Better Late than Never

Sorry about the long delay since my last post. October was such a dreary, rainy, cool month up north that I just didn't have it in me to write an uplifting column, and these days I try to stay away from writing negative ones. On top of that, turning the clock back an hour only added to the misery. And when you feel like going to bed at 6:00 because it has already been dark for awhile, that really cuts down on production.

But the worst of the ugliness is almost over. Soon the snow will be falling and give reason to be outside shoveling or plowing, and a good blanket of white stuff seems to brighten everything up for a little while. At least until we get sick of it in early February, and long for ugliness again until the greenery of May...or June!

But you are probably more interested in real estate than weather reports if you have tuned into this website. So here is my report -- and prediction -- for this year and next:

As I said earlier this year, the bottom hit a while back. That doesn't mean that everything popped up in price, or that there was a huge increase in lakeshore buyers all of a sudden. Things like that take some time, but I think that the momentum is picking up even now during this typically slow time of year.

From all the agents I've talked to across Minnesota and Wisconsin, they all seem the believe the last half of 2009 was a whole lot stronger than the first half. We are still seeing a good number of buyers calling to look at lake properties even as December looms, and that is not the typical waterfront real estate climate for this time of year. Normally, most of the phone calls during these later months are from a contingent of well trained and hard-skinned inquisitors who ask how much the seller will take before any questions relating to the property itself.

I think the momentum will continue and increase throughout 2010. There is no doubt that people are still losing jobs, but others seem to be finding them. It could be we are just in a "cleaning out" phase of certain industries; others may be starting to show an upswing.

With the incredibly low interest rates, huge corrections in prices, and investments sitting under mattresses or in cds not doing all that well, real estate -- and especially waterfront real estate -- may be the next big thing. And besides the great value, it may just add a little pleasure to your life.

Of course, you could pick up a gold bar for a mere $445,000 that also might go up in price. They are quite a bit easier to maintain, but I heard they are really hard to ride on behind the boat.

Summer in September

Generally, by this time of year, we get a fairly substantial cool down in these early months of fall. But this year isn't like most. Our summer was kind of non-existent, and now each day feels like late July or early August.

In some ways we should be pleased that the snow isn't falling yet. But most of us - at least the ones who have to work or go to school each day - kind of feel like we got a little bit gypped. But this may be what the lakeshore real estate market needed!

Many of our agents at Lakehomes.com are as busy as they have been all year long...in fact, busier. And many of the lower priced sales we saw in the first half of the year have given way to higher priced transactions. It seems that quite a few of the buyers who got busy doing other things during the summer months - or maybe weren't real motivated because of the weather - now have a strong interest in finding a lake place before the winter winds head our way. Of course, with the way this has played out so far, we may still be boating in January this year!

This still isn't an easy market for a lot of sellers. To get much interest, you have to be priced extremely well in this current real estate climate. With a huge selection of lake properties available, most buyers have a vast amount of waterfront cabins, homes and lots to choose from. So unless your place is extemely unique - or priced very well - it will just blend in with the others.

Most likely, fall and winter will show up in time. But until then, there are some excellent opportunities for buyers - both in great values and a large amount of inventory to pick through. If you are even considering finding a lake place for a year-round home or seasonal getaway, you probably won't find a better time to make it happen.

The Stages of Life...On and Off the Water

Several weeks ago I got a call from one of my past buyers. His family had purchased an incredible, historic property from me near the Canadian border just a couple years back for a cabin, and he said they loved the area so much that now they were thinking about finding a permanent home in Northern Minnesota, also. Since they currently live several states away, it was obvious that the lure of the northwoods had taken hold, and they knew it would be a positive change in their lives.

During the past two years their kids had grown fond of all the brand-new things to explore in these foreign surroundings, and these recent experiences had given them a wealth of topics for family conversations and bonding. Things we all need, to keep our lives interesting!

Although I don't personally work with as many buyers as I used to because of my full time role running the company, it never takes long to bring back those feelings of accomplishment in finding just the right lake place for a waterfront buyer. There is something about these special properties that makes the hunt a little more exciting than just trying to sort between the various designs available in your typical subdivision. And in all the years I've done this, I don't ever remember any buyer who wasn't thrilled with their new purchase and the variety of life's changes it brought them...and the promise of new adventures to come.

So if lake properties bring that much enjoyment, why would anyone want to sell one of them? That is the question most every buyer asks as they view these listings, especially the ones that stand out from the rest, for any number of reasons.

As real estate professionals, we are trained to look at properties differently than buyers and sellers do. Buyers tend to see the surfacy things that stir their emotions, which is why staging a home is so important. Sellers tend to put a value on memories, conveniences and comforts, which have come together in a property to make it their own. Realtors can usually see a more general snapshot of how a particular property fits in with the needs and desires of the general audience who is in that market.

But when a real estate agent decides to sell his or her own waterfront property, do these same tendencies hold true? It is a good question, and one that all agents should experience now and then to go through the same emotional ups and downs as their clients. And we decided it was time for us to do exactly that.

During my real estate career, I've seen how various stages in life tend to affect peoples' needs and desires in waterfront properties. Typically, lakeshore buyers are either looking for places they can enjoy while their children are growing up, or after their kids are grown. Those in-between years during junior high and high school oftentimes get a little busy, and sports or hanging out with friends eats up quite a few hours each day. Getting the family to the cabin can become more of a chore than a exciting family outing, but generally all are happy once they are there.

Our cabin on Rainy Lake has been in our family for forty years: thirty-seven of them as my parents' home (and mine while I grew up there), and it has been my family's getaway for the past three years, after my parents decided it was time for them to move. It is a prime piece of property - with a hard sand bottom and sought after seclusion - on one of the most gorgeous lakes in the country, where you can boat from your dock to nearly a half million acres of pristine waters. And with it's massive and modern 1,600 square foot fully heated garage, all the boats and toys have the perfect place to reside.

The main portion of the home was constructed from logs in the late 1920s and has been thoughtfully added to over time. My passion for dock and deck building over the years led to an array of sitting areas, extending from the expansive lakeside deck to more than a thousand square feet of permanent docking and benches along the water's edge, and also encircling the waterfront firepit. It is a perfect blend of privacy, relaxation, and recreational activities on and off the water, and similar to having your own resort while hosting friends from distant areas.

During our ownership over the past few years, we have provided more than a thousand hours of labor, making changes that we felt would update the structure and convert the home to more of a cabin ambience, after its many decades as a full-time home. Much of the main living area still had its classic early surroundings, with wide tongue and groove pine walls, stone fireplace, and well preserved hardwood floors under the carpet. But design improvements such as moving the kitchen to the lake side of the home, and blending more woods instead of wallpapers, have all helped to create more of a cabin aura.

From what I've mentioned, it sounds like the perfect place! In fact, I might even want one of these for myself! So why would we ever consider selling such a quintessential lake property? Perhaps, it is "the stages of life."

We love being at our place on Rainy Lake, and while there...life is great. Boating for 40 or 50 miles into Canadian waters where you hardly see another human - and where walleys are generally thick - is a refreshing experience, and it washes many of the stresses away that build up each week. But reality is still waiting for us when we get back home, where kids are starting another year of school, college applications need to be taken care of, parents and family members are not visited enough, and employees have issues that they need help with. On top of that, it is no secret that the real estate market has been a bit slower for a few years, so those 1,000 plus hours we put into working on the cabin - and another bunch of hours enjoying it - might be better put to use in the office for awhile.

But an even larger factor might be that, I've been acquainted with Rainy Lake - and that particular piece of property - for forty years. After turning fifty this year, I started realizing that I probably don't have a lot of 40-year blocks of time left, and I'd hate to spend all my future ones in the same place - experiencing the same things.

Life is what you make it. Some of us choose to wander through life with no ties, and others stay put for most of their time on this planet. Most of us are probably somewhere in between, where we are more mobile during our younger years, but then settle down for awhile to provide some stability to our kids as they are growing up, or to gain some traction and a higher income in a particular profession. And many of us trade some of our wanderlust in doing that.

There are many beautiful places to explore across this country, and probably at least five million waterfront properties throughout our fifty states that can provide a limitless array of enjoyment to their owners...but time allows each of us to only use one at a time. Along with that, there are many new experiences to be had and people to meet everywhere, so any one of those 5,000,000 properties will send you on a different path in life. If you keep the same one forever, you may miss out on some of the best times of your life!

So next time you take a look at a lake property and wonder why the owners are selling, try to keep in mind that it could be for any number of reasons, but most likely it just relates to "the stages of life."

And if you are interested in our place on Rainy Lake, I'll sell it to you for about what I have into it, and I'll throw in all the labor for free! And if I can't find another lake I like better in Michigan or New York or North Carolina or somewhere else - some time in the future - I just might end up back at Rainy in years to come, but hopefully with a lot of new experiences to look back on.

Lake Cabins versus Lake Homes

There was a comment recently on this blog, which was really more of a question on my thoughts pertaining to the difference between the lake cabin market and the lake home market. Or if there is a difference at all.

One thing many of my clients have heard me say over the years is to make sure they were buying a cabin where they want to have a cabin. In other words, if it is going to be your getaway you may want to know that it feels like that ahead of time.

Although there are many wonderful properties on lakes throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin, some areas have turned into what feel like residential neighborhoods with the majority of the owners living there full time. Those people many times have to get up for work each day and don't enjoy loud parties, laughing and music late into the night out their windows.

But cabin owners often have a different goal, and that is to wind down away from their daily routine...which sometimes means extra friends and family to help them in that process. And singing, joking, laughing, water-skiing, yelling and late-night campfires may all come into play, sometimes creating problems between neighbors.

Obviously, people live full-time on lakes everywhere. But as you get into more remote locations away from population centers, there may be more leniency toward weekenders and off and on "weekdayers" that might disrupt the solitude now and then.

Lake areas that are only a few miles from the Twin Cities were once mainly vacation homes and cabins, but today you won't find a lot of them left. If you want to have yours there, you may not be quite as welcome as you would a little bit further away. And if you're thinking of setting up a campground on your 50 foot lake lot for a few days (no matter where it is) - with some of the campers relieving themselves in the neighbors' bushes, along with disposing their beer cans in their yards - you might have a hard time getting invited to the neighborhood gatherings you don't host! Make sure you keep that in mind as you choose the setting that works for your needs.

I may have swayed some from the question about the contrast in the two markets currently, but I think it is important to understand the overall difference between an area that feels like it is meant for cabins...and one that may not yield the same emotion. And it certainly isn't only tied to lakes around the Twin Cities; you will find this same type of variation of properties around communities as small as Grand Rapids or Bemidji as well. It's just that the neighborhood-like atmosphere around the lakes won't extend as many miles away from the center of town as it does in the more populated areas.

It seems that at the present time the actual lake cabin market may be a bit stronger than that of the lake home market. But I think that part of that is due to the fact that some smaller cabin properties have dropped into a very affordable price range as low as $150,000 to $200,000, which was nearly impossible to find anything in a couple years ago. Many people that were once priced out of the lakeshore market completely are now back in it again based on this correction of prices, and that is seeming to spur the cabin sales.

As this activity has picked up in the lower end, it also seems like we are starting to get more contacts in the next price ranges above that than we were just a month ago. And we have also begun to get more of the calls like we used to, where people are looking for lake homes two or three hours away to retire to. Perhaps things are turning around in front of our eyes without us really recognizing it is happening.

I do think that some of the early buyers are now starting to see the values on many of these great lake properties that are priced like they were four or five years ago. If you are thinking of joining them, now might be the time.

2012 Update: The prices in the lakeshore market continued to decline across most of Minnesota and Western Wisconsin until this year, which has made it even more affordable for waterfront buyers to find good quality lake homes in many popular markets as low as $250,000 -- where those used to be prices for lots and cabins just a few years back. If you would like more information on current market conditions in the lakeshore real estate market, you can contact Dan Anderson at 888-346-5253, or find him on the web at Lakehomes.com or LakehomesMinnesota.com.

Looking For a Few "More" Good Agents

I don't know if the market finally turned, but these last two weeks have been about the busiest we've seen in at least a couple of years. Most of the buyers I've talked with tell me that they feel it is time to jump on something now, before prices turn back the other way. I think they are probably right, and I also believe the first ones back in the market are going to end up doing pretty well in the long run.

I've mentioned during the past few months about the incredible amount of visitors and page views we have seen on the website this year. That gives a strong indication that people are interested in making a move to a lake place. But in the last couple of weeks, we have been absolutely inundated with leads coming from prospective buyers, so it seems that many of them are finally coming out of hiding.

Lakehomes.com has become a busy portal for waterfront properties, and each of our agents has the unique ability to act as an exclusive representative for his or her market area on the site. Because of our top search engine results, and the added exposure we can offer, sellers are increasingly aware of the value in having their property listed on Lakehomes.com. And our local experts help assure that these sellers understand realistic values in the ever-changing market we are in, so that this added exposure produces the best results for their clients.

But several of our agents have also become very busy with the recent influx of buyers who need help now. Besides wanting basic information on individual properties, many are asking for a knowledgeable agent to assist them in the purchasing process. They expect that Lakehomes.com agents will be able to fill that need, and we don't want to disappoint them!

At the present time, we have quite a few areas across Minnesota and Wisconsin where we could use some extra coverage. Many of our agents can handle large geographic areas quite well, but when they get busy it can be difficult to meet everyone's needs. We'd like to make sure that each prospective customer who requests information and assistance from us - whether buying or selling - gets it immediately.

If you would like more information on our company, just give me a call at 866-327-9889 to discuss how you might benefit from being associated with Lakehomes.com. Whether you are interested in acting as an Affiliate Agent for Lakehomes.com under your existing broker, or an actual agent for Lakehomes.com Realty, you will get the same exclusive rights to your market area. And most important, no matter which method you choose, your clients will get the exact same incredible exposure that Lakehomes.com has to offer.

Dan Anderson
Broker/Owner

A Strange Year

After doing this real estate stuff for as long as I have, you tend to expect certain things at different times of the year. Generally, everyone gears up for a busy spring market, followed by a typically good summer market. Then when fall comes, the buyers become more choosy and mainly look for good deals. Winter is normally slow in Minnesota, so then we just get ready for spring again.

But the last few years - and certainly this year - it is hard to judge just what to expect in any given month. The economy has dealt nearly everyone a blow, so it is not surprising that people are a bit more cautious. But what is most surprising to me is the amount of interest we are seeing from potential buyers looking for properties online...yet not really making contact with agents or looking at homes in person.

The number of visitors on our website has increased tremendously, so I can only assume that most of those people have the financial ability to purchase a lake property of some sort. Perhaps, everyone is just trying to make sure that prices have bottomed before they jump in.

I don't know if we are at the bottom or not, but it sure feels like prices can't really go much lower. It seems like a lot of sellers are deciding to pull the plug, and just take their homes off the market until things change. Generally, that is a pretty strong indication that we have hit a bottom, so we'll see.

If you are a serious buyer and just waiting for the perfect time to get out and find that perfect lake place, I don't think you will ever see a better opportunity to pick up a great value on a waterfront home or cabin. But unless you get out there and see a few of them in person, you may never know for sure.

Price Dips aren't Permanent...and Neither are Dips in Cabin Floors

Much of the lake cabin stock of Minnesota and Wisconsin is getting up there in age, closing in on the 100 year mark. And the northern winters, with frost as deep as six feet, have a tendency to make a few adjustments in these structures - many of them built as seasonal abodes just a level or two higher in quality than the even more seasonal hunting shacks that adorn the northern woods.

Our forefathers - and foremothers - were resourceful when it came to constructing the family lake cabin, and generally used materials that were most readily available. Quite often, those were the trees that had grown up on the surrounding land. And since many of them needed to be removed to create roads and open spaces anyway, using that timber for joists and studs killed two birds with one stone.

Spruce logs and rough-cut dimension lumber (in many odd dimensions not available at your local lumber yard) were not quite as sturdy as the kiln-dried variety used today - and foundations were sometimes only as deep as the nearest rock or tree root to the surface. But who cared about a little bounce or shifting here and there? These places were meant to have fun, and late night drinking parties would cause the floors to seem uneven anyway. So as long as the inhabitants were a half a bubble off, the floors might as well be that way, too!

Back in the twenties and thirties there were still a lot of choices out there when it came to finding a good place to throw up a lake cabin. Even on the most high priced lakes of today, you could find perfect sandy beaches on large acreage plots nearly anywhere you wanted...and at prices even lower than they are this year.

As time progressed the lakes became more developed, and some of those historic cabins disappeared in favor of more modern - and much larger - "lake houses" that took their places. But one intriguing aspect of old cabins is their rustic and authentic charm that is very difficult to replicate, so many of those original cottages grew over time to become "lake houses" themselves through a process called "adding on," which helped retain a bit of the original character that gave the place its ambiance. Sometimes, though, the "adding on" only occurred on the sides and the top of the original structure...and not underneath. And when you increase the mass of any object, without beefing up its support mechanism, something will generally give.

There are two phrases that I've heard more than any other from prospective buyers over the years, as I have driven them from one house or cabin to the next, in search of the perfect combination of lake home; lakeshore type; lake size and quality; lot size; and likely lifestyle they may find in this location.

The first phrase is more often related to actual lake home buyers and goes like this: "If we could just move our house to this lot, it would be perfect." Since I know they are transferring in from Pittsburgh, I find it hard to believe they would pay the transportation costs of their entire home for that distance, so I just drive on to the next property on our list instead of getting off track checking on UPS charges for something like that.

The other common comment comes from lake cabin buyers, and it makes quite a bit more sense than the first one: "We already have a house; we want something that feels like a cabin." What they are really saying is, "Find me one of those places built 80 years ago filled with character. But, since I don't have the knowledge or the time to fix it up, find me one in good shape."

Because a lot of lake cabin buyers do like the true cabin feel, and because a lot of those early cabins also have some of the most prime sandy lots due to their original owners getting in at the head of the line, the older structures are attractive. But there can be a few issues that need to be taken care of, and one of them is dipped or sloping floors.

This is certainly a roundabout way of getting to the main subject matter of this article! But now I'll try to keep on track.

If the place has been there for a long time, it is probably done moving. It may still head up and down a bit over the freezing and thawing seasons, depending on if you leave it heated or not over the winter. But it should pretty much settle in again at the same level once the frost retreats.

There are a couple different methods you can use to bring sagging or sloped floors back to a more level state, and one may be better than the other depending on access to the floor joists and quality of flooring currently in place. Also, if those dipped floors are on the second story, it is quite difficult to adjust the entire house from the bottom up without affecting most of your doors and windows at the same time.

Whatever method of adjustment you decide is best, you should first make sure that everything is solid under the structure. Sometimes you will find cracked or rotten floor joists that need to be replaced or given extra support. Don't add any more weight onto an already faulty infrastructure.

Once you know everything is solid below, then you can begin to bring your floors back to level. If there are minor sags and soft spots on the main floor, and you can easily get under the structure, you can use jacks to slowly bring up those areas to the correct height, and then re-support each of those spots. You may have to do this over time, as wood doesn't not like to make any quick decisions in changing its shape (unlike people, who make quick decisions on changing their shapes for the better, but don't often follow through with it). But if you have the patience, you will typically be able to get your floors quite level again with this procedure.

Another method of leveling is to remove the underlayment and subfloor in the areas affected and either add new, straighter joists, or scab onto the ones that are there. You may or may not have to do this throughout the entire room, but it can be a lot of work if you have a large area to repair. And if it is an upstairs area of the house or cabin, you may run into insulation, plumbing and electrical wires between the floor and the ceiling below, so you have to use a lot of caution in this process.

Fortunately, there is one other method that is not as intrusive as the removal of the flooring system. Instead, you can find your highest spot in the floor and build your floor up to that level. Essentially, it creates a new subfloor over the old floor, and stiffens everything up along with making it level again. You will lose about a half inch of height in that particular room, but unless you are already nearly seven feet tall it should not affect you much.

You will first need to run a straight-edge from the high point to other areas of the room (a long straight board should suffice), and then run a level on top of that to see what thickness of shimming will be required to raise the floor. Then, figure out the surface area of the room for your new layer of flooring. If you are going to run carpet, floating floor, linoleum, or a similar finished flooring product, then a half inch layer of plywood works well for your new underlayment. So now you just have to figure out how much of it you need for the entire room, and what other materials will fit underneath it to support it all.

Once you've figured out the difference in height from the high point to the low point of your floor, you should use sheets of plywood, OSB, or another product in various thicknesses ranging from 1/4" to the total thickness needed, or be able to stack them to get to that thickness. So, if you have a 2 inch drop, you might want sheets of 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 5/8" and 3/4". Then use small pieces of each thickness to slide under your straight-edge to see what the actual total thickness is needed to support that 1/2" plywood sheet just perfectly, then measure the distance needed for each thickness before it begins to push the straight-edge up again. You should also have a couple bundles of 1/16" construction shims, which are 3 foot long strips of cardboard that can be stacked to fill any thinner gaps.

If you have a large drop in the floor, it is easier to build the floor back up throughout those regions with larger sheets of plywood, and then run two inch strips of your shim materials over that new surface to fill in the remaining gaps. Smaller dips can be remedied more easily with just using the correct thickness of shim strips off of the existing floor. You should run each strip no more that about 6-8 inches apart to give the best support to your new layer of flooring. If you go much wider than that, you will tend to get some bounce between those new shim supports.

When all the shims are in place and level, you can put down your new layer of flooring with subfloor screws no more than one foot apart throughout the surface. Make sure you run the screws directly into the shims, instead of the gaps between the shims, so you don't pull down on the unsupported areas of your new floor. Now you can add your new baseboard, and trim any doors that may be too tight with the higher level of flooring. You will find that your bounce in the floor will be gone, and it will feel like a new room.

I've shown lots of interesting cabins over the years that had similar issues to those we have talked about here. With the right materials, and a few days of focused determination, you can have that rustic and charming lake cabin...and level floors to boot!

Important Note to Lakeshore Sellers

In the old days it used to be easy to choose a real estate agent to sell your lake home or cabin. You just needed to call a few in to give you a price, and then pick the one you liked the best. Most everyone had the same marketing plan:

1. Put up a sign
2. Advertise in the newspaper
3. Advertise in local real estate guide
4. Put in MLS (if available)
5. Do open houses
6. Take calls
7. Get offer
8. Go to closing

And a lot of them wore cheap suits and drove Lincoln Continentals, so it was hard to opt for one over another based on appearance alone.

Once in awhile an agent would even promise to go knock on neighbors' doors to see if they knew of anyone interested in buying a place on your lake (not a bad idea). Some would promise to make fancy brochures that they would leave on your kitchen table, and even put up a brochure box at the end of your driveway (which many times would end up being empty). Or an arrow or two out on the road (which many times would end up missing). And when the seller called the office to complain about some of these promises not taking place, there was no voicemail to leave a nasty message on...only a receptionist with a little pink notepad.

Those were the good old days!

But now, life has become complicated. Most people who own lake homes and lake cabins have been there for awhile. They aren't as versed in a lot of the new technologies that seem to inundate us each day. And to think about Twittering to create a successful sale, or spend a good part of each day social networking with strangers - hoping to find one who is the perfect match for your waterfront real estate - might send shivers down your spine.

Truthfully, I don't know what works and what doesn't any longer. What I do know is that nearly every real estate agent boasts about having multiple websites they can display your property on in hopes of attracting an interested - and qualified - buyer. Some of them say your listing will be on nineteen sites, others promise it will show up on 29 of them, but most of them have no idea how they really get there...or if they ever do. There are all kinds of automated feeds that send listings to everywhere these days, but they may or may not be an effective means of marketing, since buyers still have to find them...and then also find your property on them.

I also know that if I spent my day trying to Twitter my listings away, I probably wouldn't sell too many. It might be like knocking on doors all day trying to find just the right buyer for each property. And that doesn't seem real efficient to me either.

When it comes right down to it, selling real estate really hasn't changed all that much. There are only a few things that are important in creating the sale, and here they are:

1. Price your property corectly (in this market it is more important than ever).
2. Clean up clutter and fix anything that needs fixing inside and out.
3. Think about where your ideal buyer might come from. If you have a lake property, most buyers will be from somewhere else, and they may not even know for sure where they want to end up. To find these types of buyers, widespread - and targeted - exposure is the name of the game.
4. Choose an agent who will be honest with you and get you the type of exposure that will put you in front of that ideal buyer.
5. Hope for the best!

In over 20 years of selling lake properties in many parts of Minnesota and Western Wisconsin, I have always tried to be as upfront and honest with potential sellers I possibly can be. I probably missed out on quite a few listings where I was too honest, whether it had to do with realistic pricing or just getting rid of the orange shag carpet. Not everyone wants to hear the truth, but you are not hiring me to be a liar. It won't do either one of us any good in the long run, and you will most likely still be in the lake home that you didn't want to be in any more - putting the dock in an out, raking the beach, fixing the plumbing...and maybe even replacing mechanicals that start to wear out along with your 732 day old listing on the MLS.

As much as possible, I have tried to get my agents to follow these same guidelines. As a company we don't get all the listings we interview for, but we generally still feel good that we gave the seller the best information possible to make a well-informed decision.

There are all kinds of reasons sellers choose to work with - or not to work with - certain agents, from personality conflicts to some of the other issues I have touched on here like pricing and condition. But when it comes right down to it, you still have to get that perfect buyer to your door one way or another, so your main focus in choosing how you will go about that should be on the best marketing plan for your particular property in this day and age.

Lakehomes.com is one of the most widely viewed waterfront real estate websites in the entire country because of its simple and highly targeted name, along with incredible search results. Not only that, but it has the information waterfront buyers are looking for, and it keeps bringing them back. And if your listing is in Minnesota or Western Wisconsin, you can't find a better place to expose your lake property to an incredible amount of likely buyers each day.

The graph at the top of this article represents our page views from visitors to our site each day since the beginning of 2009. As you can see, we have gone from about 1,000 views per day to over 20,000 views a few days ago, since our numbers started climbing in February. That's a 2,000% increase in traffic in just the last few months.

For the most part, those aren't buyers looking for in-town starter houses, horse farms, convenience stores, or condos for sale along the boulevard; they are lakeshore buyers looking for places like yours! While most other websites include the above property types along with their waterfront offerings, Lakehomes.com makes it easy for lakeshore buyers to find exactly what they want without having to filter through all the other things they don't. Because of that, we also make it easier for those buyers to find your lake home, cabin, lot or resort when it comes time to sell it.

The National Association of Realtors found that 87% of buyers were now using the Internet to find real estate information online in their November 2008 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. If that many people are out there searching online overall, and if that many targeted ones are showing up on our site each day, isn't that where you might want to be, also?

Like I said earlier in this article, selling real estate has really not changed all that much over time. It's just a matter of using common sense to figure out how to get your property noticed by the most possible likely buyers for it once it is properly priced and well-presented. Whether that is on Twitter, through the local newspaper, or handing out flyers door to door, I don't don't know the answer. But some people are having pretty good luck with that on Lakehomes.com!

Giving Visitors What They Want

Over the last several months you have probably recognized some pretty drastic changes with this website. During the past thirteen years, we have brought the Lakehomes.com name from one of the first online niche real estate destinations to a regular stop for those who are thinking of buying or selling lake properties in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin.

As a visitor, your main purpose of using this site - or any site for that manner - is to get the information you want. And...you want to be able to get it without a lot of work. Our goal has always been to fill that need to the best of our abilities.

In February, Lakehomes.com took on a new look. Instead of just being a website for Lakehomes.com Realty and its agents, we decided to blend the site with both agents from our own real estate company and local experts from other companies who could give you the best information and service possible. So, instead of just seeing agents from Lakehomes.com Realty on our site, you may find those from Edina Realty, Coldwell Banker, Keller Williams, or any other company where we have teamed up with a local expert who we feel can give you the lakeshore expertise you need.

It is a great combination effort. And whether you are a buyer or a seller, you can be assured that you will be able to connect with a real estate agent who understands the local market - or markets - you are focused on.

From everything we are seeing, it is exactly what you are looking for. The number of visitors on the site has increased about 400% since mid February, and our page views have seen about a seven-fold boost. In these days of "way too much information," it seems we are providing the refined data that people are looking for...at least as far as waterfront real estate is concerned.

We will continue to grow into more markets - and provide more localized information and expertise - as we move ahead. But whether we remain a great informational lake property website for Minnesota and Wisconsin, or a national brand, we promise to continue to bring you the information that you are looking for as best we can.

As we continue on our quest to be the ultimate waterfront real estate portal, we intend to add business directories, rentals, and other services to help you find all the information you need in one online destination. So when it comes to lake properties, and information on the areas surrounding them, you shoudn't have to go anywhere else - other than Lakehomes.com - to find exactly what you need!

What's Up...Dock?

Back in my early days on Rainy Lake I had a construction company called The Dock Doctors, and to go along with that I acquired the nickname Dr. Dock because of my many years in the business. With the big 5-0 starring me in the face tomorrow, I guess I was reminiscing a little about those simpler times more than thirty years ago. Or it could be that the pain in my back is making me think about it.

During my real estate career, I have had plenty of opportunities to strike up conversations with clients about different types of docks, and the benefits or drawbacks each one might provide. Roll-in docks and sectional systems are the most common on the majority of Minnesota lakes, with a permanent dock on pilings evident here and there. And of course you see a lot of floating docks used for add-ons, swim rafts, and even for the entire platform now and then.

But to my surprise, most people south of the larger lakes up north have never heard of crib docks, which are what I spent most of my dock building days specializing in. And last weekend I got to experience the combination of increasing age and decreasing strength, as I spent two days dismantling decking and timbers that had become a bit skewed from shifting ice over the course of the winter - and then rebuilding the crib to its former level status.

To build a crib dock from scratch, you need an ample supply of larger rocks and boulders that you can find at the bottom of the lake and then dive underwater to pull them out. If they are too heavy, you will drown if you don't let go of the rock on your way up to the surface; if they are too light, they won't do much to hold the crib down. So, it is important to find the ones that you can just barely lift out of the lake and into the crib or an adjoining platform.

You should also be careful to not drop the rocks on you as you are struggling with them on their way to the surface. Many times there is a good supply of slime attached which makes them kind of slippery. But I've learned that the slime doesn't seem to matter as the rock heads back down to the bottom crushing your toe in the process; it always seems to land quite directly instead of slipping off your foot painlessly.

If your rock supply is intact, you can then decide where to place your cribs. A crib is simply a grouping of timbers of certain lengths criss-crossed back and forth with the boulders thrown inside it to hold it in place. It is kind of like a Lincoln Log fort, but there are spaces in between each of the timbers that run in the same direction. Once you get your crib level and at the proper height, you can then run your stringers to place the decking on top of.

The nice thing about crib docks is that they are much more sturdy than temporary dock systems. If built correctly there is very little bounce, and they make a great place to position tables and chairs out over the water. Because you don't have to remove them each year, you can create wider areas for entertaining that may be hard to do with other dock systems, as long as state, county and local governing codes allow it.

But crib docks also have a negative side to them. With wide expanses of water - such as the three miles across to Canada at our Rainy Lake cabin - ice flows sometimes take their toll on these creations. And high water levels can also be quite damaging when five or six foot waves are added to them.

So, back to this past weekend. Right after I had gotten all this bull work done, and got the rebuilt crib level and the stringers in place, I heard a crunching noise along the edge of the dock. Thirty mile per hour east winds were moving the entire ice flow, and piling up ice at a rapid rate. And my perfectly level crib was no match for its power.

To my dismay, the ice lifted up the crib - rocks and all - and slid it over about two feet to the west, lifting it up on top of a larger boulder protruding from the bottom of the lake. Needless to say, that crib is no longer level, and those two days of exercise may have been only an exercise in futility for the time being.

But, it is only a couple months until the water warms up enough to go diving for more boulders. So even with another year under my belt, I'm guessing it will be good as new by July!

A Tale of Two Cities

I was in the Twin Cities last week and I was a bit surprised to see that the ice was out on many of the lakes around there. Although I didn't see many boats out on the waters yet, that time is fast approaching.

On the other hand, Easter at our cabin on Rainy Lake didn't look much different than it did at Christmas. Much of the ground is still snow covered, and four wheelers and snowmobiles are still running - without too much concern - across the ice.

With our full-time residence set almost equidistant between these two locales, in Grand Rapids, it is sometimes easy to forget the variation in the length of each respective season. Wherever you live, you tend to become acclimated to that climate, and you don't always realize that just a couple hundred miles can make a huge difference in temperatures, and the progression of each season.

Growing up in International Falls, it seemed normal that there were only a couple months of good swimming weather each year. And although winters were obviously long, we didn't seem to mind them back then...and were even proud of our ability to survive the extreme weather patterns. I guess we didn't know any better - and we couldn't have done anything about it anyway!

If the Minneapolis and St. Paul Area is where you were raised, you are probably used to having only a few months of tough winter weather. And at first you might question the value of having a lake place where the summer months are that much shorter.

But it seems that most people who live in the Twin Cities - and own cabins in Northern Minnesota - are more than willing to trade a couple months of warmer weather for the solitude and extreme beauty of an up north lake. And sometimes they just like to be a bit further away from work and their everyday activities to help them relax. However, with the thousands of lakes to choose from just an hour or two from the metro area, there are plenty of people that decide to have their vacation home close to their residence for ease of use - and to maximize their time while the ice is off the lake.

When it comes to shopping for lake properties, the spring market definitely gets going much earlier in Southern Minnesota than it does on the northern border. It is a lot easier to see where the sand beaches are when they are fully exposed, and there is an emotional appeal to the sounds of waves lapping against the shore.

But if you can imagine those same scenes before they take place while you are viewing properties up north, you can beat the rush...and sometimes come across some pretty good deals before others show up to fight over them.

Just like the weather, people have their own cyclical patterns. Many of us are so tired of the long winter that we don't even want to go outside this time of year until we see some obvious change. And then like lemmings, we all go out together on our next adventure: such as cleaning up our yards, waxing the boat, or shopping for a new lake cabin. It's almost like we are programmed to come out of the house when when it hits a certain average temperature.

So if you can break the pattern and get a jump on the spring season, you might find yourself with a lot more options to choose from when it comes to lakeshore real estate. But even if you don't find the perfect lake home or cabin right away, you'll at least get some fresh air. And that's probably not such a bad thing after a long winter indoors.

Happy Easter,

Dan & Sandy

A Few Statistics for 2008

Even though our focus at Lakehomes.com is mainly lakefront, riverfront, and other recreational properties, I think it is always helpful for waterfront buyers and sellers to have a good understanding of what is happening in the real estate industry as a whole. Each year the National Association of Realtors performs many surveys to try and find out how various areas of the industry are trending, and I wanted to give you some of the statistics that came about from their Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers for 2008.

You can read the entire survey at the link above, but some of the most important items that I noticed were the fact that 87% of buyers now use the Internet to search for homes - up again from 84% in 2007 and 80% in 2006. However, 85% still use real estate professionals to help them in this process. So although the information for nearly all listings is available at the buyers fingertips, there is still a need to have agents give guidance during the process.

When buyers were asked about how they found the home that they purchased, 34% said it was through a Realtor, while 32% found it on the Internet. Only 3% of buyers found their new home in some type of print ad.

As a seller, these are the types of statistics should be of the utmost importance when you decide who to list your property with. And if your property is on water, remember that it is even more likely that a buyer will be doing their searching online...because they are more likely coming from a distance than buyers of off-water properties.

Many agents and brokers have been reluctant to minimize their presence in print publications because that is what sellers have been used to seeing throughout the years. By making sellers "feel good" about seeing their home in the newspaper or a magazine, the agent can prevent some of the potential criticism if there is no activity in the way of showings. But if all statistics are pointing to the importance of new forms of online marketing - such as videos and other creative measures - to give the potential buyers more information by way of their keyboards, then it seems that that is where the marketing focus should be!

2009 may or may not be a good year in real estate. I am optimistic that it will be better than last year, but there is still a lot of inventory - which means a lot of competition if you are going to be selling your lake property.

In your search for the best method to expose your lake home, cabin or land to the most possible prospects, evaluate your options in the way of local agents and their websites. A strong Internet presence may not be the only reason your place sells...but obviously, in this day and age it can't hurt!

Lakefront Rentals

Over the years we have had a considerable amount of requests for information on lakeshore properties that are available to rent in various areas of Minnesota and Wisconsin. It is quite common for potential waterfront buyers to try out the area first by staying for a short time to see how they like it. And some people need to make a quick move with the intention of buying a lake home in the next several months to a year, so renting on the water for six months or more is very attractive to them.

But until now, we have not made lakefront or riverfront rentals a major focus of our business. We try to help out when we can, but we have generally worked with properties that are for sale instead.

With the recent redesign of our website, we are now able to tie available waterfront rentals in with our Featured Listings in each waterfront region. Lakeshore property owners who are interested in renting their places - for any period of time - can now add them to our site in the exact locations that these people are searching. What better way is there to get your lakeshore rental seen by this highly targeted group?

But...there is more!

Besides just putting your listing on Lakehomes.com, you will also be able to add it to two of our other waterfront websites...giving you an even better chance to find the best potential renters for your lake home, lake cabin, waterfront townhouse, or resort property. And with thousands of waterfront prospects combing these sites each day for properties, there is a pretty good chance you will be found!

If you have a lakefront or riverfront property that you would like to add to our site, just email rentals@lakehomes.com for more information, or call 866-327-9889.

Are We Bottoming Out?

One of the the key indicators of a bottoming real estate market is when the number of active listings is less than it was the year before during the same time period. Generally, this occurs when less sellers are willing to put their homes on the market at the going prices, combined with a few more buyers starting to take action on the listings that are available. Basically, buyers who have been holding off, and waiting for the most appropriate time to act, become a little more motivated so that they don't miss out on the best opportunities.

Last week, while I was in White Bear Lake chatting with Dwight Zaudtke of Keller Williams Realty - in his typical overly caffeinated state - he was quick to point out that there are noticeably less active listings right now than there were a year ago in the Twin Cities metro area. And he had some other statistics that were quite promising, which showed an increase in pending sales and a lower amount of available inventory based on how quickly it was being absorbed.

Although the Zaud Squad will always back up any real estate services with their hallmark guarantee of stopping their coffee consumption for any unhappy customers, Dwight was not willing to go quite that far on his assurance that the market had totally bottomed out. However, I do think I heard him mention something about quitting donuts for the week if he was wrong.

In any case, these tidbits of market information from various parts of the globe could be your crystal ball when considering the best time to get back into the market - especially the lake property market! It just may be now.

Making Choices and Changes

Winter in Minnesota is a good thing...for awhile. But then, about mid February, it seems like we have all have enough. We're tired of hauling kids to hockey, early darkness, and wearing coats and gloves; we just want it to end!

So sometimes we get to go on vacation and get away from it all. I was fortunate enough to be able to do that with my family and some friends last week in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. I guess that was about the same time my cabin got twenty inches of snow dumped on it, but I didn't really watch the weather a whole lot down there.

What I did watch were the people. I guess I am always interested in how others live, and that is why I generally enjoy traveling by road rather than air. No one really "lives" on a plane; they mainly sleep, read, and make odd noises now then.

On the other hand, it was interesting to me to find out more about the people who worked around Cancun, Playa and Cozumel. Although it is almost an obsene disparity between the majestic resorts along the water and the barely habitable hovels on the other side of the highway, these people work with a non-ending conviction and no obvious complaining. Perhaps because there are so many others to take their place, or because they are striving to get ahead.

Tips are a big thing in Mexico. Wages are quite meager, so those that have worked their way up to a job that pays tips can do quite well. There are over 1,000 taxis just in Playa alone, and each of them is white. Coincidently, there are also 1,000 different prices to get to the same location, and unlike up here where you have to wave down a taxi - and get one if you're lucky - the drivers down south are out on foot tracking down business...and making deals in hopes of better tips.

Long hours are common in Mexico. Our shuttle driver had 62 trips lined up for Saturday, from 4:00 AM until 11:00 PM. He probably makes several hundred dollars or more per day and does OK. He also works six days a week, as do most of the people around there - except the ones who work seven days. He was talking about taking a vacation to Minnesota, but thought it would be a bit cold yet.

But the guys in the restrooms impressed me the most. They weren't handing out woven towels with refreshing fragrances like you might see at a fancy hotel here in the states; they were in bathrooms barely large enough to turn around, and tearing off chunks of brown paper towling while they pointed out the soap dispenser and hit the handle on the faucet. The tip jar was right there so it was kind of hard to avoid, and I guess if someone wants to stand there for sixteen hours doing that job I can flip them a buck. Those dudes may bring in $1,000 a day since some of the drinks are quite large in the bars and restaurants where they worked.

Many of the people in Mexico don't have a lot of choices - it is obvious they do what they need to for survival. Even though our economy has been tough, we in America still have so much more opportunity that any place else on earth...if we allow ourselves to make seemingly difficult choices, and changes now and then.

Sometimes it just takes getting a break from our everyday normality - and The Weather Channel - to realize it.

Where Have All the Agents Gone?

If Pete Seeger were to write his song, "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" today, it might be focused on the changing real estate climate and the economy. I've noticed that there are a lot less real estate agents in the business these days, and many of them have had to look for new jobs, instead, due to the sluggish market.

Quite a few of these agents are the same ones who jumped into real estate during the last few years when they thought this was easy money, with little more invested in their business than a few weeks of real estate classes. Instead of getting rich quick, some of these "newbies" helped perpetuate the escalating prices, often willing to list properties at any amount just to beat out the competition for the listing. And many sellers chose those inflated numbers over realistic pricing and the experience of more seasoned agents...in hopes of hitting the jackpot.

Soon, neighbors also wanted a piece of the action and put their homes on the market at prices even higher - justifying those values with the rationale that their property was much better than the one down the street for sale at 25% over value. It became a crazy time, where pricing was set by prices on properties for sale, rather than by properties that had actually sold. Although, there were still enough buyers in the market so that a property here and there would actually sell at those false prices, and lenders could find enough comparables to support loaning money on them.

But because a lot of these newer agents didn't have as much to lose, they could jump out of the business just about as easily as they jumped into it. And many did.

And now, due to an increasing array of factors, many of the experienced agents - with vast knowledge of home values and strong representation abilities - are also having to look for other jobs to survive the slowdown. Because of this, there will almost definitely be some dramatic changes in the industry going forward, and other concepts may emerge.

Sellers will still sell, and buyers will still buy, but many of the agents who put all of their effort and expertise into helping these two types of clients - with no upfront fees - may have a harder time committing those long hours of playing tour guide without some assurances of income. Besides that, some will have to juggle their time with other employment, and will not be available on the 24/7 schedules that they have advertised in the past. So we'll have to see where this all shakes out.

But those other jobs are getting hard to come by, as we see on the news every day. And it's not just the agents who want them; everyone seems to be looking! So Pete's song may now go something like this:

Where have all the agents gone, long time selling.
Where have all the agents gone, who sold those homes.
Where have all the agents gone, gone to good jobs...every one.
Oh when will they ever learn, oh when will they ever learn?

Where have all the good jobs gone, long time supporting.
Where have all the good jobs gone, that paid the bills.
Where have all the good jobs gone, employers cut them...every one.
Oh when will they ever learn, oh when will they ever learn?

Where have the employers gone, long time hiring.
Where have the employers gone, who we counted on.
Where have the employers gone, the banks have closed them...every one.
Oh when will they ever learn, oh when will they ever learn?

Where have all the bankers gone, long time lending.
Where have all the bankers gone, who financed homes.
Where have all the bankers gone, to get a bailout...everyone.
Oh when will we ever learn, oh when will we ever learn.

A Little Tweak To Our Design

A few months ago we began to change a few things on our website to give it a fresher appearance and more functionality. You probably didn't notice much difference until the last couple of weeks when the main design alterations began to appear. It is something we've wanted to do for a long time, but these aren't overnight projects so we tend to put them off when things work well. On top of that, we have several other waterfront websites that constantly need attention to keep operating effectively, so time is always a factor.

The changes at this time are still ongoing. Whenever you redesign a website you miss a couple of things that you would like to have, or notice items after the fact that seem out of place. Those fixes will come, but for the most part we are happy with the cleaner look and more efficient usability for our visitors.

Our site at Lakehomes.com has been a valuable tool for waterfront buyers and sellers since 1996. Each year we have tried our best to keep it that way and make it better as the technology became available to do so. Although some people may like the looks of the old site better, there are also those who carry an affection to things from the past such as rotary phones and 1965 Impalas. There is nothing necessarily wrong with those items, but sometimes new ideas make life a bit easier. We hope that our new website does that for you also.

Please be assured that we will continue to make Lakehomes.com a great place to visit in your quest for waterfront properties in Minnesota and Wisconsin. We will attempt to provide you with the most relevant content, knowledgeable lakeshore agents, and a comprehensive supply of listings to peruse. For additional information on any waterfront areas or real estate information, just give us or any of our agents a call or email.

About Price Decreases

There was a comment on my last blog about what I have been seeing with price decreases in the market. I don't know if there is a general answer for this, but overall I have a gut instinct on how this is playing out.

About three or four years ago everything was moving along just fine...actually a little too fine. Interest rates were low and loans were extremely easy to come by. In fact it got a bit ridiculous in that some buyers were not happy with just putting nothing down on home purchases; in addition they wanted money back at closing. That, combined with a huge influx in new and inexperienced agents, created kind of a mess out there in property valuations.

As we all know now, the last few years changed that free-for-all mentality. Now the challenge has shifted to getting consumers feeling assured that values won't continue to decrease on their property purchases. Even lake properties, which were always considered a safe haven along with their attributes for enjoyment, have a smaller group of serious prospects hunting for them.

But, that doesn't mean that the market has dried up. The number of visitors to our website at Lakehomes.com has about doubled in the last two weeks, and we have had an increasing amount of calls and emails coming in. It seems to me that there is some pent-up demand in the waterfront real estate market, at least, but buyers have a lot of inventory to choose from...so well-priced properties and those with the best beaches and other amenities will be in highest demand.

Getting back to the question of how much prices will have to decrease for everything to turn around, this is my answer:

Good properties on good lakes will always be in demand. The problem is that most properties aren't good. I have found over the years that about 80% of buyers want sand beach, or at least a firm shoreline. If you have a mucky bottom, you probably paid about half as much for your lot as someone with hard sand frontage...or you should have if you were being represented by a knowledgeable waterfront real estate expert. Obviously, there are already less possible buyers for this type of lot -- no matter how nice the structure is -- so you will have to be priced accordingly.

Properties that are high up on hills overlooking the water have the same issues. Most lakeshore buyers are either looking toward retirement or have small kids, so this type of property is generally not conducive to either of them. Some people love the views that these eagles nest properties have to offer, but many others see them as a burden for access to the lake. Be prepared for longer market times on these types of homes and cabins, too.

Some people like the idea of quiet lakes that offer solitude from boaters and the constant assortment of activities available on larger water bodies. The key word here is "some" -- because "most" enjoy the idea of having lots of things to do at the lake. Again, there are buyers who will have the same mindset of living in peace, but be prepared for a smaller pool of them.

Lake cabins and homes with 70s decor, or designs such as split levels that feel more like they belong in Bloomington than they do on a Northern Minnesota lake, also don't typically sell as well on the water -- unless the lots are truly desirable! Most buyers looking for lake properties want to feel like they are at the lake, not like they are buying another house in the city. If there are things you can do to open up walls, add some tongue and groove to the interior, or create a more interesting waterfront ambiance, you will have better luck grabbing one of the buyers in today's market.

And then you have the homes and cabins that feel like lake places on good, clear recreational lakes with level lots and sand beach. They might be older cabins set amongst towering pines where the lots have sat undisturbed for decades, or they could be well-designed newer structures with quality finishing that have taken full advantage of their prime lots and views. If priced within reason, these are certainly the most sought after of all lake properties. I don't believe that demand for these will ever go away. But if sellers get too greedy on pricing these, too, will sit.

So there you have it. I didn't really answer you question...because there really isn't an answer to it. However, there has been a fairly substantial reduction overall in prices during the past year, and there are some pretty interesting properties available at great values right now. Some buyers will recognize this, and others will probably wait too long. None of us know when the bottom will hit, but it generally takes place sometime before we know it is happening.

In this type of market, the best suggestion I can make is to work with agents who understand values and can help protect you from making the wrong decisions. Sometimes, what may look like a good value is really a bad one in disguise. I don't think this is a good time to go it alone thinking you might save a couple dollars somehow, because many who did that a few years back have ended up in just the opposite situation today!

The Spring Market Is Here!!!

I always enjoy springtime in the lake property business. There is just something that lifts your spirits as you travel from lake to lake through slush-filled gravel roads, sometimes barely passable as the frost begins to fade away in place of wobbly earth behind it.

When I walked outside today it was raining, so to me that was the first sign that lake cabin buyers will be coming out of hiding soon. The second sign was when we received several information requests from potential buyers...who must have also experienced that springtime sensation.

Winters get long up here in the Northland. With the difficult real estate market and fumbling economy we hear about nearly every day, this winter may have been a little worse. But the sun is feeling warmer -- and February goes by fast -- so things can only look up.

And with the drop in prices we've experienced in 2008, this year the early birds may really get the worm!

Don't Forget That Snow on Your Roof

I know that people who own lake cabins also keep a close eye on our website to see what else is on the market. Some of them are thinking about selling, but they need to be assured that there is some activity before they move ahead with getting their lake property listed.

One of the problems with lake cabins is that they tend to become burdens after people lose interest in them. It may be because the kids have all moved away, or it might be due to health issues, but almost everyone hits a point in their lives when they realize they have extra things they don't really want or need...and lake cabins fit into that category.

Besides the fact that the spring and fall bring a whole assortment of tedious jobs once considered enjoyable, such as getting the water drained and turned back on again - or moving the dock in and out of the water - winter is sometimes the worst. Even though your cabin is closed up, and like an icebox inside, someone should still check on things once in awhile to make sure there have been no major issues. And as the weather begins to give us a few of those days above freezing, you know what will happen if the two feet of snow on the roof begins to melt...from the bottom.

Unless you have a large pitch on your roof, or one that is made out of materials that are entirely waterproof, that water is going to get locked under all that snow. And you know what they say: "Water will find its easiest path." That is most likely straight down through your ceiling!

So, even if you just want someone to take your cabin away and relieve you of all these annual duties, don't let it get the best of you. Take a trip up there, or have someone else do it for you, and get the snow off the roof...before it is too late!

Bring Warm Clothes!

One thing about specializing in lake properties that isn't so good...just trying to get to them in the winter - and to stay warm enough to enjoy the process. Lake homes aren't too bad, since people generally live in them year-round, but cabins that have been closed up since fall can be a little challenging when you have to trudge through a couple feet of snow to get to the door...and hope you can get both the lockbox and the door open after that.

Even some of the roads leading to Northern Minnesota and Northern Wisconsin cabins may not be on the radar screen of local plow operators, so the hike into those places can be even more difficult. I always try to warn my clients to bring boots and warm clothes if they want to take part in this activity.

A couple years ago I had some buyers from the Twin Cities who wanted to see a real estate listing I had on Crane Lake in mid-winter, which is on the Canadian border. It was a water-access only property, and there was some questionable ice between the end of the ice road and the property. I never think it is very good for business when your car plunges through the ice with clients in it, so we took snow shoes along for the journey and walked a couple miles to the cabin.

There were only a few injuries on that excursion, as the sun decided to sprinkle ice patches around the lake, only to cause one of my buyers to fall several times on the way back as she ran low on energy - but refused to shed her snowshoes. I don't think I sold them anything that day...or ever, come to think of it.

Fortunately, not all of these winter lake property searches are this extreme. Most of the time sellers are wise enough to have someone keep the snow cleaned off the walks and some heat on if they are going to have their lake cabin on the market. But when the heat isn't on, I guarantee you that it will be colder inside the structure than it is outside!

Overall, looking at lake properties in the winter months can be an enjoyable experience. There is no shortage of solitude, as lakes are void of the hum from boat motors, the laughing of children playing in the water, and even the rustle of leaves on the trees. Those are all part of the sounds that bring pleasure to the summer months at your lake place. But the quiet of the other seasons is just as enjoyable for many.

It does seem like some buyers prefer to look for lakefront cabins and homes this time of year. They realize that prices are probably going to be as good as ever, and they want to have their new place before the snow and ice disappear to get the maximum use out of it. A few of those buyers are starting to contact us now to take a look at some things...and we've made a few sales on these types of properties over the past few weeks.

Oh, and one more thing to keep in mind. When you are out searching for lake cabins in the middle of the winter, make sure to ask your agent to make a pit stop at a gas station now and then to use the facilities. It can be a little difficult to find many cabins this time of year with their water turned on!

Agent Opportunities...Like No Other!

I've been around the real estate business for quite a few years now, and the one thing that has always remained the same is that there is never a shortage of real estate companies willing to hire new agents - both brand new and those moving from another company.

Generally, agents shop around for what they feel is the best deal and the best fit for them personally, and then choose who they want to work for. Many times the honeymoon doesn't last too long though, because they end up competing for business with the other agents in their office. This often leads to the "hoppers" who move from one company to another in search of the perfect home.

However, agents also sometimes realize that the decision to join a particular company may not have been the right one for them. And it is sometimes hard to recognize that before they get a feel for the new operation.

Other reasons to move from one company to another have to do with feelings of stagnation, boredom, or a need to be more independent - which is why some agents choose to start their own brokerages after working under another broker for several years.

At Lakehomes.com, we have a significantly different philosophy than other brokerages. We have gone out of our way to give our agents reasonably protected territories, as long as they are actively selling. On top of that, we are now paying out commissions from 70% to 95%, along with free leads. That allows our agents to have much more control over their respective market areas, and to run their real estate businesses like businesses...which is what ultimately benefits the buyers and sellers the most!

We don't provide fancy offices or a lot of other perks that have to be compensated for by charging higher commissions or junk fees to sellers, or taking it from the agents' bottom line. Instead, we are able to pass along high value at a low cost to our agents, giving them more latitude and flexibility with each client.

But don't be fooled by our ability to operate on a streamlined basis. With nearly all waterfront buyers - and sellers - searching the Internet for available properties and knowledgeable agents, it is not too difficult to see why our waterfront specialists are so successful in finding buyers for their waterfront and recreational listings.

A Google search such as Minnesota lakefront real estate or Minnesota waterfront property will generally display our site at the top of all results. And although it is impossible to be the number one result on every search all the time, you will typically see us within the top few on most every community or lake area name across Minnesota with terms like "lakefront," "waterfront," etc.

Here are a few other search terms relating to waterfront real estate that seem to be showing strong search results today for us: Duluth lakefront property, Park Rapids waterfront property, Longville real estate, Minneapolis lake property, Twin Cities waterfront real estate, Northern Minnesota lake lots, Northern Minnesota lake homes, St. Cloud lakefront real estate and Western Wisconsin lake properties...to name a few. You will currently see the same types of results across most of Minnesota, and as we add new listings and agents throughout the Midwest, we are generally displayed at the top of new areas rather quickly.

Search results are no doubt very important these days, in an age where buyers and sellers want specific information quickly. We can easily provide those, and be a great source of targeted marketing for all types of recreational properties. But it's our agents who use this technology to give their sellers the marketing capabilities they desire, and to provide easy searching and ongoing communication to buyers.

So, if you are a little tired of how your real estate business has been going, you might want to try ours. Spring is coming quickly, and now is a great time to take advantage of our differentiation.

If you are a knowledgeable lakeshore agent, and interested in becoming the Lead Agent in your market area, we may be able to offer you exclusive rights to your territory, along with immediate access to all buyer and seller inquiries there. And at listing appointments, you will truly have something valuable to offer...that no one else will be able to.

Oh, and by the way, even if you aren't ready to change companies there may be some opportunity to work together. We send a lot of leads out to various partner agents and brokers in areas where we think they can help the customers best. We just may be able to send some your way! Please feel free to contact me for more information.

Dan

Happy New Year

This past year has been a challenge for a lot of people, and certainly the real estate industry was one of the hardest hit. Sellers have had a tough time finding enough good buyers to generate reasonable offers - if any - on their homes, and so quite a few of them have decided to hold off for awhile until the dust settles.

Agents have left the industry in droves, with many of them not able to make enough money to even cover their expenses, let alone support their families and have any fun money left over. So...what will be next?

I'm optimistic about 2009. Our page views have shot through the roof on our website since the day after Christmas, and that means there are waterfront buyers out there starting to look already. That is generally what happens after a slow market like the one last year. And the 2009 sales may speed up even more quickly because of the low interest rates!

At the same time, we are making several changes to our overall marketing plan for our listings. In an attempt to make sure we find every possible buyer out there for our listings, we have created several new concepts that are proving quite interesting.

You will be seeing some of these on our website in the days ahead. But, if you're thinking of selling fairly soon, feel free to contact us for more information on how you can benefit from some of these cutting edge ideas.

Remember...the spring market starts way before spring. So don't let it pass you by!