LakePlace.com in the News

Water, water everywhere, but finding lakeside property can be tricky.
By Karen Doss Bowman
Country's Best Vacation Log Homes - Fall 2005

From the water sports fanatic to the avid angler to the bookworm who enjoys reading near the water, lakeside property has appeal for people with a variety of interests. The trick is finding affordable property that fits your needs. When Drew Ridder and his family set out several years ago to build a vacation home at Lake Anna in Louisa County, Virginia, they wanted to find a place that was family-friendly. 

"We started by driving around and getting used tot he amenities in the area," says Ridder, a co-owner of Dogwood Mountain Log Homes in Virginia. He, his father Jack, and brother Scott - his business partners - planned to build the home together as a shared vacation destination for their families.

As they began the process of searching for lakeside property, the Ridders began talking to Realtors while continuing their own detective work. As they explored different properties near the lake, they found an attractive farm with a section of land that seemed to match what they had in mind. "We kind of earmarked that knoll because it was raised above the water and had a nice view of the lake on several sides," Ridder explains.

Call it serendipity or divine intervention, but when the Ridders walked into a Realtor's office to inquire about that farmland, they learned that this particular agency already had plans to develop the property within a couple of years. The Ridders were willing to wait and became the first buyers on the development. In taking that risk, they got a price break; neighboring lots were sold at a much higher price.

Finding just the right lakeside property "takes patience and tenacity," Ridder says, recommending that prospective buyers shouldn't get tied down to one Realtor too early. "Speak to several [Realtors] to see if there are any developments that are going to be started in the area you're looking at," he advises.

Another perk of being the first to build in a development: Your home could set the architectural standard for homes that follow. The houses that have been built since the Ridders' home was stated have followed suit to blend in, he explains.

While lakeside property is popular, it is not available in abundance. "It's a limited commodity." says Mike Coke, general manager with McKeough Land Company, a lakefront development company. "Every time there's a development and a lot sold, that's one less out there for the next person." Coke adds that purchasing lakefront property often may offer a huge return on investment, since it has been "appreciating at a pretty good clip historically."

A prospective buyer of lakeside property may choose from a variety of resources and methods to aid in the selection of land. The Internet is a good place to start. Numerous Webs sites are devoted to helping people find lakeside property - the key is finding the Web site that serves your ideal location.

LakePlace.com is a site that advertises available properties throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin. The site's founders, Dave Gooden and Cameron Henkel, were motivated to start the site after their own search for family cabins led to frustration with the scattered information available on the Internet. Gooden explains that they developed LakePlace.com to provide a centralized search site that would be more user-friendly,. Currently, over 60 brokers, 550 agents, developers and property owners list their available lakeside locations on the site, Gooden says.

With properties ranging in price from about $30,000 to $7 million, Gooden says, It's by far the largest database of lakeshore properties covering both Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Another approach to finding land is to work with a development company, such as the previously mentioned McKeogh Land Company. With land available in Michigan, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina, McKeough purchases lakeside properties, develops the lots, and then sells parcels to individual property owners, Coke explains. The company owns a database containing names of people and the kind of properties they're looking for, he says. "We go out and try to math it up with what we might have," he says. "If we don't have what they're looking for, we go out and buy it, develop it, and then offer it back to them."

Cautious buyers who aren't in a hurry to purchase lakeside land may prefer pursuing several avenues of investigation in hopes of finding the best deal. In addition to Internet searches and talking to Realtors, a person may try an approach similar to the Ridder family: scoping out the land you want. When Diane and Mark began searching for property in Northern Virginia, where lakeside property is especially hard to come by, they started by parking their car in a neighborhood they preferred, walking around, and writing down the addresses of the homes they liked - they ended up with about 70.

Later, they found the county government's Web site and searched through the online real estate assessments. (If these figures for a particular county aren't available online, they may be found at the local courthouse.) "You will get the homeowner's name and the assessed property value, which is a good indication of whether [the neighborhood's] affordable to you," Diane notes.

Next, the couple sent letters to each of these homeowners - as letter tailored to look personalized, not like junk mail - inquiring about the availability of properties in the area. They received several replies, including notes from a few Realtors. While Diane and Mark's plans changed, and they decided to to move to Virginia, they found the process helpful and recommend it as a starting point.

Other ways to locate the property of your dreams include checking the newspaper classifieds for land for sale, auctions, open houses or foreclosures. Spread the word among friends and family, as well as among people who already live in the neighborhood you're considering. They might know of someone selling property in the area. If you see a parcel of land, go to the local courthouse and find out who owns it, then contact that person to ask if they plan to sell.

The most thorough search for lakeside property probably would involve a combination of these methods. Exhausting all resources available is sure turn up the best bargain. And although lakeside property is popular and available land may be difficult to find, odds are that someone out there will eventually want to sell.