Buying a lake home can be stressful, especially in this seller’s market, but it’s important to know you’re getting your dream lake home at a reasonable price. Lake Homes Realty’s CEO, Glenn Phillips gives four signs a lake home is grossly overpriced.
Days-on-Market: Lake homes don’t spend too much time on the market, and when they do, it’s an indicator of being unreasonably priced.
Big Appraisal Gap: If the listing price and appraisal have a large gap between them, it’s a clear sign the lake home is overpriced.
Back on Market: Sometimes, a lake home is back on the market after being listed as pending. This could be due to a buyer attempting to work with the exaggerated price, but realizing it would be a bad investment.
Massive Price Increase: When reviewing the price history of a lake home, take note if there was an alarming increase and whether any renovation has been done to the home to validate said increase.
Never spend more than you have to on your dream lake home. You never have to settle for overpriced properties when you know all the signs to watch out for!
When buying a lake home, it’s important to put yourself in the best position. This means understanding the market, or working with an agent who does. Lake Homes Realty’s CEO, Glenn Phillips gives four tips for leveraging backup offers for lake home buying.
Patience: Being in a hurry to buy a lake home can damage the chances of a purchase being made. Leveraging backup offers means waiting for an offer to fall through.
Add Contingencies: Ensuring a higher quality offer with contingencies can
Don’t Ask, Just Submit: Instead of waiting while more offers can be made, submitting your offer can put you in the best position.
No Guarantees: While an offer may seem perfect, nothing is guaranteed.
Selling your lake home doesn’t have to be difficult. Set yourself up for success and work with an agent who knows not only your lake area but the lake house market!
When buying your dream lake home, it’s important to review all your options. Lake Homes Realty’s CEO, Glenn Phillips gives five reasons why a waterfront lake home may not be for you.
Water view: Although waterfront homes seem to be the obvious choice, they can be hard to come by. A great alternative is a water view home, because of the amazing view you’ll have of the lake.
Water Access: These lake homes may not have a view of the lake, but they are in close proximity and are typically located in a community. These are great for those who consider their lake home their ‘second home’.
Bang for the $: One of the biggest benefits of choosing a water access home over a waterfront home, is the bang for your buck. You’ll be able to get a lot more space and a more modern look if you forego the lakefront home.
Competition: The competition for waterfront homes can be overwhelming. Choosing to buy a different type of lake home can lessen the competition, making for an easier buying process.
Future Plans: A water view or water access home can be a great ‘first lake home’ for a much better price. Taking this first step can allow you to plan for the future.
Knowing all your options is key when purchasing your dream lake home. Make sure to review all your lake has to offer!
You can never be over-prepared when buying your future lake home. Lake Homes Realty’s CEO, Glenn Phillips, has four tips for buyers in this hot real estate market that you’ll want to check out before you make your next offer!
Easy to Understand: When making an offer, ensure that it is easy to understand. Making it too complex can confuse the homeowner and their agent.
Ready Cash: Having plenty of cash available can help you stand out against other buyers with loans. Sellers feel more secure with cash offers because of the added security.
Improve Credit Score: Improving your credit score beforehand will help with your buying power. It can help with loan approvals and lowering interest rates.
Follow Seller’s Rules: Be sure to follow the rules of the seller when showing interest in their home. Failure to do so can cause your offer to be overlooked.
Buying a lake home shouldn’t be complicated. Following these four tips can help ease the process, and give you a better home buying experience.
There is no doubt that we are now in a hot real estate market. What this means is that the demand for homes is high while inventory is low which oftentimes could fall in the seller’s favor. With that being said, before you rush off to put your home on the market, here are four need-to-know strategies that homebuyers are using in order to gain an advantage in this real estate market.
Apples and Oranges. It’s important to take a close look at your contract as many homebuyers can submit one that would make it stand out from competitors when in fact, it doesn’t offer much advantage over others, the only difference is that the language makes it sound more appealing.
Escalation Clauses. Oftentimes many homebuyers will submit escalation clause offers which in turn, puts your home into an auction environment. It can be a headache to sort through all of these offers so it’s important to understand the details and/or whether or not you would want to enter in an escalation clause.
Win Contract Then Decide. Many homebuyers are opting to win the contract and then using contingencies to buy time to decide whether or not they want to purchase your home. You must be aware of this strategy and allow yourself enough time to sort through all of the details in order to get the best offer for your home.
Aggressive Deadlines. Homebuyers will set short deadlines on offers in order to force the seller to make a decision. As a home seller, you must understand that there are more home buyers than there are homes available so it’s advantageous for you to take your time in order to make the best decision for you.
If you need a lake professional to help guide you on your home selling journey, our knowledgeable agents are available for assistance.
Are you torn between buying a lake home or a beach home? Here are five reasons to buy a lake home instead of a beach home.
Sand. Most lakes don’t have sand so if you’re not a fan of having to clean up sand from your home or property, then a home at the lake is perfect for you.
Salt water. With the exception of the Great Salt Lake in Utah, the Dead Sea in Jordan and Israel, and a few others located in various parts of the world, the majority of lakes in the United States are fresh water. Therefore, one of the benefits of having a lake home is not having to worry about corrosion of your home or furniture as you would if you owned a beach home.
Sharks. There are no sharks at the lake.
Docks. With a lake home, you’re able to have your own personal dock to enjoy making personal watercrafts easily accessible at your home or property.
Shoreline. The option of finding a lake home is far greater than a beach home because there is more lake shoreline than beach shoreline.
If you’re looking to buy a lake home or currently own one, you already know that the lake has many lifestyle benefits such as an abundance of recreational water activities as well as 24-hour access to the beautiful lake view from your backyard. But did you know that the water level of your lake could affect your lake home’s value? In this video, Lake Homes Realty’s CEO, Glenn S. Phillips gives us four aspects of water levels that could impact your decision to buy a lake home or price your lake home if you’re planning on selling.
1. Flood Zones. If your lake home is in an area prone to floods, this could affect the price of your lake home and the cost of insurance.
2. Deep Water. How deep is the water? If you’re looking to add a dock on your lake property, the water needs to be deep enough to accommodate it. Water levels typically affect the clarity of the lake water itself. Also, lake activities such as fishing could be affected by the level of the water level and certain watercraft are not allowed on shallow water.
3. Seasonal Water. Some lakes have water levels that vary throughout the year. For example, water levels might be lower during the wintertime thus limiting lake activities.
4. Daily Changes. Lakes that are being used for hydroelectrical purposes typically have daily water level changes that could range from 12-18 inches.
If you’re considering buying or selling a lake home, be sure you understand your lake’s water level. If you need assistance with your lake home, our agents at Lake Homes Realty can help provide insight into your lake area and guide you in your home journey.
Finding your dream lake home isn’t easy. Sometimes, you’ll have to sacrifice certain “nice-to-haves” for the sake of securing your “non-negotiable” qualities in a lake home. However, the solution to attaining your dream home might be to create aspects of it yourself. Investing in a fixer-upper can be an excellent opportunity to customize a home to your liking and increase your return on investment for an eventual sale. Plus, there are plenty of DIY solutions to fixing up a property. Check out these insider tips on buying a fixer-upper lake home from real estate experts across the country.
Whether it’s a lake property or a residential home, every buyer should know their numbers. “Run your flip like a business — because it is!” says Charlie Mackey, director of investment solutions at Sundae. “Start with the 70% rule. You should not pay more than 70% of the After Repair Value (ARV) of a property or what the house can be sold for after completing all work and renovations. Think of this number as a starting point.”
Knowing your numbers can help eliminate any cost surprises in the long run. It can also help you decide if a property is worth the money. “You’ll never be 100%, but you can be as close as possible,” says Bill Samuel, a residential real estate developer who specializes in rehabbing and selling houses. “Know what your total development cost will be at the end of the day. The most important thing is: what’s the property going to be worth when you finish, and is that number versus your total cost worth it?”
Look for the Bones
When you’re buying a fixer-upper, it’s not the inside that counts — it’s the structure. You’ll be renovating the interior, but you want to make sure the overall frame of the home is sound. “Look for the bones,” says real estate expert Steve Laret. “Look at the dock, pilings, roof, walls, the stuff that isn’t ‘sexy money’ to spend.” If everything on the outside of the home is intact, including the electrical wiring, plumbing, and a termite inspection, then you can spend your money on aesthetics alone. “Run away from a place that needs a new roof, tons of tree work, or is completely shaded. They are not going to return your investment,” he says.
These days, buyers are savvier than ever. However, it doesn’t hurt to get a second opinion — especially one who’s an expert. “Don’t be afraid to have a contractor walk a property with you,” says Henry Washington, a real estate investor who specializes in buying and renovating homes. “A lot of times, people THINK they know how much a renovation will cost, but they don’t actually know. The expense of fixing foundations can be cheap or expensive, and it’s hard for an expert to know the difference. Have a professional give you a quote.”
In particular, a contractor may help you search for things like cracks in the walls that you might not notice. These could indicate a problem in your home’s foundation, and you may want to offer less for the property.
A contractor can also offer insight into the home’s electrical wiring. “If you’re not experienced with doing a lot of construction, stick to a house that wasn’t built over 100 years ago because you’re going to wind up with way too many surprises,” says Samuel. This is because 100 years ago, there were no building codes for electricity.
If your house is too old and is not up to code, you will be responsible for the costly fees of updating the wiring if you were to open a wall. Bringing a contractor on-site could help you catch things like this — the little things that come with a hefty price tag.
After buying a fixer-upper, you’re going to be doing a lot of the work. Be prepared by knowing what you’re working with and looking for the home’s potential rather than evaluating it based on its current state. For lake houses, adding bedrooms means adding value because you will be paid more whenever you rent it out or if you want to sell it one day. “Look for places where the square footage and the number of bedrooms don’t add up,” says Washington. “That means that you can add a bedroom and still have a great-sized home.” At a lake house, you may also want to take down trees to increase the lake view. However, this can be expensive, as Laret warns. It may be a better idea to consider other ways to let light into your home, such as changing the window treatments.
Finally, when buying a fixer-upper on lakefront property, be sure to hire a lake-focused real estate agent. “Hire someone locally who knows all the nuances of the lake market,” Samuel says. “Know what the water quality is like, and other important factors about that lake. The more information you have, the better your decision will be.” At Lake Homes Realty, our lake agents have both local and national expertise and can help you find the property and lake area that’s right for you.
It might sound good to have your lake home sold in one day but it might not be in the best interest of you, the home seller. In this video, Lake Homes Realty’s CEO, Glenn S. Phillips provides four REAL reasons why real estate agents want to sell your home in one day.
Less work. If an agent is able to get your home sold in a very short period of time (which is very likely in a hot market), it’ll mean less work for them. Because of this, you may or may not get the optimal price for your home.
Commission is similar. Since how much an agent gets paid doesn’t differ much between a good sale price and a great one, there isn’t much incentive for them to go the extra mile to get the best return on investment for your lake property.
Self-promotion. Being able to move a property off the market in record time comes with its own “bragging rights.” But in some cases, it’s the hot market or high demand that is the leading factor behind quick sale transactions and not necessarily the effort that the agent is putting in.
Limit competition. In this current real estate market where the demand is high, agents oftentimes have buyers on hand that are ready to buy (sometimes within the hour!). If a quick sale is something you’re interested in, that’s great! But if you’re looking for the most bang for your buck, you might want to consider having other buyers join in. More competition will benefit you as a home seller since you’ll likely have more offers driving up your home selling price.
If you’re interested in selling your lake home or property and need a lake expertwho understands lake property and will help you get the most return on your investment, we’re here to help.
