Whiteboard Topics: The Highest Offer For Your Lake Home May Cost You More Money

Selling a lake house is an exciting but difficult undertaking, and your main goal as a homeowner is to secure the greatest offer possible. However, it is critical to exercise caution because the highest offer may not always be the most lucrative. Let’s look at some important points to consider when selling your lake house to prevent financial hazards.

1. Avoiding Selling Too Quickly: Resist the urge to accept early offers; instead, wait for perfect market circumstances to obtain the best price.

2. All Cash Transactions: Be wary of all-cash proposals since they may come with lesser bids and make it difficult to negotiate a fair bargain.

3. Limited (or no) Contingencies: Carefully evaluate proposals with fewer conditions to prevent any legal or financial problems.

4. Seasoned Real Estate Agents Who Understand Niche: Work with seasoned agents who specialize in lakefront properties for professional advice, effective marketing, and skilled negotiating.

A thoughtful and informed approach to selling a lake house may make it a rewarding experience. While a large offer may appear appealing, it is critical to consider all elements to prevent financial disasters. Take your time, investigate all-cash bids, evaluate conditions, and seek advice from experienced lakefront real estate brokers. With these safeguards, you may sell your cherished lake house with confidence and optimize your investment return.

Whiteboard Topics: 3 Easy Ways to Fail at Selling Your Lake Home

It can be frustrating when your lake home sits on the market for too long. Lake Homes Realty’s CEO, Glenn Phillips, gives 3 reasons your home may not be getting any interested buyers!
  1. Inferior Photos: Unflattering, unrealistic, and a lack of photos of your lake home can turn buyers away from the property.
  2. Unresponsive Listing Agent: An agent that isn’t reliable or responsive to interested buyers will cause you to lose out on potential deals.
  3. Aspirational Price: Although this is a hot real estate market, it’s important to list your hope at a reasonable price. Most buyers won’t show interest in a home that’s grossly overpriced.
There are several reasons your lake home listing has been on the market for so long, but these are issues you can nip in the bud early on!

Lake Homes Makes It On Inc. 5000 List For The 5th Year

NEW YORK, August 17, 2021Inc. magazine today revealed that Lake Homes Realty is No. 2,711 on its annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. Lake Homes moved up 445 spots on the list after having a record sales year in 2020. This is the fifth consecutive year Lake Homes Realty has made the Inc.5000 list. From 2017 to 2020, the revenue at Lake Homes Realty revenue increased by 149% and the number of employees quadrupled. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economy’s most dynamic segment—its independent small businesses. Intuit, Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, Patagonia, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000.

Inc. 5000 Rankings for Lake Homes Realty

  • 2021 – 2,711
  • 2020 – 3,156
  • 2019 – 2,491
  • 2018 – 1,582
  • 2017 – 927

“As families looked for ways to flee crowds and to reconnect during the pandemic, Lake Homes Realty offered solutions in 33 states last year,” said Glenn Phillips, CEO of Lake Homes Realty. “We help people find, buy, and sell lake homes and land across the country,” Phillips said. “Making the Inc. 5000 list once is quite an honor. Making the list five consecutive years is a testament to our innovative approach to real estate, an exceptional team, and thinking outside of the box while selling the lake lifestyle,” he said. The company serves buyers and sellers by providing full-service real estate brokerage services through wholly-owned (no franchising) brokerages licensed in 33 states and growing plus the incredible market reach at www.lakehomes.com. “During an unprecedented time, our real estate agents worked with buyers and sellers from across the country leading to an increase in sales of more than 60 percent in 2020 and our numbers continue to grow in 2021,” he said. 

Not only have the companies on the 2021 Inc. 5000 been very competitive within their markets, but this year’s list also proved especially resilient and flexible given 2020’s unprecedented challenges. Among the 5,000, the average median three-year growth rate soared to 543 percent, and median revenue reached $11.1 million. Together, those companies added more than 610,000 jobs over the past three years.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at www.inc.com/inc5000. The top 500 companies are featured in the September issue of Inc., which will be available on newsstands on August 20, 2021.

“The 2021 Inc. 5000 list feels like one of the most important rosters of companies ever compiled,” says Scott Omelianuk, editor-in-chief of Inc. “Building one of the fastest-growing companies in America in any year is a remarkable achievement. Building one in the crisis we’ve lived through is just plain amazing. This kind of accomplishment comes with hard work, smart pivots, great leadership, and the help of a whole lot of people.”

Methodology

Companies on the 2021 Inc. 5000 are ranked according to percentage revenue growth from 2017 to 2020. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2017. They must be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independent—not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies—as of December 31, 2020. (Since then, some on the list may have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2017 is $100,000; the minimum for 2020 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Growth rates used to determine company rankings were calculated to three decimal places. There was one tie on this year’s Inc. 5000.  Companies on the Inc. 500 are featured in Inc.’s September issue. They represent the top tier of the Inc. 5000, which can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000.

About Inc. Media

The world’s most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Vision Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit www.inc.com.

About Lake Homes Realty

Lake Homes Realty is the nation’s largest lake-focused real estate company. Lake Homes Realty provides full-service, multi-state real estate brokerage services in 33 states. LakeHomes.com has more than 70,000 lake properties listed, totaling $30 billion. Inc. Magazine has ranked Lake Homes Realty as one of the fastest-growing companies for the past five years. More states coming soon.  www.lakehomes.com.

Whiteboard Topics: 4 Reasons Some Real Estate Agents Want to Sell Your Home in 1 Day

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.

  1. 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. 
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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 expert who understands lake property and will help you get the most return on your investment, we’re here to help.

Whiteboard Topics: 5 Things to Know About Your Highest & Best Offers

In real estate, especially in competitive markets, agents typically ask for the “highest and best offers.” It’s important to understand what this means, and whether you’re buying or selling your lake home, here are five things you will need to know about “Highest and Best” offers.

  1. This is not an auction. The biggest number doesn’t always win the deal. Ultimately, the sellers decide on what is best for them.
  2. Mortgage vs. cash. Cash transactions typically don’t go through an appraisal process (there are exceptions). There’s usually a pre-approval process with transactions involving mortgages, which could lead to an inconvenient holding pattern, thus making it a riskier transaction than cash.
  3. Timeframe matters. You can de-risk the deal to a seller if there is a shorter timeframe from contract to close.
  4. Earnest money. A large amount of earnest money offered ensures the buyer’s level of commitment, which further de-risks the deal.
  5. Connection. An emotional connection can help make an offer highest and best.

Whether you’re buying or selling your lake home or property, our agents at Lake Homes Realty can help provide insight in today’s lake real estate market and guide you in your home journey. 

Lakes Homes Realty Ranks on Inc. 5000 4th Consecutive Year

What makes the accomplishment of being named to the Inc. 5000  for four consecutive years noteworthy? Some companies have been named to the list more often, but few of those companies who have been in business only seven years can tout that more than half their years in operation put them in league with the nation’s most elite private firms.

We’re not boasting, but instead, we’re excited! We’re thrilled that our model has been proven. We are providing people seeking to buy or sell lake real estate, a tool that markets properties nationally while completing the transactions locally with Lake Homes Realty’s brokerage agents. It works so well that over 5 million people will use LakeHomes.com this year to shop, market, or buy a lake-based property.

We are a niche company in a hyper-competitive national real estate market. With new players pushing the “iBuyer” model, a completely virtual home buying transaction, and nationally franchised traditional players often creating “pocket listings” that are not marketed beyond their own agency, Lake Homes Realty deploys a hybrid sales model that markets homes nationally while using experienced professionals to sell them locally.

Few brokerages employ national marketing at the scale of Lake Homes Realty. We’re the only company doing so in specialty real estate. The company’s search advertising alone is the envy of the industry. Add to that an innovative social media program and a nationally pervasive public relations program, which provides valuable lake real estate data to news outlets nationwide at no charge.  With those programs, the company has created an unrivaled foundation of support for our clients.

Other brokerages offer the opportunity to “market” your property on a local MLS platform. Lake Homes Realty coordinates data from over 130 MLS platforms and markets it to the entire World Wide Web audience. We know that most buyers are shopping from markets outside of local lake areas. We meet the buyers where they are and sell to them where the listings are located.

The Inc. 5000 list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economy’s most dynamic segment of independent small businesses. Not only have the companies on the 2020 Inc. 5000 been very competitive within their markets, but the list as a whole shows staggering growth compared with prior years.

That staggering growth certainly applies to Lake Homes’ business. Sales in 2020 have been prolific as we assist buyers in finding homes and properties that give them distance from crowded metropolitan areas. Sellers who seek their next chapter find that employing our hybrid sales model gets homes sold quickly, meeting the price targets that owners are confident in after working with our professional agents to price their homes accurately. 

Glenn Phillips, CEO Lake Homes Realty

Lake Homes Realty CEO, Glenn Phillips said, “It’s satisfying to find that our business model has been validated once again by the recognition that comes from being named to the Inc. 5000. We work hard for our customers every day, and it’s gratifying to know we are again in such elite company.”

The company just opened its thirtieth state with the addition of Washington. That makes Lake Homes Realty “coast to coast” with a presence in multiple states bordering the Atlantic Ocean and throughout states contiguous to the country’s interior to the Pacific Ocean. Phillips says of the expansion, “We have a few more states as targets and many more lakes in our sights. We seek only the most professional agents to complement our growth and join our existing award-winning team.”

Lake Homes Realty looks forward to continued growth and even more valuable services for our buyers and sellers. If you are searching for lake real estate or you would like to sell an existing property, Lake Homes Realty and LakeHomes.com are an unbeatable combination that has been once again recognized as one of the best in the nation.

Whiteboard Topics: 5 Things Home Buyers Don’t Care About

When it’s time to sell your lake home, you’re likely keeping a mental list of what home buyers find important. However, your attempt to read buyers’ minds could be incorrect. To avoid this pitfall, Lake Homes CEO, Glenn Phillips, shares 5 things that home buyers don’t care about.

  1. What you paid for the lake house 
  2. The price of nearby homes in the market 
  3. Personal effort that you put into the home
  4. Using outliers in the market as a proxy for your home
  5. Your feelings about the home (don’t take an offer personally!)

As you price your home, keep these points in mind. Overall, now is a great time to sell property, so take advantage of the current window! 

Whiteboard Topics: 5 Reasons to Choose Lake Homes Realty

How do you maximize your opportunity to sell your lake home? When it comes to selling, here’s the real goal: you want to maximize the odds that you will get the maximum price the market will bear in a timeframe that is suitable for you. Here are five ways Lake Homes Realty can help you sell your lake property.

  1. Maximize exposure
  2. Pricing guidance
  3. Lake real estate expertise
  4. Unique network
  5. Buyers from across the country

As mentioned in the video, the Lake Real Estate Market Report contains unique multi-state market information about lake homes and land, including lakefront property, lake access property, lake view property, and near-lake property.

Free to the public, the market report can help lake home and land buyers and sellers better understand their local market, and how it relates to other similar competing markets. Download it HERE.

Whiteboard Topics: 5 Reasons It’s a Good Time to Sell Your Lake Home

During the pandemic, many lake homeowners are concerned about their investment. If you aren’t using your lake home anymore, is now the right time to sell? Glenn Phillips, Lake Homes CEO, answers this question. Due to the market’s price peak, high buyer demand, limited appropriately priced inventory, and low mortgage rates, now is actually one of the best times to sell a lake home. To explore your options in selling your property, connect with one of our Lake Homes agents. With both local market expertise and a national presence, we’re here to help.