All Forum Posts by: Rick Rickert

Roger and all,

This is such a fantastic idea. I have been a member of DIG, an investors group out of Philadelphia, for several years (I still own rentals there). It is the most amazing group of people you'd ever care to meet. They have several thousand members, and the experienced guys really take the time to mentor the new guys, and do so as a way to give back to the community they live and work in. The biggest benefit is all the networking you can do.

I searched out a similar RE investment group in DC, and attended one event. I wont mention the name, but I found it to be the most self-promoting event I've ever attended. Of the 2 hours I spent there, 57 minutes was dedicated to why you should join, another hour was dedicated to a guest selling his Book/CD/Event "success in real estate" bundle. In between we were given 3 minutes to network with each other, which was cut down from a planned 15 because the organizer 'went over time' with promoting his club. I got more out of the time before the event speaking with people I met in the hallway. The sad thing was, that the MEMBERS had to sit through this pitch as well. I saw no reason to pay dues to attend such meetings.

As I left, I couldn't help but wonder how an organization modeled after DIG would work in DC. I think the amount of feedback on this board in such a short time shows that there is a definite demand for this type of networking. I'll will absolutely plan to attend the next event. If you need any help organizing your events, please feel free to reach out to me. I'm happy to devote any time needed. The payoff in networking would be of such a huge help.

@Micheala: That's an interesting idea. I love out-of-the-box ideas. However, having done some event planning in the past, I'm quite certain that I don't have the time to dedicate to a project like that at the moment, as both my wife and I work full time.

Had I moved in during the summertime, I would have loved to host some sort of event on the little island. Right now, the logistics of getting shelter out there in the winter is a little more than I'm looking to do.

@Michaela: I'm not sure if the 'island' idea would fly with the community. Even if it brought me money, I would be hesitant to sacrifice my relationships with my neighbors and be the guy 'who built the island in our lake'. The lake is the focal point of the community.

For reference, it can be seen on google maps at 38.701688,-77.449883. The current sat image shows the water down, and floating docks (and some boats!) sitting on dry land. As you can see, there is already an island created. It'll be submerged when the dam is fixed. My area extends from the dam to about Hara St (you have to zoom a bit to see a name appear on Hara St - it's at the end of Lake Shore Dr).

@Rob: All owners properties stop 10 feet from the highwater mark (which is pretty constant as the waters edge is controlled by a dam). Then there is a 10-ft border around the lake owned by the community association. Then the 'lake bed' area I own is pretty much just the area underwater.

@Colleen: The dam is owned by the community, but the damage (from a small 2011 earthquake) is being repaired by a grant from the state, as the dam affects other waterways in the area. My 'property' stops just short of the dam.

@Brain: The exposed lake bed is quite clean and flat. The community is well cared for.

I joked that I could dump several loads of fill dirt out there, plant some palm trees, and create some islands which I could sell once the lake fills back up.

One serious idea I had was to try to swap the lake bed rights for part of a roadway adjacent to my property. This 'roadway' was designated back in the 1930's, but an actual road was never built and the way houses are positioned, one can never be built. It's near where I park now. Buying/trading it would allow me to legally build a garage on that space. But to do that, I'd first need to figure out the value of the lake bed vs the value of that plot. I'd determine how much of the road I'd ask for, based on the relative values.

Hello all,

I am a casual RE investor who has been to BP.com several times to read archives, but now have a unique situation with my primary residence that I'm hoping someone can advise me on.

My wife and I recently bought a house in an older (1930's) subdivision. The land was at that time, privately owned. The owner at that time built a dam, and his get-rich plan was to sell electricity. When that didn't pan out, he sold lots and cabins, which has created the private community of about 200 houses we have today. The roads are not state owned, but are rather owned by the community association.

When we were going through the purchase process, there was a document which said that "this house includes rights to the 14.85ac lake as well". My RE agent and myself both interpreted that as "the owner will get a 1/200th share of the lake, commonly owned by all houses in the development".

A couple nights ago we went to the meeting of the community association and introduced ourselves as new residents of the community, and when we told people which house we bought, they said, "oh, so you're the new owners of the lake". Apparently my seller bought the lake bed rights several years ago to stop a neighbor from building an obnoxiously large dock with pylons. All houses in the area have small floating docks.

So we own the rights to the lake BED. In Virginia it is not possible to own an actual lake. The water is owned by the state. This is actually a good thing, as otherwise I'd be liable for any accidents which happened in the water. As it stands, I'm just liable if someone hits their head on the bottom of the lake for any reason. Even though that's very remote, I have plans to transfer the lake bed to an LLC which I have but no longer use.

In an odd twist, the dam is undergoing a 2-year repair, making about 50% of the lake bed exposed until next summer.

So my questions are:

1) What could I possibly do with this 'land'?

2) How would I be able to determine a value for this? I was told the previous owner bought it for $2000 about 10 years ago. Since I can't see a use for it, I'm having trouble seeing a value for it. And I doubt a residential appraiser would be qualified to appraise a lake bed.

Suggestions or random thoughts are welcomed.

-Rick