LakePlace.com in the News

Acquire Your Land
By Karen Doss Bowman
Country's Best Log Homes – 2007 Buyer's Guide

When Drew Ridder and his extended family set out several years ago to build a vacation home at Lake Anna in Louisa County, Virginia, they did not sit back and wait for a realtor to find the right lot for them. Instead, they did their own detective work, checking out different properties near the lake and actively seeking the perfect spot for their dream vacation home.

We didn't know Lake Anna at all, but heard that it was family-friendly because it's no very deep and not very wide,' says Ridder, co-owner of Dogwood Mountain Log Homes in Virginia. 'We started by just driving around and getting used to the amenities located in the area.

The vacation home was a shared venture between Ridder, his father Jack, and brother Scott, who are also his business partners. As they began the process of searching for a suitable parcel of lakeside property, the Ridders consulted realtors in the area. But it was during one of their driving excursions to scout the area that the Ridders noticed an attractive farm near the lake with a section of land that seemed to match what they wanted.

The family members walked into a realtor's office to inquire about that farmland, hoping to learn whether it was for sale. They got lucky: 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, and neighboring lots were sold at a much higher price.

Looking for just the right piece of property 'takes patience and tenacity,' Ridder says, advising prospective buyers not to get tied down to one realtor early in the process. '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 says.

As the Ridders' situation demonstrates, there are many methods for finding the right parcel of land. A variety of resources and tools are available to help prospective buyers, and the Internet is a good place to start, says Dave Goode, co-founder of LakePlace.com, a site that advertises available lakeside properties throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin. 'The Internet is the easiest and most convenient way to do that [research],' he says.

Gooden's website, which he and Cameron Henkel started after engaging in their own frustrating search to purchase family cabins, provides a user-friendly, centralized search of lakeside properties in their two states of coverage. The site has more than 20,000 lake property listings for sale. 'It's by far the largest database of lakeshore [properties] and covers the largest geographic area of any vacation property website on the Internet,' Gooden says.

Prospective buyers also may consider working with a land development company that purchases available land, develops the lots and sells parcels to individual buyers. Many land developers sell the properties as part of a community where the homes fit into set design guidelines. Often, these communities may have added perks, such as parks, recreation centers or golf courses, and they may be gated for security. For the prospective buyer who wants to strike out new territory in a more remote site, many land companies also operate much like a real estate office, with scattered lots available in rural locations.

While talking to a realtor is an important step in finding land, don't overlook the value of perusing the newspaper classifieds for land for sale, auctions, or foreclosures. Word of mouth is a powerful tool – spread the word that you're in the market because you never know when friends of friends of friends might be selling property. Drive around and look for 'For Sale' signs or for appealing properties that seem to be vacant. Find out the address of the property and go to the local courthouse to find out who owns it, then contact them to see if they're willing to sell.

Anyone contemplating a land purchase should first consider their 'personal intent' for the purchase, says Jo Crowe, owner and broker of Appalachian Land Company in Murphy, North Carolina. Do you plan to build a home on the property, or is it strictly an investment? Will you keep the property for many years, or do you plan to sell it to make some cash? If a home will be built on the land, it's also important to think about the design of the home so that it will fit in with the neighborhood.

If you can get people to digg deep within their hearts and say, 'why am I doing this?', it will bring clarity to their purpose,' Crowe says. 'They can see more clearly early on, rather than wading through the process and sometimes getting frustrated.

One of the most important considerations for a prospective buyer, says Ken Deshaies, owner and broker of Snow Home Properties in Dillon, Colorado, is whether the land you want will accommodate the type of house you want. Does the terrain have appropriate typography for a log home, and does the desired type of house fit in with the neighborhood? A log home wouldn't fit in metropolitan Denver, he explains, but in the more isolated ski areas of Colorado, they would be a natural fit.

Either people have a home in mind or they have a location in mind,' Deshaies says. 'If you have the kind of home in mind that you want – and let's say that it is a log home – then you want to look for a lot that will accommodate a log home and where it will fit in.

Along with determining how the property will be used, Bob Rothschiller, manager of the Tacoma Land Company in Washington, says the prospective buyer should think about whether utilities and road access are necessary. If the property is to be used for a hunting cabin, for example, power and phone may not be critical. However, if the buyer intends to build a house on the property, these and other utilities are important.

The old real estate adage, 'Location, location, location,' holds true when it comes to purchasing land, Crowe says. What is the neighborhood like, and how far is it from town? How close are health care facilities, and what is the reputation of the schools? Does the community have architectural requirements or property rules? What are the zoning restrictions in the neighborhood? Also, determine if you can secure affordable financing and whether the property has a clear title, free of liens, easements, and encumbrances.

These combined factors will have a bearing on the property's value – an important concern for any buyer. As potential buyers begin to research options, Crowe suggests that they evaluate the sales statistics of the market over a long period of time, comparing sales prices a decade ago to those within the last few years.

Land that comes with water (particularly lakeside property) is almost always a sure bet for high resale value, Gooden says. 'The return has beaten the stock market for the last 10 years,' he says. 'With the baby boomers retiring, we have basically the wealthiest generation in the Unites States retiring, and they're really going to drive this market for the next 10 to 15 years. So as far as we can see, it's not going to get any cheaper. If you're looking to get in, the longer you wait, the more it's going to cost you.'

The experts agree that your best assurance of making a wise purchase is to educate yourself. Know the market and take responsibility for finding the best property to suit your needs.

'Take more ownership in the process,' Crow says, 'rather than just when the deed is placed in your hand.'