home is much larger inside then it appears on the exterior.  But if looking for a vacation home, this presents a nice example.

Warning: Be smart and don't let the listing price be your only point for decision making.  Consider the maintenance required with those older Pocono Mountain style homes.

No one wants a vacation home that is going to require many hours of maintenance each year or the employ of local contractors.*  Seasonal cleanup on a home like this will only take a couple hours instead of days or even weeks of work as in the case of older wood sided homes.

 *Of course some can easily budget having contractors clean and maintain their vacation homes.  I've done this for years servicing many clients throughout the area. 

Author of this section is Dennis Estelle, owner of A-Plus Home Care
Home Maintenance professional for 30 years