Lake real estate

Several weekends ago when the younger daughter finished her internship and was able to accompany us to the lake for a look-see, we got to check out some real estate with her. The husband and I have been watching the land and housing market on and around the lake since early spring. If the perfect retirement nest exists there, we haven't found it yet.

Our preferred real estate agent was out of town, so we were glad her knowledgeable assistant was available to view some properties with us. I honestly felt like Goldilocks, y'all. The first property was a tear down, but we thought the 1.25 acres of land might work for a new build. Unfortunately, the asking price was a bit high since we didn't want the existing 1980s octagon home. After the husband discovered some platting issues in the survey, we crossed it off the list. 

The second home we toured was a temporary option where we could live for a while until we found "the" retirement property. The dock had tons of room, with three separate lifts and storage. Upstairs had been remodeled, so it was fine. However, the downstairs really needed a big overhaul. Since we have no interest in updating for the short term, that house got scratched from the list, too.

 

 

Our final property was the farthest northern location on our preferred west side of the lake to get sunrise views. But that's the stickler, it's more northern address meant it was heading into the top third of the lake that's more shallow fishing water with stumps to navigate. We liked the fact that it's a small gated community. The house on 1.5 ac, though a smaller footprint than we want, is only three years old and would be a great guest house after we built our main residence on the adjoining land. All it needs is a big, beautiful boathouse to enjoy morning sunrises. However, the price was rather high for a smaller home that far north. I guess a homeowner can dream, right? Since it has only been on the market for five weeks, we knew we'd need to wait it out to see if/when the owner would drop the price to a more realistic number for what's on offer.

And so it goes. When you have a small house budget, you dream that one day you'll have a bigger budget to get exactly what you want. It's yet another of the great "If onlys" in life. The thing is, just because you have deeper pockets doesn't mean you'll be able to find that dream home in the blink of an eye. There are so many variables that must be considered, in addition to the price. So here we sit watching the market for new options every week, waiting for the Lord to lead us to our retirement nest where we can dig in to find things like a church family, new friends and volunteer opportunities in our lake community. I know it's out there and God will show it to us in His perfect timing. In the meantime, I pray for patience from our Heavenly Father as I look to the future when I can wear my Lake Hair, Don't Care hat while driving my pontoon boat!