Lakesearcher.com Weblog

More Website Updates

lakesearcher — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:45:03 +0000

River and Stream Properties: Rivers and streams have an appeal that is a little different than lakes. What happens upstream can affect your enjoyment of the property. Find out what is happening upstream of the property you are considering. Are there wastewater plants dumping into the river that might affect your enjoyment of the property? Some rivers look just like a lake. Some rivers and streams flow into lakes. There are some river properties where you can water ski and others that are more appropriate for canoes and kayaks. You will need to decide what type of river or stream suits your needs. There are some important items to consider when you are looking at homes and cabins for sale on a river or a stream:

Is there a floodplain and is the home built higher than the flood zone?
Where is the river channel located? How deep is it?
Is the river navigable in a boat, canoe, or kayak? Are docks or wharves allowed or practical on the river?
How fast does the river flow? How much does the water level fluctuate through the year?

Real Estate Agents: If you are a real estate agent with a lake property listing, post it for sale on LakeSearcher.com with up to 15 photos, full descriptions, and free video tours and virtual tour links for just $25 until the property sells. We have larger and very affordable advertising packages availalbe for agents with 3, 10, 20, or more lake properties for sale.

Lake Home, Lake Lot, and Lake Property Sellers: We gladly accept FSBO listings, but selling a lake property is not easy in this market and a professional real estate agent can make sure that your property is priced correctly, marketed properly, and sells at a fair price in a reasonable time…We would highly suggest that you contact one of the featured real esate agents specializing in lake homes and lake property in your area. Let them know that your found them on LakeSearcher.com

If you are looking for discounts on your lake home or boat insurance, check out our friends at www.DiscountInsuranceGuide.com

Vist the LakeSearcher.com Blog at http://lakesearcher.blogspot.com/

lakesearcher — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:42:41 +0000

Check out our Trophy Properties and Lake Area Properties Buyers Guide on LakeSearcher.com

Lake Area Properties and Trophy Properties: Are you looking for an incredible property in a good recreational area near lakes but not necessarily on the water? Check out our Lake Area Properties or Trophy Properties section where you will find unique estates, executive homes, and other specialty properties located in good recreational and waterfront areas. You will also find homes located in lakefront communities here…some even have deeded access to lakes or a boat slip available on the water.

What activities are nearby?
Is the property part of a lake district or lake association?
Are my property taxes any lower than a waterfront property?

If you are looking for discounts on your lake home or boat insurance, check out our friends at www.DiscountInsuranceGuide.com

Vist the LakeSearcher.com Blog at http://lakesearcher.blogspot.com/

Log Home Buyers Guide

lakesearcher — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:40:48 +0000

Check out our ner Log Home Buyers Guide on LakeSearcher.com

Log Home Buyers: There several different ways to build a log home. Some homes are full logs, some log homes are built like a traditional home with a log wrap on the outside, some log homes have log siding with fully insulated stud walls. A well constructed and well maintained log home should last forever. There are different sizes of logs and different corner styles used in log home construction. When you are buying a pre-existing log home or cabin, it is important to learn the maintenance schedule, type and brand of log stain used, and the name of the log home builder in case future additions or repairs are needed. Browse our log home listings and find your dream log home or log cabin for sale.

How recently were the logs stained?
Does this particular log home “settle” and how much more settling should I expect?
Does the home have additional insulation in addition to the R-value of the logs?

Click here to view all Log Homes and Log Cabins For Sale

If you are looking for discounts on your lake home or boat insurance, check out our friends at www.DiscountInsuranceGuide.com

Vist the LakeSearcher.com Blog at http://lakesearcher.blogspot.com/

Lake Lot Buyers Guide

lakesearcher — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:36:56 +0000

For our lake lot buyers, we have published some guidelines to help you have the best buying experience possible. Check them out below:

Lake Lot Buyers: If you are looking for a lake lot for sale, you have come to the right place. Most people have never purchased a lake lot before. There are some things you should be looking for and some questions you should be asking the seller to make sure that you find the best property to build your dream lake home.

Has the lake lot been surveyed? Are the lot corners clearly marked?
What is the building setback line from the lake? Building setbacks vary in different states and counties. You will want to know where you can build on your lake lot.
What is the access to the lake lot? Who maintains the road?
Are there any protective covenants or deed restrictions on the property? What are the building requirements? Can you camp before you build your home?
Is power available to the property or do you need to bring it in from a distance or live “off the grid” on a generator?
Is there a public water and sewer system or do you need a well and septic? How deep are the wells in the area? What type of septic system is required? What does a well and septic cost in the area?
What are the restrictions on cutting trees, clearing views, shoreline improvements, docks, etc?

Click here to view all Lake Lots For Sale

If you are looking for discounts on your lake home or boat insurance, check out our friends at www.DiscountInsuranceGuide.com

Vist the LakeSearcher.com Blog at http://lakesearcher.blogspot.com/

New Improvements

lakesearcher — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:35:00 +0000

We have been making improvements to our website. Check out the latest info for selling lake property below:

Lake Home and Lake Property Buyers: Are you a buyer looking for a lake home for sale, log home, cabin, or similar lake property for sale? Here are some questions that you might want to ask the listing agent or the seller of a property advertised on LakeSearcher…

1. How much are the property taxes? If you are buying a lake property, you will want to know about your cost of ownership.

2. Is there a lake association or home owners association? What are the costs and fees?

You will want to decide how you plan to use your lake property. Are you interested in fishing, quiet pontoon boat rides or water sports like water skiing or wake boarding? The size and quality of the lake might be important to you. Are you looking for a small lake cabin or a large lake home? Do you want to purchase a vacant lot on a lake and build your dream lake house? Do you want a log home or a lake property that is low maintenance?

What is the size of the lake? Is it small and quiet, can I use my big boat on the lake, is it a waterski lake, are there any lake restrictions?
What is the lake frontage like? Is it sandy, weedy, is there a seawall or other shoreline protection on the property?
How is the water quality? Is the water clear, stained, is there a lot of algae in the lake?
How is the fishing on the lake? What kinds of fish are there?
Is a dock included? How deep is the water at the end of the dock? What is the lake bottom like in front of the property?

Click Here to view all Lake Homes For Sale

Thank you for using LakeSearcher.com to help you find your dream lake property. You can find lake lots for sale, lake houses for sale, lake property for sale, and more on LakeSearcher.com. Have you considered a home or lot on a river or stream. Riverfront and stream real estate properties can be a more affordable alternative to lakefront property. Some buyers like our Lake Area Properties section with properties that have deeded access or are in areas with a lot of lakes.

Home Page

If you are looking for discounts on your lake home or boat insurance, check out our friends at www.DiscountInsuranceGuide.com

Vist the LakeSearcher.com Blog at http://lakesearcher.blogspot.com/

New website improvements

lakesearcher — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:30:57 +0000

We have been busy making improvements to LakeSearcher

Click on a state on the map above to search for lake homes for sale, lake lots for sale, log homes and log cabins for sale, and lake area property. Use our advanced search feature to search by lake name, state, city, or zip code.

Advanced Search

Click on a state below to search for your lake house or lake property with Google Maps:

Alabama Lake Houses, Alaska Lake Homes, Arizona Lake Houses, Arkansas Lake Property, California Lake Houses,Colorado Lake Homes , Connecticut Lake Houses , Delaware Lake Property , Florida Lake Houses, Georgia Lake Houses, Idaho Lake Homes ,Illinois Lake Houses ,Indiana Lake Property,Iowa Lake Houses, Kansas Lake Homes , Kentucky Lake Houses ,Louisiana Lake Property , Maine Lake Houses, Massachusetts Lake Homes , Michigan Lake Houses, Minnesota Lake Houses, Mississippi Lake Property , Missouri Lake Houses, Montana Lake Property, Nebraska Lake Homes, New Hampshire Lake Houses , New Jersey Lake Property, New Mexico Lake Homes, New York Lake Houses, North Carolina Lake Houses, North Dakota Lake Houses , Ohio Lake Houses , Oklahoma Lake Property , Oregon Lake Homes, Pennsylvania Lake Property, South Carolina Lake Houses, South Dakota Lake Homes, Tennessee Lake Houses, Texas Lake Houses , Utah Lake Houses, Vermont Lake Homes, Virginia Lake Property, Washington Lake Houses, West Virginia Lake Property, Wisconsin Lake Houses, Wyoming Lake Houses

If you are looking for discounts on your lake home or boat insurance, check out our friends at www.DiscountInsuranceGuide.com

Vist the LakeSearcher.com Blog at http://lakesearcher.blogspot.com/

Your 2012 Guide to Selling Lake Property

lakesearcher — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 22:25:42 +0000

Owning a lake property can be one of life’s most rewarding experiences. Catching that trophy fish, spending summer days splashing in the lake, relaxing in the hammock, or roasting marshmallows around a campfire can all create lasting memories. Selling a lake property can be challenging and requires some extra planning and extra marketing to get the property in front of buyers who are often located several hours away.

Whether you are a seasoned real estate professional working with lake listings, or a property owner venturing out to sell your lake home on your own, these tips can help make the transaction a good experience:

Get the chores done. When somebody buys a lake property, they want to be able to start enjoying it right away. The home, garage, deck, dock, and boathouse need a fresh coat of paint or stain. Gutters need to be cleaned. Moss removed from the roof. Repair that electric outlet that never worked. Take care of all the subtle little problems (and the big problems too!) that a home inspector is likely to find. A seller can really set his lake property apart form the rest by making the property look great.

Hide the work tools. Owning a lake property can be a lot of work. Installing and removing boat docks, cutting the lawn, winterizing the house, blowing the leaves in the Fall, etc. are all time consuming tasks that don’t end up in any seller’s property brochure. Get the work tools and equipment into a garage or out of sight and make it look like those tools hardly ever get used.

Buyers, especially if they are looking for a second home, are not looking for a “weekend work camp” but instead are looking for a place to relax. Make it look like it is an easy home to own with little maintenance required.

Gather important documents such as deed restrictions, protective covenants, surveys, special building requirements, or other information that an interested buyer would want to know about.

Gather information on the area. A lot of lake property buyers are considering lake property for their second home or weekend getaway. Some will be familiar with the lake. Many will not know much if anything about it. Get a map of the lake and mark the location of the home, favorite fishing spots, restaurants, resorts, the boat launch, or other areas of interest on the lake that a buyer might be interested in. Get menus or brochures from favorite area restaurants, shops, golf courses, or other area amenities. Assume that the buyer is from out of town and found the property on the internet and knows very little about the area.

Make sure that an accurate survey is available of the lake property. Identify and mark the lot corners or survey pin locations with stakes or flagging so they can be found easily. If the lot corners cannot be found, it would be wise to call a surveyor to locate them. Buyers want to know where the property boundaries are located.

Take care of country plumbing. If the lake home is on a private well or septic system, get the well inspected and repaired if necessary before it causes a problem on a pending sale. The septic system should be pumped and inspected. Nobody likes to find problems, but there is nothing worse than finding out that you have a major problem requiring expensive repairs from a home inspector just days before closing.

Let the buyer enjoy the lake. Can fish be caught from the dock? Leave a fishing pole with bait or a lucky lure near the dock so a buyer can take a cast or two. Consider taking the buyer on a boat cruise around the lake. Most buyers who are unfamiliar with a lake will insist on boating it before making a purchase. You can speed up the purchase decision by making that boat ride happen for them.

Improve the View

1. Look at the view from inside of the home. The windows need a fresh cleaning, especially all windows that face the water. Make sure that lake facing window coverings and blinds are opened and move furniture, lamps, or anything else that blocks the view out of the way.

2. Prune trees and overgrown shrubs that are within the primary view corridor between the home and the water. Consider any local or state laws when doing this, but make sure that the view of the water from the lake home is maximized. The view is one of the largest components in the value of lake property. Make sure that you have the maximum view allowed by law to get the maximum value for your lake property.

3. If the lake property is vacant, make sure that all lot boundaries are clearly marked and the shoreline and road frontage are free of clutter. If the property is wooded or has heavy brush, clear a view shed from the most likely building site to the waters edge. A buyer should be able to stand at the homesite and see the potential for an incredible view of the lake. Again, be mindful of any local or state laws when clearing trees from waterfront property.

4. At the waterfront, consider creating a fire ring complete with campfire ready to go, rake the beach if there is one, build a sand castle, or string a hammock between a couple of trees. Help the buyer paint themselves and their family into the picture. Parents or grandparents will think about the memories that will be created for the kids or stories told around the campfire while roasting marshmallows. Buyers will look at the hammock and think about how relaxing life on the lake will be.

5. Strategically place Adirondack chairs or lawn chairs in places to take in the best views. Place the chairs in pairs of two. Strategically place lace lawn furniture in a socially inviting way. This allows buyers to sit and take in the best views from the property or imagine entertaining family and friends at the lake.

Advertise

The first order of business is a “For Sale” sign placed at both the road side of the house and by the waterfront.

Next, the property needs to be advertised on no less than 6 websites. This can include the Realtor’s personal website, office website, national company website, and Realtor.com, but that is not enough. Most of these websites are focused on residential homes. Buyers are searching for lake properties on websites specifically focused on lake property. There are several lake property niche advertising websites that every lake property should be advertised on. I recommend that you advertise on at least 3 lake property advertising websites.

If you can only afford one site, I highly recommend that you post your lake property on www.LakeSearcher.com. This website is very affordable and delivers great results. Some of the other websites charge a lot for postings and have so many properties posted that it can be difficult for a buyer to find your listing.

If you are selling your property by owner, then you need to install “For Sale” signs, post your property on at least 3 lake property advertising websites and advertise your property on at least 2 more free real estate advertising sites like Craigslist or Zillow.

The more websites any listing is posted on, the more exposure it will get, and the faster it will sell.

Be prepared

Lake property buyers will have many questions. Know what the most common questions are for your lake or area and know the answers. It can be helpful to put this in writing on the listing sheet or include it in your property description. Some of the most common questions include:

How big is the lake?
Are jet skis permitted?
Does the water level fluctuate?
How deep is the lake?
How is the fishing?
How busy does this lake get?
Where is the boat launch?
What is the water clarity like?
Are power boats permitted?
Can you waterski on the lake?
Is there a lake association?
Can you swim in the lake?
Where is the nearest hospital, airport, town?
Are there any other restrictions or requirements?

Price it right

Pricing a lake property can be difficult. The land can be worth a fortune, the home might be worth even more, or it might have little value at all if it is bad shape or has not been maintained. Consider what comparable properties have been selling for in the same area and ideally on the same lake. Is your property worth a little more or a little less than recently sold lake properties? An overpriced property will never sell. A real estate professional who understands how to market lake property is well worth the nominal commission rate charged.

Be patient

Lake properties are special. The perfect buyer will eventually come along, but not necessarily overnight. In some parts of the country, lakes are frozen in the winter. Some areas look best in Spring or Fall. A lake property can sell at anytime or it can take along time. Make sure that the property is kept up and advertised well from the day it goes on the market through the closing of the sale.

Written by: Mike Edwards, Vice President, www.LakeSearcher.com

This article may be reproduced in its entirety with full credit given to Mike Edwards and www.LakeSearcher.com. Otherwise, all copy rights are reserved.

Lake House & Lake Lot Advertising Website Ready to Launch

lakesearcher — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 22:53:55 +0000

The real estate portal www.LakeSearcher.com is ready to launch. The website is a real estate advertising portal featuring lake homes for sale, lake lots for sale, waterfront property for sale, land and cabins near lakes, log homes for sale, cabins for rent, trophy properties, and lake property auctions.

Beta advertisers will begin posting their lake property listings during the first two weeks of November. There have been two beta users selected per state. Beta users were selected who currently use one or more similar lake property advertising portals. The beta users will receive an email with instructions to log in and load properties on November 3, 2008. Once the site is populated with a wide selection of lake homes for sale and lake lots for sale, then the site will be launched to the greater real estate community and general public. The anticipated launch date for the full site is November 15, 2008.

Michigan Lake Property Video Released by www.LakeSearcher.com

lakesearcher — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:47:35 +0000

A new video promoting lakeshore property in Michigan has been released by the www.LakeSearcher.com website. This video features scenes from well known Michigan lake areas including Lake Michigan, Mackinaw Bridge, Upper Peninsula, Traverse City, Marquette, and Lake Michigamme.

Lakesearcher is a website where lake property sellers can meet lake property buyers. One of the great features of the website is the video tour option. Sellers who have not yet made a property video are welcome to link to a relevant lake video from the Lakesearcher video library on YouTube.

The link for the new Wisconsin Lake Property video is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIAsfWspOHs

Lake Property sellers interested in advertising Wisconsin lake lots, lake homes, or other lake related real estate should visit www.LakeSearcher.com.

Wisconsin Lake Property Video Released

lakesearcher — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:29:32 +0000

A new video promoting lakeshore property in Wisconsin has been released by the www.LakeSearcher.com website. This video features scenes from well known lake areas including Pewaukee Lake, Lake Mendota, Lake Minocqua, Hayward, and Crivitz, Wisconsin.

The link for the new Wisconsin Lake Property video is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukvEUlpv0hs

Lake Property sellers interested in advertising Wisconsin lake lots, lake homes, or other lake related real estate should visit www.LakeSearcher.com.