Article: While the play area will be surrounded by a barrier, bright lights, and low heater vents, make sure to keep electric wires out of the way. Electric wires can hurt your rat. Clear the area of chemicals, wires, sharp objects, and anything that emits smoke (like a candle). Choose a location away from foot traffic and other animals. The best place to keep a rat play area is in the corner of a living room or on a hardwood floor. Just keep the play area away from things you don't want chewed up and away from outlets. It's best to plan a play area on a raised surface, but you can set one up on the floor if you don't have space. Rats instinctively like to chew things up, so protect your floor or table with a plastic tarp or blanket before you add anything else. Plus, if they relieve themselves in the area, you just have to wash the tarp or blanket rather than break out the cleaning spray.  If you put the playground on a table, you may not need to put up a fence around the play area, as rats won't jump off a height that will hurt them. Use your own judgement and knowledge of your rats' behaviour to decide whether to keep  it free-range or build a barrier. Keeping the play area on the floor allows you to keep a better eye on the rats, though they may chew your carpet if they get through the blanket or tarp. Take a few boxes, lay them flat, and cut away each side until you have at least a few dozen equal-sized pieces. Use duct tape to close holes and to flatten pieces that fold down so each panel is completely flattened. Line up the panels side by side and duct tape the edges to form a single long, flexible barrier.  It's best to make your rat play area 4–6 ft (1.2–1.8 m) wide in all directions, so make the barrier long enough to encapsulate this area when you set it up on the tarp. Fold the pieces one by one to form an accordion-like shape. This allows for easy storage of the cardboard barrier, which can be reused over and over again. Use cardboard pieces at least 2 feet (0.61 m) tall to prevent your rats from jumping out. Use taller pieces if your rats are particularly agile. Making sure to keep the barrier on the blanket or tarp, surround the area with the cardboard in a circle shape until the two ends meet. Connect the two ends with binder clips, and check again for any holes the rats could sneak through. Tape up these holes and you're ready to start adding toys and playthings.  Using binder clips to secure the ends together rather than tape makes this barrier reusable. Simply remove the binder clips when the rats are done, and fold the barrier into an accordion-like shape again. If your cardboard barrier is too large to stay within the confines of the tarp or blanket, cut away a panel at a time until it surrounds the area without any of the underlying surface peeking through.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Clear the area of anything that could harm your rats. Place a blanket or tarp over a flat surface to protect it from damage. Cut out and tape together flat, equal-sized cardboard panels. Place the cardboard barrier around your chosen area in a circle.

Are homes cheap right now or expensive? Try searching for a graph of household income to home prices and see whether the city in which you're searching has a high ratio relative to other cities. Note that some cities like New York and San Francisco may be historically immune to such ratios. Talk with a real estate agent, or several agents, about the relative price of homes. Even if you don't get a definitive answer (it's tough to gauge whether the housing market is cheap or expensive, as the information is not always clear), you may get leads on specific markets to watch for or even homes that are steals. This information is valuable. Is a second home still a safe investment without rent padding the list of expenses? If it's not, you should seriously question buying a second home. Too many families buy a second home that's too expensive, betting that they'll be able to rent when they're not occupying the second home. When renting becomes unfeasible, impossible, or generates much less than anticipated, the homeowners are left with a failing investment. Add up all the likely expenses of owning a home. Can you fit these expenses into your budget with room to spare? Yes, you'll be building equity in your second home, but if investing in a second home leaves you severely cash-strapped each month, you may be better off waiting until you've paid off your first mortgage, for example. Here are some likely expenses to consider:   Property taxes. Different from state to state; the average annual property tax in Los Angeles is $1,200 for a $100k home, or 1.2%. If property taxes are inordinately high in the town you are considering, investigate the mill rate (real estate taxes) in neighboring towns. You could save a lot of money in real estate taxes simply by purchasing a home in a town close to your preferred location that doesn’t have a high tax burden. Basic utilities. These should be much lower if the house goes unoccupied for large portions of the year, but should not go overlooked. Upgrading/upkeep expenses. A house is a living thing — it grows, gets old, needs assistance. Factor in the costs of regular renovations and upkeep services, such as landscaping. The yard and garden of a second home should be kept up if you have tenants, or if you are absent part of the year. In the summer months, overgrown weeds and uncut grass advertise that the property is unoccupied. In cold climates, an unplowed driveway and unshoveled walkways are invitations to vandalism or theft. Increased insurance. The cost of insurance might be higher because the property will be vacant part of the year, or because you have tenants.  Property management services. A property management company should be a big cost factor in your calculations, especially if you buy a second home that is far away from your primary residence. If you rent out the property, you will have to make arrangements for someone to provide emergency repairs for your tenants. If you have a remote vacation home, you have to make sure someone can check for freezing pipes or leaks in the roof or any other possible damages to your home in your absence. Check with the IRS to find out what the tax implications of a second home will be. For many people, the tax costs of owning a second home outweigh the tax credits, especially if you are living in the house for more days than you are renting it out. For example, if you rent out your house for fewer than 14 days, you don't need to declare any earnings. If you occupy your house for fewer than 14 days in a year, your property is considered a business and up to $25,000 a year in losses can be deducted. A CPA or tax advisor will be able to give you accurate, up-to-date information about tax write-offs, loans, interest rates, etc. For example, you can probably expect a more expensive mortgage, with a higher interest rate, regardless of your credit history — a second home usually just costs more to secure.
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One-sentence summary --
Look at the market for buying. Assume that you won't be able to rent your second home. Make a list of possible expenses. Don't necessarily bank on the same tax credits you may have gotten for your first home. Consult a CPA or tax advisor before you go ahead and start looking for a second home.