Looking into getting a Lake House

[Pablo Cuevas]

Hello BP!

I got into the idea of real estate about two years ago, and I just got my first property a few months ago, as a house hack. I have been working hard on it, fixing up a bunch of small things, and I couldn't help but look towards what's next. I went on a getaway to clear my mind a bit, and I went to a lake house. It was super nice relaxing and I loved it. That sparked the idea of getting a lake house, and doing what the hosts are doing.

So I started researching a lakehouse as a short-term rental, and I haven't been able to finnd all the information I have been looking for. I don't know anything really about what goes into getting a lakehouse, or the upkeep of this kind of property, the different costs of it, etc. 

I was just hoping to get help here, get some first hand experience advice from someone with this kind of real estate experience. I proposed this idea to a friend of mine to partner up and take this beast on. If it does turnout to be what I am thinking of as a good investment, I am planning on taking it on in 1.5-2 years. For the mean time I am going to save up and research this as much as possible. 

So if I can get a little help with this, that would be greatly appreciated! Looking forward to hearing back from you BP! 

Thank you!

-Pablo

[John Underwood]

Beyond all the normal stuff you hopefully will have a dock to maintain, possibly permits for dock, water toys suchs as kayaks. I supply life jackets.

A lake house is typically more rural so you will likely have more tree pruning to maintain the lake view. 

I have a screened back porch (which people rave about) and the screens can get damaged sometimes but are easy to fix.

You have have water level fluctuations and if you have a floating dock it could need to be moved in and out occasionally.

There is an opportunity to add a boat for rent. You can use one of many 3rd party companies that provide the liability insurance when the boat is rented.

Buy a place with good lake views and good water depth at the dock. You can never change these. You can upgrade the house.