Monday, March 21, 2011

List Your Lake Rental...Just $100 for 6 Months

With all the requests we've had this past week for rentals, we decided it was time to bite the bullet and start offering them on our site. We even decided to throw out a special price for people who wanted to take advantage of our lakeshore traffic to advertise their properties for rent. And not only will we put it on Lakehomes.com -- even highlighted as a Featured Property in the appropriate area -- but you will also be able to place it on LakehomesUSA.com as well, at no additional cost and for double exposure!

So email us or give us a call at 888-346-5253 if you are ready to get your property in front of more potential lakeshore renters than ever. Because lakeshore buyers are some of the best prospects you can find when you're looking to rent. And NOW is the time they are when they are searching!

Adding rentals to Lakehomes.com is something we planned to do quite awhile ago, because it is such a natural place for lake home and cabin owners to match their properties up with our steady stream of lakeshore shoppers. So we apologize to all of you for the delay, but we hope it was worth the wait.

Best New Lakeshore Listings in Itasca County: March 21, 2011

I had a couple nice emails from visitors who enjoyed by blog post from yesterday, which highlighted some of the more attractive lake properties listed around Minnesota during the past week. Perhaps this is the type of information busy lakeshore buyers are searching for, instead of lengthy ramblings.

Those properties were out of the Twin Cities Multiple Listing Service, which covers much of the state -- except that not all listings end up in it. So I've decided to continue pulling out some of the best new lake listings from each individual mls area during the coming days and weeks, to make this even more comprehensive for you.

This group from today is a compilation of lake homes and cabins listed recently around Grand Rapids and Itasca County, so just Click Here to view these 22 lakeshore properties. As with yesterday's group, they are generally good lots, good lakes, and have features that I have found to be attractive to lake buyers over the years.

One thing that most lake cabin buyers seem to always ask for are lake places that "feel like being at the lake." If they are using it for a getaway, they don't tend to want something that feels more like a home in city. So I've tried to use that as criteria to sort through all the listings that have come on the market.

I hope you will enjoy these undertakings to help you cut through the clutter as more lake properties come on the market. And as always, please contact me at info@lakehomes.com for more information or showings on any of these listings.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Eleven Great Lake Properties Just Listed This Week

As the real estate industry continues to evolve, I try to look for new ways to use my experience to help lakeshore buyers the most. With over two decades as a waterfront specialist throughout most of Minnesota and Western Wisconsin, I've probably learned a few things along the way that can be of great value to many prospective lake property shoppers. So I thought it might be beneficial to our visitors to point out some of the more attractive lake listings on good quality lakes new to the market each week. Especially since the spring market is now starting to heat up.

This first group is made up of lake properties just listed during this past week in various parts of Minnesota. They are in no particular price range or area, but each had certain characteristics that stood out from the other new listings. Some have great lots, a few may look like attractive values, and others may just have that "lake feel" that a lot of people are in search of. All are on good quality lakes, and when you combine good properties with good lakes...you tend to get the best long term value!

This is certainly not to say that there weren't a lot of other nice lake properties listed during the past seven days. I will be adding more from other MLS areas as well, so I hope to make this an ongoing value to our visitors. Please email me at info@lakehomes.com if you have questions on any of these listings, or if you have suggestions on other lake properties to feature in this blog.

Thanks,

Dan Anderson

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Another Way To Find Great Lake Information

For several months, we've been putting together another great lake property site for Minnesota and Wisconsin, too. It is LakehomesMinnesota.com, and most of it is complete...at least a lot of the information you are looking for.

Unlike this site at Lakehomes.com, LakehomesMinnesota.com breaks out micro lake areas in each larger region, and then points out the best lakes in those locales. In many areas we have also completed the details about those smaller segments that help you understand what it might be like there. And, you'll find direct links to the DNR data for those lakes, so it is incredibly easy to use.

With spring almost here, we wanted to make your search for lake properties as easy as can be, so we hope to be adding new material to LakehomesMinnesota weekly. And between our two great sites, you should not be disappointed.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

When the Rich Jump In, There's Probably Gold at the Bottom of the Pool!

It might be a silly headline, but it's probably pretty true. People with money didn't get there by making stupid decisions. And it isn't a bad idea to watch where they are spending their money -- especially when it comes to real estate -- because they will most likely come out OK on most of their investments.

The problem is that, oftentimes, the great majority of the population can't make decisions or move fast enough financially to get in the game at the right time. And when it comes to purchasing a lake home or cabin, the sense of urgency can be curtailed by family gatherings, summer vacations, and any number of other important events.

This article from CNN Money talks about the fact the million dollar plus homes are now the fastest ones moving. Obviously, in a pure dollar comparison, these homes have been reduced by more than most homes even sell for, so it is a huge savings...and most likely a very good investment. But there are tons of lower-priced properties on the market that have been reduced just as much on a percentage basis, and many of them are great bargains as well. And that is especially true in waterfront and vacation homes on good lakes and good lots, which will always be in demand by people of all income brackets.

So with spring almost here, maybe it is time to check back into that lake house shopping mode and see what's out there. If you're a highly qualified buyer, you may never get a better chance to find the most for the money in a lakefront property.