Buying a lake community home in the winter

[John Mercier]

Hard to say.
A lot of ''flipping'' is being done on the lake.

Buyers purchased what was available at the time, many did renovations...
But when a better location comes up, they purchase the new using equity of the old and try to sell the old quickly.

[JilianBlue]

Originally Posted by John Mercier

Hard to say.
A lot of ''flipping'' is being done on the lake.

Buyers purchased what was available at the time, many did renovations...
But when a better location comes up, they purchase the new using equity of the old and try to sell the old quickly.

Thank you for this. Two more homes that have recently come on the market have had a series of sales in the past few years too. When I pull the RedFin data I can see the previous listing pics - it does look like the homes were bought when they were dated, lots of improvements were done, and then they were listed at a much higher price. I know prices have seen a huge jump from 2020 to 2025 too - so maybe people are cashing out their equity.

[Descant]

Looking up the current owner/seller on the tax card and then looking up that person (if it's a person) on line will tell you a lot.

[BillTex]

Looks like OP is suffering from paralysis by analysis. Sooner or later you need to jump in, if this is something you really want. You know the old expression: it’s waterfront and they Aren’t making any more of it.

Good luck, Bill

[Newbiesaukee]

We bought our Lakefront house in November, never having been to the Lake before. This was 22 years ago and we have never regretted it. Our key to success was our realtor. She was brutally honest about the pros and cons of this location, the quality of the builder (or lack thereof) and all we needed to know to make an informed decision.

Her name is Susan Bradley and she’s still in business.

[Biggd]

Originally Posted by Newbiesaukee

We bought our Lakefront house in November, never having been to the Lake before. This was 22 years ago and we have never regretted it. Our key to success was our realtor. She was brutally honest about the pros and cons of this location, the quality of the builder (or lack thereof) and all we needed to know to make an informed decision.

Her name is Susan Bradley and she’s still in business.

Times are little different right now. I would be hesitant to buy right now, JMO!

[JilianBlue]

Originally Posted by BillTex

Looks like OP is suffering from paralysis by analysis. Sooner or later you need to jump in, if this is something you really want. You know the old expression: it’s waterfront and they Aren’t making any more of it.

Good luck, Bill

You are not wrong here I'm an accountant and my analytical skills sometimes get the best of me and keep me from making a leap.

[JilianBlue]

Re: Florida - I lived there for 10 years - from 2004 - 2014, I'm happy to answer any questions. We lived on the SW Coast in a town called North Port - it is in between Tampa and Fort Myers. It wasn't for us. Florida is a beautiful place to vacation, but a tough place to live year-round. It gets unbearably hot from May - October. You just shuttle yourself from air-conditioned location to air-conditioned location. We love outdoor life (hiking, kayaking, etc) and that was dangerous there. There are fire ants in the grass - look them up if you haven't heard of them. Their bites are incredibly painful and they swarm you and you can easily get multiple bites before you realize you're being swarmed. We regularly had bobcats in our yard, diamondback rattlesnakes, and scorpions in our home a handful of times. Wolf spiders are common and get into your house - they're as big as a hand in some cases and FAST. Freshwater almost always has gators in it. And Florida seems to be the sex offender capitol of the US. There were a disproportionate number of sex offenders and predators in our area. Then there are the hurricanes, the very expensive insurance and the inflated home prices. With FEMA and some other agencies who help during natural disasters losing funding & employees - hurricane-hit areas are going to have a tougher time than usual this hurricane season. You may want to wait one hurricane season and see how that shakes out before deciding.

Good luck with your decision!

[BillTex]

Originally Posted by JilianBlue

Re: Florida - I lived there for 10 years - from 2004 - 2014, I'm happy to answer any questions. We lived on the SW Coast in a town called North Port - it is in between Tampa and Fort Myers. It wasn't for us. Florida is a beautiful place to vacation, but a tough place to live year-round. It gets unbearably hot from May - October. You just shuttle yourself from air-conditioned location to air-conditioned location. We love outdoor life (hiking, kayaking, etc) and that was dangerous there. There are fire ants in the grass - look them up if you haven't heard of them. Their bites are incredibly painful and they swarm you and you can easily get multiple bites before you realize you're being swarmed. We regularly had bobcats in our yard, diamondback rattlesnakes, and scorpions in our home a handful of times. Wolf spiders are common and get into your house - they're as big as a hand in some cases and FAST. Freshwater almost always has gators in it. And Florida seems to be the sex offender capitol of the US. There were a disproportionate number of sex offenders and predators in our area. Then there are the hurricanes, the very expensive insurance and the inflated home prices. With FEMA and some other agencies who help during natural disasters losing funding & employees - hurricane-hit areas are going to have a tougher time than usual this hurricane season. You may want to wait one hurricane season and see how that shakes out before deciding.

Good luck with your decision!

Convinced me!

[Biggd]

Originally Posted by BillTex

Convinced me!

He made it sound so inviting!

[Mr. V]

On the subject of climate...

I was raised in NJ, back in the days when most homes had windown fans and no AC.

Summers were hot and humid, and the only way to get relief was to travel north to NH to take advantage of typically cooler, my temperate conditions.

But that left the winters, and mud season ... brutal, and an acquired taste, one which I never acquired.

I'd traveled this land and settled in Portland, Oregon, which I feel has a climate best suited to me: moderate, temperate, little snow, little crushing humidity.

YMMV