Buying a lake home

lrott2003 wrote:

I am not sure if this is legal on the site or not but I am a real estate agent in WI and have been licensed for about 15 years.

Couple things that I would say in regards to all of this is:

1. working with one agent instead of several is a much better situation for you as a buyer. If you commit to an agent they will commit to you most times. As an agent it is frustrating when buyers are working through multiple agents. I have had situations where a buyer said “Hey if you find something let me know…” Only to contact them on a property that was just listed to find out… “oh yeah another agent we were talking to just sent us that one and we have a showing set up with them tomorrow?” I mean it is up to everyone to do what they want but for both sides it is nice to know that there is some trust involved.

2. Verify your agent. Most seasoned and well established agents will have a personal page with a short BIO that tells who they are and how long they have been an agent. Having a conversation with a potential agent prior to setting up showings sometimes is best. Agents do work harder when they know that they have “won” the job. Agents look at a buyer that has taken the time to look for an agent first as more serious and qualified and that leads to your agent working harder when they know they are not chasing the tail of a dog that isn’t going to hunt…

3. In this situation I would definitely look for an agent that is local to the area you want to be in. Big advantage is that the agent can preview homes for you so when things hit the market they can immediately get in there and check it out. I always tell my buyer that if I go look at something for them and I call them and tell them that they need to come look… that means ASAP. As everyone knows the market is tough now for buyers in a sense that there is a lot of competition. Another benefit of working with the local agent is that they would most likely know the listing agent personally and that can give you an advantage sometimes over working with an agent that does not know the agents in the area.

As a buyer now you just have to understand that the market is what it is. Is every buyer willing to pay $20,000 or something crazy over a list price? The answer to that is no. Is that what it takes now to get a property? Best answer to that is sometimes? Believe it or not even with higher listing prices you still sometimes find properties that undervalued even in this market. A buyer will know when they love something to the point that they will do what it takes to get the property and once again that is where having a good relationship and trust with your agent becomes important because you need to tell them that so they negotiate appropriately.

I wish I was in your area to help but I am in West Central WI but anyone looking please give me a shout through the site.

Good luck and embrace the hunt! Buying something in this market is more rewarding for buyers because it does take a little more effort and it is always worth it in the end!

X2 100%!

glenn57 wrote:

ok, lets try again, corky now owns the old Denny’s bar on main street richmond. Rainbow is now called Winner bar and grill….good food too!!! still visit corky’d but winners is in town so usually go there.
crappie some day we will hook up, cause i think we’ve talked about that before!!!!!

Yes sir! My buddys name is Jeremy. he lives across from the marina. he runs a local painting and general construction business. He’s also a volunteer firefighter for the city of Richmond. I think hes a regular at Corkys. You may have run into him. hes a pretty big dude, kinda hard to miss

we are planning to rebuild on our lake lot and that is still crazy expensive due to material costs. Hopefully in a few years it happens.

Thanks all. WI is not an option because they are keeping their ND home. We are really hoping they get something in the 2.5hr or less from the cities area (like Alexandria) because we all have small kids who are only going to get busier.

Two properties went up in Alexandria today and they scheduled to see them today – one already sold before they got to the car. Guess they need to keep at it.

One last question I have is why does there seem to be an aversion to bidding wars? When we bought in 2005 and 2007 and sold in 2015 it all involved back and forth with the buyers or us until the highest price was reached. Today it seems they take all the “best and final” offers in a day and are done. I know my sister saw a few houses sold that they would have paid another 10k for. Seems the sellers are missing out in this hot market.

I would say because if you start high with your expectations… and someone offers you $20,000 more than your high ask… the smart & moral thing to do is SELL IT ! Otherwise, hold an auction. The offer/counter offer is a dangerous game… when you counter with your number and they get a freshie that’s higher.. your done.

BigWerm wrote:

Get a new agent. Although the northwoods do operate at a slower pace, so there may be some delay regardless of who you get. Also, whoever the new agent is, should setup an MLS search area with property/financial parameters, so that as soon as something in their metrics gets listed they get it emailed to them immediately. And if you end up in the Park Rapids area (on the edge of your 3 hour requirement), BelleTaine will buy you a beer and I’ll drink them with ya!

I’ll be at the Muni!

big_g wrote:

I would say because if you start high with your expectations… and someone offers you $20,000 more than your high ask… the smart & moral thing to do is SELL IT ! Otherwise, hold an auction. The offer/counter offer is a dangerous game… when you counter with your number and they get a freshie that’s higher.. your done.

Isn’t that the point of a sellers market though? The seller can get the highest price – why would they choose to leave potentially tens of thousands of non taxable capital gains on the table? And why not sell to the person who wants it the most and is willing to pay? And if the agents are paid on % then they benefit too.

My parents bought a solid cabin on Bone lake in Luck, move in ready 3/4 of an acre. 3000 bucks. You could say everything has gone up but not like cabins, he was a young firefighter-what could a young firefighter buy now?

tindall wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>big_g wrote:</div>
I would say because if you start high with your expectations… and someone offers you $20,000 more than your high ask… the smart & moral thing to do is SELL IT ! Otherwise, hold an auction. The offer/counter offer is a dangerous game… when you counter with your number and they get a freshie that’s higher.. your done.

Isn’t that the point of a sellers market though? The seller can get the highest price – why would they choose to leave potentially tens of thousands of non taxable capital gains on the table? And why not sell to the person who wants it the most and is willing to pay? And if the agents are paid on % then they benefit too.

If $20,000 over an inflated price is not a sellers market, I don’t know what is. As I said, if that is the case that you want to squeeze every dime out of it, put it on an auction… which is a gamble itself. Most people have a number in mind, if they get an offer for, they will take it.

I’d wait 6 months if I were them. They are going to pay a lot more right now then they will in a few months.

That being said if they want to compete, Detroit lakes, Brainerd, and Alexandria are all nice areas!

One thing about a market like this, and granted it’s not often but people get into a bidding war and then the property doesn’t appraise. Personally I think if someone is willing to pay a certain price then that’s what the house is worth.

When I was a realtor I wouldn’t work with a buyer unless they were under contract with me. It’s frustrating when you put the time in and they end up writing on at an open house or something.
There’s really no reason not to use an EXPERIENCED agent to buy. It doesn’t cost you a dime and they can monitor the process and deal with the title company etc…

The market is pretty crazy right now, we bought our lake lot in 04 and it had been on the market over a year, hard to fathom these days.