All About Lakefront Homes

Ah, lakefront homes. The mere phrase draws up images of delightful vacations, long summer days spent lazing by the lakefront, swimming in the lake, the smell of trees and wood smoke, a relaxing, idyllic time. And perhaps this image continues in your mind to encompass the lakefront home itself, a charming, rustic cottage, with simple furnishings within and an unassuming appearance on the outside. On the other end of your mental image scale might be thoughts of the lakefront mansions that were built around the turn of the previous century in many parts of the country. These were lakefront homes built as summer houses for wealthy city dwellers, and they were majestic and expensively outfitted.

Those images of waterfront property may well represent many people’s ideas of contemporary lakefront homes, but the current reality couldn’t be farther from the truth. While today some of both mansions and cottages are being built, there is a definite trend toward a middle ground-large upscale lakefront homes that you might mistake for a primary residence. Sometimes these lakefront homes are designed to be a primary residence, but more often they are meant to be vacation houses.

Like most vacation homes, lakefront homes nowadays are being designed with the needs of the multi-generation family in mind. Your grown children may desire a spot to vacation with the grandchildren, even when you aren’t there, or perhaps you want to be able to host multiple family members and friends at the same time. And don’t forget holidays-most families gather as many family members as possible to the same place for such holidays as Christmas and Easter. A lakefront home is a perfect place to celebrate these traditions.

These kinds of needs mean that lakefront homeowners require space-more space than those old waterfront cottages could offer. Also, lakefront property has a high value, and people are building upscale homes to match those higher values. Homeowners ask, why erect a tiny cottage on an expensive piece of waterfront property? It doesn’t make sound economic sense.

Even if they can’t build as big a lakefront home as they might want to, homeowners are opting for the absolute best they can afford. The lakefront cottage of today is a far cry from the lakefront cabin of yesterday. In the old days, cottages were apt to be dark and cramped, with few modern appliances and amenities, and unfinished attics. Nowadays, waterfront properties are being built with all the conveniences of a primary residence and then some. Every room is finished and many are outfitted with bunk beds in order to accommodate visitors.

One thing, though, that the larger lakefront homes have in common with their cottage-type predecessors is a casual interior. All the modern amenities and conveniences are present, but they are presented in a casual, artful way befitting the lakefront lifestyle. Today’s lakefront homeowners want upscale style and elegance, but they want it in a casual way, with easy upkeep. After all, the goal of owning waterfront property is to be able to enjoy the benefits of living on a lake, not to have to spend all your time cleaning and fixing up the house.

If you’ve always dreamed of owning a lakefront home, now is an excellent time to start looking. You’ll be thrilled with all of the options you’ll find in the market for waterfront property.

Interested in finding a Lake-View home? Learn more here, or contact us.

Home Insurance And Selling Your Home

If you are selling your home, hopefully you have considered hiring a real estate agent to help you with all the fine details. If not – get to work!

The process of choosing the right real estate agent can be just as difficult as it is important. Below are guidelines to follow when you start your search for the right real estate agent for you.

Look at insurance companies that specialize in real estate. Usually these companies will be able to provide you with a list of their own real estate agents who are trained to the company’s specifications. Perhaps your current homeowner’s insurance company provides tools you need to sell your home; they may even have their own real estate agents from which you can choose. If not, they may be able to point you in the direction of a reputable insurance company or real estate agency that does.

Make sure the real estate agent you choose is trained or accredited. Most real estate agencies, or insurance companies that supply real estate agents, have specially trained their real estate agents, or have hired real estate agents who are in some way accredited. Look for special training or accreditation when choosing your real estate agent.

“Interview” the real estate agent. During the selling process, the real estate agent you eventually choose is going to handle a lot of things for you – many of which are better left handled by the real estate agent. However, there are certain factors you may want to know about, such as how the real estate agent plans to list your home and how the real estate agent plans to “show” your home. Make sure the real estate agent provides you with all the information you want to know.

In the end, choose a real estate agent you with whom you feel comfortable, whether the real estate agent is from an insurance company or real estate agency.

Interested in finding a Lake-View home? Learn more here, or contact us.

Boats: A Popular Summer Luxury

Picture this. You own a cottage on a nice piece of lakefront property. You have a beautiful view of the lake with the mountains off in the distance. It is a late afternoon in the middle of summer. You are lounging out on the lake with only the smooth motion of the water underneath your boat. Now that’s the life. Many people purchase boats for the shear relaxation that they offer. In fact, on most lakefront properties, you won’t often see a cottage without a boat docked near it.

For years they have been a popular summer luxury and one that seems to be getting more popular with time. Boats come in many shapes and sizes. Basically it is up to you to search for the particular boat that suits your needs and then go from there. If you are planning on hitting the local river system and doing a little fishing, you might be looking into a canoe or a small motorboat. If you wanted to spend the night on the boat, maybe down at the marina or out on the water, you would likely want something like a cabin cruiser. You would most likely not want to spend the night in the comforts of a canoe. It essentially comes down to what you want to use your boat for.

The old fashioned fishing boat is most popular in eastern Canada. These boats are normally massive in size and contain a great deal of room and space for carrying large traps and other fishing equipment. This is normally not a boat that you would spend a great deal of time on, but they are often equipped with beds and larger ones are equipped with actual bedrooms. This type of boat is not what one would call a luxury cruiser, but a utility boat.

A yacht on the other hand is definitely a luxury-type boat. Yachts are normally quite massive and provide the luxury and comfort that many avid boaters may be looking for. However, they do come with a price tag ranging from thousands of dollars to millions of dollars.

All in all, it depends what you are looking for in terms of a boat. For those hot summers at the cottage, a small cabin cruiser or a motorboat may be all you need. To impress those high scale clients from the Cayman Islands, you may want to spend that hard earned cash on a yacht.

The bottom line is, whatever boat you purchase, make sure you enjoy it. Take the time to learn safe boating practices and get out there and enjoy the fresh air and wilderness.

Interested in finding a Lake-View home? Learn more here, or contact us.