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Second Home First

Second Home First

Written by: Second Home First
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 What if your 401(k) came with a fire pit and a lake view? Hosted by hospitality veteran and short-term rental expert, Katie Cline, Second Home First is a brand new podcast that explores an unconventional path to homeownership. For Katie, living in New York City made buying a home feel impossible, so she decided to flip the script and buy her ‘second home’ first. With renting now more affordable than owning in all 50 of the largest U.S. metros, buying any home–let alone a ‘second’ one–has never felt more out of reach. But Second Home First shows listeners how to make homeownership not only possible, but profitable by purchasing a vacation home that can double as a short-term rental—building wealth for tomorrow while providing a place to vacation for free today! What 401(k) can do that? As a 3x vacation home owner, Katie breaks down her proven strategy step by step, sharing actionable lessons each week so listeners can do it too. In addition to tactical solo episodes, the show will feature exclusive interviews with experts, real stories from people who’ve done it too, and Q&A coaching sessions with aspiring second home owners. Second Home First gives listeners the tools, insights, and inspiration to make their dream vacation home a reality.© 2025 Second Home First Economics Leadership Management & Leadership Personal Finance
Episodes
  • [REAL STORIES] Rent-Stabilized in the West Village. Vacation homeowner in Connecticut.

    [REAL STORIES] Rent-Stabilized in the West Village. Vacation homeowner in Connecticut.
    Mar 3 2026
    If you’re a self-employed freelancer and think getting a mortgage, especially on a second home, just isn’t possible, this week’s episode is for you. Our guest, a New York City–based travel journalist, didn’t want to give up his rent-stabilized apartment in the West Village. So instead of stretching to buy in Brooklyn, he leveraged little-known lending options to purchase a mid-century modern fixer-upper in Connecticut— turning his love of architecture from something he writes about into something he actually owns. This Week’s Guest: Paul Jebara is a freelance journalist who writes about travel, architecture and design. Even though he has found the unicorn of Manhattan real estate—a rent-stabilized apartment in the coveted West Village—he considered giving it up to buy in Brookly. But as his search went on, his budget kept climbing, the neighborhoods he could afford kept getting further out, and the compromises within the space kept stacking up. Eventually, Paul decided to keep renting in the West Village and buy his second home first, a mid-century modern fixer upper in Litchfield County, Connecticut. Tune in to learn: -Why buying a fixer-upper became Paul’s strategic advantage to avoid bidding wars -How writing a thoughtful letter to the sellers helped Paul’s lower-priced offer win out -How Paul navigated financing as a longtime freelancer, including mortgage options available to self-employed buyers that many traditional lenders don’t even know about ***Paul is currently a “Sweet Spotter”. Take the quiz to determine what type of Vacation Home Owner you would be: BuyYourSecondHomeFirst.com/quiz Want to buy a vacation home that pays for itself? Learn more about the Second Home First Academy at BuyYourSecondHomeFirst.com/Academy Key links: –Subscribe to the free weekly newsletter: BuyYourSecondHomeFirst.com/#subscribe –Visit the website: BuyYourSecondHomeFirst.com –Follow on Instagram and TikTok: @BuyYourSecondHomeFirst –Find us on Substack: SecondHomeFirst.Substack.com –Say Hi! Hello@BuyYourSecondHomeFirst.com A Special Thank You To Our Sponsors: Lodgify: https://lodgify.com/?afmc=28y Use code SHF20 for an ADDITIONAL (!) 20% their yearly and bi-yearly plans Minoan: https://www.Minoan.com/SecondHome Use the link provided to sign up and receive a free $25 in credit. Turno: https://go.turno.com/second_home_first Use the link provided to get $25 off your first clean. Flytographer: https://www.Flytographer.com/SHF Use code SHF25 for $25 off your first shoot PriceLabs: https://hello.pricelabs.co/signup/?referral=secondhomefirst Use code SecondHomeFirst (all one word) for a 30-day free trial, plus $10 off your first invoice
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    40 mins
  • [EXPERT] The Side Hustle That Comes With Free Vacations

    [EXPERT] The Side Hustle That Comes With Free Vacations
    Feb 24 2026
    Owning a vacation home that pays for itself doesn’t have to mean handing over control—or handing over your profits. This week’s episode reveals how technology has made self-managing your vacation home as a short-term rental easier than ever, allowing you to earn more while doing less. This Week’s Expert Guest: Shaun Shirazian is the CEO of Lodgify, a short-term rental software designed to simplify the management and marketing of your vacation home. He breaks down how self-managing a vacation rental can be far easier than most people think, especially when you have the right systems in place. Tune in to learn: -What it actually takes to manage your home as a short-term rental. -How Lodgify helps hosts get more bookings with less effort -Ways to spend less time managing and more time enjoying your property -How advancements in AI are shifting software to become your personal assistant Want to own a vacation home that pays for itself? Learn more about the Second Home First Academy at https://www.BuyYourSecondHomeFirst.com/Academy Key links: –Lodgify: https://lodgify.com/?afmc=28y –Subscribe to the free weekly newsletter: BuyYourSecondHomeFirst.com/#subscribe –Visit the website: BuyYourSecondHomeFirst.com –Follow on Instagram and TikTok: @BuyYourSecondHomeFirst –Find us on Substack: SecondHomeFirst.Substack.com –Say Hi! Hello@BuyYourSecondHomeFirst.com A Special Thank You To Our Sponsors: Lodgify: https://lodgify.com/?afmc=28y Use code SHF20 for an ADDITIONAL (!) 20% their yearly and bi-yearly plans Minoan: https://www.Minoan.com/SecondHome Use the link provided to sign up and receive a free $25 in credit. Turno: https://go.turno.com/second_home_first Use the link provided to get $25 off your first clean. Flytographer: https://www.Flytographer.com/SHF Use code SHF25 for $25 off your first shoot PriceLabs: https://hello.pricelabs.co/signup/?referral=secondhomefirst Use code SecondHomeFirst (all one word) for a 30-day free trial, plus $10 off your first invoice
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    29 mins
  • [REAL STORIES] The Decision That Gave Her More Freedom Than a ‘Forever Home’ Ever Could

    [REAL STORIES] The Decision That Gave Her More Freedom Than a ‘Forever Home’ Ever Could
    Feb 17 2026
    What if buying your second home first was the key to more freedom, flexibility, and options than you ever thought possible? That’s what happened for this week’s guest, whose decision to skip buying a primary home in Brooklyn set off a chain reaction that changed her career and her life for the better. ***Interested in learning to buy a vacation home that pays for itself? I’m launching the inaugural class of the Second Home First Academy. Join the waitlist to receive priority access, plus a special launch discount available only to subscribers. https://www.buyyoursecondhomefirst.com/academy *** This Week’s Guest: Blythe Graham-Jones was living in Brooklyn when she started exploring what it would take to buy in her neighborhood. The numbers were staggering. Instead of locking herself into that version of homeownership, Blythe chose a different route. She purchased a home in the Hamptons and thanks to strong summer rental demand, literally received a check at closing—the rent payment from the summer tenants, that would cover her costs for the next year. Tune in to learn: -Why Brooklyn’s price tags pushed her to question the “primary home first” narrative -The biggest misconceptions about buying in the Hamptons -How to get paid at closing -How buying her second home first unlocked a whole new career Key links: –What type of vacation home owner would you be? Take the Quiz- BuyYourSecondHomeFirst.com/Quiz –Subscribe to the free weekly newsletter: BuyYourSecondHomeFirst.com/#subscribe –Visit the website: BuyYourSecondHomeFirst.com –Follow on Instagram and TikTok: @BuyYourSecondHomeFirst –Find us on Substack: SecondHomeFirst.Substack.com –Say Hi! Hello@BuyYourSecondHomeFirst.com (mailto:Hello@BuyYourSecondHomeFirst.com) A Special Thank You To Our Sponsors: Lodgify: https://lodgify.com/?afmc=28y Use code SHF20 for an ADDITIONAL (!) 20% their yearly and bi-yearly plans Minoan: https://www.Minoan.com/SecondHome Use the link provided to sign up and receive a free $25 in credit. Turno: https://go.turno.com/second_home_first Use the link provided to get $25 off your first clean. Flytographer: https://www.Flytographer.com/SHF Use code SHF25 for $25 off your first shoot PriceLabs: https://hello.pricelabs.co/signup/?referral=secondhomefirst Use code SecondHomeFirst (all one word) for a 30-day free trial, plus $10 off your first invoice
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    27 mins
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