Lake House or not

[Whitetail15]

In the Pittsburgh, PA area we have the rivers. They are almost never clean, busy, and the boatramps can be be a lot of fun. I travel to as many close lakes and quick river trips as many times as i can throughtout the summer and keep my boat in the garage every night. I get about 50-65 boats hours per hour including a week vacation at a three hour lake in Maryland.

I have never owned a lake house, only rented them. We have a small private lake that is 55 min door to door from me that has a few lake front homes for sale. From what everyone says, it sure sounds inviting but I cant justify a second home with a 350k price tag.

I would only want the home for the next ten years then sell it. Will i get my money back? Will it sit and never sell? I guess those are the million dollar questions that nobody knows but is there anyway to make a guess?

I feel like a turn key dock and only a one hour drive would equal more time on the water without the all the boat towing and garage storage. Plus not spending the rental money on homes throughout the year would be another savings.

Anybody in the same boat as me or has already done this?

[SkiTower]

1 hour or less is good, anymore and you will miss the mid-week trips. Your first impression will match most first impressions, so if there's nothing obviously bugging you then the next buyer will probably be fine. But if a busy whatever goes up next door or you have shallow water or an obviously bad view or distance to the boat ramp then it'll be harder to sell. Or if the house needs work or doesn't reflect a good lake house. Things that bug you will probably carry over. Get a good deal (magic words) and then be reasonable selling and you should have no problem. But keep on mind, it'll take something to keep it 'turn-key' so occasionally work will happen and money will be spent, and you will have to clean. You get the good and bad vs renting. All that being said, I want a lake house one day but don't have many choices close enough to justify it (3+ hours)


2007 SV211 SE

[Nautiquehunter]

In this economy I would do a lot of research and think hard before buying such a high end luxury Item . How long is your season ?
If the housing market drops how bad will it effect your finances? At 350k there are a lot of other ways to get on the water without having to buy and keep up a property.

[pokesgrad02]

When we bought ours we looked at the required cash investment and what we knew we could get out of it (cash) if we had to unload it. Ours was a situation where someone was in a pinch and had to throw in their boat slip at no cost to get the deal done. That being said it took us over two years of looking to find our lake home. If it is a dream you would really use then be patient and look for the opportunity. If you cant guarantee to recoup your liquid investment then it probably isn't worth it.

[nyryan2001]

Big-

Not Somerset by chance is it??

I'm in he same boat... Will be moving back to DC and trying to figure out if a house at Lake Anna is possible, almost 2hrs away.

[Whitetail15]

2001-

no , i was looking at lake latonka in mercer pa.
sumerset has indian lake that is also a private lake. a little too far and too cold for my family. i have heard good things about it.

there was someone on the board that had a place on lake latonka, but he must be gone. i would love to learn more. they issue a lot of boat slips for a 300 acre lake (i believe 400) but everyone says it is not busy and not used during the week.

[NautiqueJeff]

there was someone on the board that had a place on lake latonka, but he must be gone.

There was someone here from that lake. He came down and rode with me on Lake Anna a time or two. I think he ended up switching from Nautique to another brand of boat. Haven't heard from him in quite some time.

[Whitetail15]

sounds right. he was selling a 2008 210. I tried to look at it to buy over year ago, but it was sold. I believe it was yellow.

[AirTool]

..... I think he ended up switching from Nautique to another brand of boat. Haven't heard from him in quite some time.

We should pray for him.

[hondaprlud]

this one?

http://www.planetnautique.com/vb3/sh...highlight=2008

[Whitetail15]

yes, that was it. it was ready sold when i called.

[ddipert]

We bought out lake house in August (2013, Hyco Lake NC). We searched for almost 3 years, the last year of searching was spotty we were almost going to give up. The price we could afford didn’t reflect what we wanted (budget was going to allow an older small home or a double wide, both with lake front). We stumbled on a home that we looked at, love and had a contact with in a few days. We’ve not used it much over the winter but one of our little boys (3yo) is already asking to go to the last even if there’s snow on the ground. For us its been the right move. We are 45 minutes door to door. Even if I pickup the boys from a long day we can still be at the lake eating dinner and be out early in the morning.

For me a day working at the lake is far more enjoyable then a day working around our main house.

[Willandbill]

We bought on Lake Wallenpaupak 20 yrs. ago and have no regrets. It has become a retreat for 35-40 weekends a year in spite of a 2hr. commute. Trade in the waterskis and boards for snow skis and snow boards in the winter. Great way to keep the family together also. Any loss/profit you would experience over a ten year period will be determined by the market, condition of the house, and how long you want to keep it for sale. Houses on our lake stay on the market for 2-3 yrs. depending upon owners willingness to sell. Good luck in your search. Nothing like walking out your dock at 7am. to glass!

[azeus17]

Somehow, I missed this thread. My situation is a little different as our lake house is our only residence. I love it, so don't get me wrong, but working around this house is no better than working at any house. Only difference is there is more of it. Have to keep the beach clean (sea weeds, regualr weeds, etc), dock in and out, lift in and out (don't forget to budget for those items if they are not included...$5k for used stuff or up to $30k+ for new stuff), keep the yard mowed, etc, etc, etc. Talking to all my buddies, it seems they think we are on the boat 24/7, when in reality, we have just as much stuff to do as them. Then remember, you would have to do most of this stuff x2 and factor in the hour drive time and how that effects your decision to even go to the lake. As far as resale, sure it could go down, but around my area, they are not making any more lake front property and it is in high demand. I actually had a guy knock on our door a few weeks back and offer to buy our place for over 100k more than we paid for it 2.5 years ago. We turned him down simply because we are not ready to give it up yet, and there is nothing else available. Sounds like your situation may be a little different, but my point is there will always be a market for lakefront property.

I will admit, though, that there is something pretty awesome about waking up, looking out the window to see glass (every morning) and be skiing 5 minutes later.

[scottb7]

I think it depends how you and your family are built. If you are the kind of person that needs to drive away from the city or your work or your regular home and kind of needs to see those things recede in the rear view mirror then a 2nd home can be great. Pulling lake weeds is kind of a pain, but with a riding mower and a tow cart, and a pitch fork it takes like 20 minutes for just a short part of the season. Agree the dock and in and out is a pain, but trailering and waiting a boat launches would be frustrating too. I would not want two homes and lawns to take care of that is for sure. Plus I would always be nervous about what is happening when I am away from a cabin or 2nd home for long periods of time.

I feel pretty fortunate to be living on the lake. Even though it is a pretty small puny one.