Tag: real estate tips

Whiteboard Topics: Is Winter A Good Time To Buy A Lake Home?

Posted on Kamari House

Winter may seem like an unusual time to purchase a lake home, but now is a great time to determine if a home is right for your year-round. Lake Homes Realty’s CEO, Glenn Phillips, offers 4 reasons why you should continue your lake home search through the off-season.

  1. Understand Seasonal Water: Water levels tend to vary depending on the season. Getting a good idea of how the winter water will prevent surprises.
  2. Understand Community: You’ll get a good idea of what local life is like outside of the overactive summer crowd.
  3. Possible Price Advantages: While winter won’t have an outstanding effect on overall market pricing, the lowered frenzy in demand may help you get a better deal.
  4. Availability of Best Agents: Summer is the busiest time for lake real estate specialists. The off-season allows those lake experts to dedicate more time to your dream home journey.

Summer is the ideal season to buy a lake property, but waiting until winter has its advantages. Don’t let the chilly weather stop you from finding your dream home!

Whiteboard Topics: When Is The Best Time To Sell Your Lake Home?

Posted on Kamari House

Selling your lake home isn’t an easy decision, but it may be the right one for you. Lake Homes Realty’s CEO, Glenn Phillips, offers 3 ways to know if it’s time to list your lake home.

  1. Ignore Seasons: Don’t let the change in season deter you from listing your home because the lake real estate market is active year-round. For most buyers, this is a discretionary purchase, meaning, they are not dependent on a time frame.
  2. Personal Goals: Revisit your purpose for owning your lake home, and determine if it’s still servicing your needs. If not, it may be time to make a change
  3. Financial Goals: If generating the maximum return on your investment is important to you, now’s the time to consider putting your home on the market within the next few months.

It can be difficult to decipher the best time to sell your lake home, but with the help of these tips, it’s not impossible. Now you can take on your new real estate journey with confidence!

Whiteboard Topics: Should You Buy Or Build Your Dream Lake Home?

Posted on Kamari House

To buy or to build, that is the question. Lake Homes Realty’s CEO, Glenn Phillips, offers 5 factors to consider before deciding which path to take.

  1. What is your goal?: Take the time to access what you want from your lake home before making your next move. Buying and building both come with their own set of limitations, so it’s important to determine which route will lead you to your end goal.
  2. Timeframe: After pinpointing what you want, ask yourself how long you’d be willing to wait for it. Are you comfortable with the estimated timeframe?
  3. Inventory of Homes: The number of homes for sale, that meet your requirement, may be lacking. This can play a big part in your timeline, and therefore, your final decision.
  4. Lot Availability: Before you can even consider building your home, there has to be a lot available. Research what’s available in your preferred area before abandoning the idea of buying.
  5. Builder’s Schedules: There are a plethora of factors that can alter the availability of builders. The supply shortage due to the effects of the pandemic and the war in Europe will play a major role.

When you enter the lake real estate market, the big question is whether you should build or buy. The only way to make the best decision for you is to solidify what you want in your home in advance!

Whiteboard Topics: How Do I Buy An Overpriced Lake Home?

Posted on Kamari House

Finding the home of your dreams with an egregiously high price tag can be discouraging. Lake Homes Realty’s CEO, Glenn Phillips, gives six factors to keep in mind when facing an overpriced home.

  1. Keep Options Open: Becoming fixated on a home can cause you to miss out on other opportunities. Keep an open mind for all potential properties.
  2. Patience: Good things come to those who wait. Although it can be challenging, remember to take your time during this process.  
  3. Listen…and Ask: Be mindful with your questioning, and actively listen to your realtor when they share information. Doing so will help you adapt to your seller’s needs.
  4. Bring Data: Collecting your own information in regards to the market will help you during the negotiation process. It can help determine a realistic price for a home, rather than relying on an inflated number a seller wishes to receive.
  5. Flexibility: If you find your dream home, you don’t have to be so rigid when negotiating. Decide what you’re willing to compromise on to get to a deal both parties are comfortable with.
  6. Be Ready to Walk: Becoming attached to a home can cause you to make rash decisions. When you’ve exhausted your capacity for compromise, be willing to walk away.

When entering the lake homes market, a hefty price tag can be disheartening, but you shouldn’t let it deter you from buying the home of your dreams. Stay prepared, and you will be able to negotiate your way to a manageable price!

Whiteboard Topics: Buying? 4 Advantages Of Hiring A Lake Homes Realty Agent

Posted on Kamari House

When buying a lake home, the average commercial real estate agent just won’t do. Lake Homes Realty’s CEO, Glenn Phillips, explains the benefits of working with Lake Homes agents who specialize in the lake real estate market.

  1. Market Expertise: Lake Homes Realty agents don’t just dabble in lake properties. They specialize in their local lake area, which is essential in understanding the complexities of lake real estate.
  2. Price Knowledge: Our agent’s knowledge isn’t limited to their lake area. They understand the pricing trends of lake properties around the nation, which will help you get the best deal on your dream home.
  3. National Network: If during your search you discover the lake you’ve chosen isn’t for you, our agents can connect you to another Lake Homes agent whose lake you may prefer.
  4. The Lake Real Estate Specialists: We are the lake real estate specialists, which means our agents know the market better than the average realtor. 

When choosing a realtor, it’s important to work with someone who knows the lake real estate market better than anyone else. When choosing a Lake Homes agent, you can rest assured that you’ll be working with the best of the best!

Whiteboard Topics: 7 Tips For Finding Your Dream Lake Home In 2022

Posted on Kamari House

The lake real estate market can be difficult to navigate when you don’t plan ahead. Lake Homes Realty’s CEO, Glenn Phillips, shares 7 tips to aid in the search for your dream lake home.

  1. Be Realistic: A home may not fit every criterion, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a solid choice. Don’t let your new lake home pass you by because of unrealistic expectations.
  2. List Your “Got to Haves”: Shifting your mindset to realistic expectations is essential, but it’s important to make a list of must-haves you refuse to compromise on. Think about what you truly cannot live without.
  3. List Your “Nice to Haves”: Creating a list of wants versus needs allows you to discover what you can compromise on. These bonus items can help you choose between similar homes.
  4. List of “Don’t Care”: Sorting out home characteristics you are indifferent to will help broaden your scope of available homes that fit your other criteria.
  5. List Your “Do Not Wants”: This list will help you determine which homes are automatic no so that you don’t waste time. This market is hot, and you don’t want to spend time on a home you would never buy.
  6. Focus: Pay close attention to the detailed lists you’ve created when searching for your dream lake home. This will ensure you narrow your focus to homes that have potential.
  7. Put Your Agent to Work: Now that you’ve developed these detailed lists, it’s time to put your lake real estate expert to work. You’ve built the perfect roadmap for them to follow while they search for your dream home.

Great things in life come from great planning. It can feel tedious breaking down all of your wants into detailed categories, but being thorough will ensure you find the home of your dreams!

Whiteboard Topics: Selling? 4 Advantages Of Hiring A Lake Homes Realty Agent

Posted on Kamari House

When selling your home, you want the best of the best on your side. Lake Homes Realty’s CEO, Glenn Phillips, explains why listing with a Lake Homes Agent is the number one option.

  1. More Buyers: Most agents are well-versed in their local market, but our agents have access to buyers around the country. Having a larger pool of buyers makes selling your home all the easier.
  2. Pricing Intel: Your competition doesn’t end with the home next door. Buyers are vetting lake locations across the nation, and our lake homes agents have the pricing intel to ensure your home has the advantage.
  3. Become a Featured Property: Listing with a Lake Homes Realty Agent is the only way for your property to be featured on the Lakehomes.com website. Your home will be given priority exposure to our target audience.
  4. National Network: Our real estate agents are an interconnected group that is committed to helping you buy/sell a home. If one agent cannot find a property for a buyer, they will refer them to another lake homes agent; one of which could be yours.

These are only a few advantages available to you when listing with a Lake Homes Realty Agent. When deciding to sell your lake home, it only makes sense to go with a lake expert!

Whiteboard Topics: 4 Reasons To Not Buy A Lake Home Right Now

Posted on Kamari House

Buying a lake home is a big commitment, so you have to be sure the timing is right. Lake Homes Realty’s CEO, Glenn Phillips, shares 4 reasons why you may want to postpone purchasing your dream lake home.

  1. Peak-ish Prices: We are still at the peak of the real estate market. Because of the high demand/ low supply of homes and growing interest rates, now may not be the best time to invest in a home.
  2. Patience Required: Competition for lake homes is at an all-time high which will make it difficult for you to get the home of your dreams. It may be best to avoid the hassle of waiting for the perfect property until demand starts to slow.
  3. Time: Taking on a new lake home is exciting, but it doesn’t come without its maintenance. If you don’t have the time to go between two homes, travel to and from the lake, and do general upkeep, now may not be the time to take on the responsibility.
  4. Chapter of Life: Before you buy, it’s important to assess what chapter of life you are in. Are you ready for a change in pace and to relax by the lake, or are you still heavily involved in your job and other time-consuming activities?

‘Not now’ doesn’t mean ‘Not ever’. Wait to buy your dream home until the market is right, and you feel ready to take on the long-term commitment of lake living. You’ll find that the perfect home is worth the wait!

Whiteboard Topics: 4 Reasons Sellers Need A Lake-Expert Agent

Posted on Kamari House

To understand lake real estate, you have to realize that it’s in a class of its own with rules specific to the market. Lake Homes Realty’s CEO, Glenn Phillips, shares why you need a lake expert to help you navigate the world of lake real estate.

  1. Specialty Property: Your home is unique and requires an agent knowledgeable in the lake market to help you sell it.
  2. Remote Buyers: Out-of-state buyers make up a large portion of potential prospects. With this in mind, it’s essential that your agent is comfortable engaging with and bringing in those remote buyers.
  3. Thinks Long-Term: A lake home is a discretionary product, which can make purchasing one a lengthy process. To combat this, a good lake-expert agent will already have a pipeline of interested buyers with whom they have developed long-term relationships.
  4. Local is Not Enough: Most of the time your buyer pool won’t include your neighbors on the lake. You need an agent who has experience marketing lake homes nationally.

Lake real estate varies from the typical commercial market in a lot of ways. To stay on top of the lake market, be sure to find a lake expert agent to help you sell your home!