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.