Minnesota Lakeshore Property

Growing Up in The Land of 10,000 Lakes

Raised in the Iron Range town of Eveleth, Minnesota, I have come to love what the beautiful lakes and rivers of Northern Minnesota have to offer. In my youth, I lived just off the St. Louis River. My family, friends and I made numerous treks to the river for swimming, tubing, fishing or just plain exploring. Whether it be slowly floating down the river on a tube or learning about the abundance of wildlife in the area, the love of the water is instilled in most any northern raised boy.

One out of five families in Minnesota own a lakeshore property. I was amongst the 80% who did not. However, I knew many families who did own a cabin. Many summer days were spent out on the lake either water skiing, swimming, boating or fishing. The summer vacation would cruise right by with so many opportunities on the many resources of Northern Minnesota. The winter months were filled with snowmobiling, ice fishing, hockey and warm nights sipping hot cocoa or cider by the fire. Whatever the time of year, there are memories to be made on the thousands of lakes throughout the Northland.

Minnesota Lakeshore Property Trends

Owning Minnesota lakeshore property not only helps to create family memories, it can also create cash flow. Lakeshore property values throughout Minnesota have skyrocketed in the last decade and with millions of baby boomers retiring in the next 15 years, the trend shows no sign of slowing down. With over 80,000,000 baby boomers retiring in the next decade, the craze of lakeshore development should continue for some time. Take advantage of available lakeshore while prices are still reasonable and find your piece of heaven now.

Many current Minnesota lakeshore property owners have come to the realization that there is money to be made from their cabin. Most owners do not use their cabin every weekend, and some have decided to rent it out when they are not using the space themselves. There are really two scenarios for private cabin rental owners – rent out their cabin for up to two weeks of the year and use the profit to cover property taxes (or what ever else they would like to use it for), or, lease out the cabin as often as they like and in turn use the space as an investment property. In the first scenario, the owner does not have to pay taxes on the profit, as the government does not tax the first two weeks rental on any second home. The latter scenario is actually viewed as a second form of income and is taxed after you rent the property for more than two weeks. In either case, there can be benefits.

I have had many conversations with LakePlace.com members in all three categories. Many people simply want a place to get away with their family and do not want the hassle of obtaining renters, getting the property renter ready, and managing the property. These are still the majority of cabin owners, and will most likely remain the majority. Another group of cabin owners have had their cabin for a long period of time and when they or a family member purchased the property, the price they paid was, shall we say, dirt cheap. With rising property values, so goes the property taxes, and some owners have offset the cost by renting their cabin out for a couple of weeks. Not much of a hassle, yet making a few bucks to help the cause. The final group of owners uses Minnesota lakeshore property for investment purposes. Many started out renting their cabin to offset the taxes and mortgage. They had such success; they in turn purchased a second lakeshore property and then a third and so on. Depending on your situation, cabin ownership can be a lucrative second business or primary business for that matter.

Whatever category you may fall into, the time for purchasing a Minnesota lakeshore property is now. If recent trends and future speculation hold true, purchasing that weekend get away today will help secure your financial future and in the meantime, help create family memories for years to come.