Vaction/Summer Rental Property

[Samantha Knoll]

Any advice on how to research vacation properties? I’m looking for a lake house property to have for ourselves and rent out when we aren’t there.

I’m currently tracking properties that have sold in the last 90 days with similar pricing and/or similar features as well as properties still for sale. I’m logging their listing price and sold price to see how much the average price drops and what the average sq. ft. Is once sold.

Any other tips?

Thanks for any help/advice in advance!

[John Underwood]

When we bought our lake house we used a realtor and it took us 2 years to find what we wanted.

Now I try not to involve a realtor if possible. I look on Zillow and other sites for 4 sale by owner properties. I still check MLS also, but I make sure to contact the listing agent and would ask for a discount if I didn't bring a buyers agent to the mix.

Research the most popular vacation rentals and see what ammenities they have that you need to have on your must have list.

Certain things you can't change like location and lake view. Other things you can add like a hot tub or pool table.

Docks can be expensive so make sure you get a good one with the house.

Also make absolutely sure you habe good water. Look at Google earth pictures of the area and see what it looks like when there is a drought. See if there is a big sand bar that would block your dock when the lake is low. How much water is at the end of the dock during full pool. 

It is hard to rent a lake house if your dock is sitting on the ground a bunch because you don't have deep water.

When looking for a lake house the first picture I'm interested in seeing is the dock and the water, then the location on the lake. If these aren't good it doesn't matter how nice the house is.