Buying a small lake home

[HoneySuckle]

What do I need to know before investing in a small lake home either near Tenkiller lake, or Ft. Gibson?

We would like a weekend get-away "cabin" or small house that is not too far from Tulsa.

I know there are foreclosures and almost abandoned places, but not sure how to find them.

Advice?

[si_uk_lon_ok]

Have you driven around Hudson Lake? I think its really nice, fairly quiet, but not too far and there are lots of properties there that I would think match what you are after.

I think you could look at the local tax records if you see something good that looks abandoned and make an offer.

[Conan71]

If you are willing to look at Tenkiller, might as well consider Grand as well.

There are several lake area publications in NE Oklahoma.  Use Google to see if you can find on-line versions.  They usually will have ads from watercraft dealers and realtors.

Either that or just Google, Ft. Gibson, lake real estate or Tenkiller real estate.

Realtors are an aggressive lot, I imagine you should be able to find a lot of properties on-line.

[tulsa_fan]

I'd second Lake Hudson as well, it is so close, easy for a day trip or more.  I think they are limited in what waterfront properties they have.  I looked online a lot, but I think you will have better luck getting out there and looking for all the little signs.  Just my opinon in regards to Hudson, I'm sure the bigger lakes will have more realtor reps.

Enjoy!

[mspivey]

To each his own. My parents bought a nice lake cabin when I was young AND WE NEVER WENT ON ANOTHER VACATION. They had all their time and money invested in the cabin.

I've sure never wanted one.

[dayzella]

quote:Originally posted by HoneySuckle

What do I need to know before investing in a small lake home either near Tenkiller lake, or Ft. Gibson?

We would like a weekend get-away "cabin" or small house that is not too far from Tulsa.

I know there are foreclosures and almost abandoned places, but not sure how to find them.

Advice?

For abandoned properties, you might look at tax sales.  Here is a link that explains how they work:
http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20010817_taxes.htm

Some counties put the properties and tax sale information on line.  All counties that have tax sales have the information available in their record halls with the County Clerk or the Treasurer.  I've not looked at them in Oklahoma, but in Illinois the county employees were more than happy to explain how the sales worked and help navigate the information.

[cks511]

There were two or three new cabins for sale at the Lion's Club boat ramp at Hudson this past summer.

[Conan71]

Keep in mind that abandoned properties, especially around lakes and wooded areas, tend to attract all sorts of critters.  If you and hubby both have FT jobs, that could quickly become a second job for you.

You might also consider leasing a place at a lake for a year before taking the plunge and buying to make sure you enjoy it and would get enough use to justify it.  There are places around with full-season or yearly leases at various lakes.  My mother did just that at Port Ketchum on Grand Lake for a number of years.  She never wanted the hassle of upkeep and other vagaries of owneship.  The RE market was also pretty flaky at the time due to the oil bust.  By road, the south end of Grand Lake is only about 10 or 15 minutes from Hudson.

My personal preference is having a sailboat at the lake.  I pay my slip rent, utilities are paid, and there's no property tax (other than the boat tag- about $30 per year) or land to keep up with.  I can stay on it, but I can also get out and enjoy the water.  I've sold my former boat and am in the process of buying another.  With the price of fuel these days, I bet you will see prices come down on cabin cruisers if sailing isn't of interest.  Personally, I like only spending about $15 to $20 on fuel a year for my boat. []

I've been told that interest on a loan for a boat with living/sleeping areas can be tax deductible since it's considered a second residence.  I couldn't tell you for certain the legalities and how all that works.  I know there are people at my marina who apparently do just that.

[HoneySuckle]

You guys gave me a lot to think about, especially Conan.

Leasing does sound like a good idea to begin with.  Hubby came home tonight with a similar argument regarding where we would go on vacation, seeing "we have a cabin at the lake."

I do enjoy travelling and would hate to spend all my vacations at a lake home. What was I thinking???  It just sounded so good on paper[]

[sleepyhead]

woot! []

i love lake cabins, uber romantic. But scary too, do you have any neighbors in there? police and fire stations? And do they allow cabin renting?
I think I can't afford it still.

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by HoneySuckle

You guys gave me a lot to think about, especially Conan.

Leasing does sound like a good idea to begin with.  Hubby came home tonight with a similar argument regarding where we would go on vacation, seeing "we have a cabin at the lake."

I do enjoy travelling and would hate to spend all my vacations at a lake home. What was I thinking???  It just sounded so good on paper[]

When you buy a second property it becomes an obligation in many ways, if it's 45 minutes to an hour away, well you get my point.  

Even if you do a full year lease, you are going to feel somewhat obligated to get your money's worth, but at least you don't have to worry about whether or not a pipe has burst while you were gone that week, mowing, etc.

Try searching around the internet and see what places you could find with weekend rentals and see how you like that and progress from there.

[si_uk_lon_ok]

quote:Originally posted by HoneySuckle

You guys gave me a lot to think about, especially Conan.

Leasing does sound like a good idea to begin with.  Hubby came home tonight with a similar argument regarding where we would go on vacation, seeing "we have a cabin at the lake."

I do enjoy travelling and would hate to spend all my vacations at a lake home. What was I thinking???  It just sounded so good on paper[]

I might consider getting together with some good friends, perhaps your parents or children if they are old enough and buying one together. That way you split the obligations, end up with much more people using it, checking in on it and fixing it if it needs work. I also think owning a lake house should be a social thing, its about BBQs and sailing with friends and extended family, not reacting the Shining.

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by si_uk_lon_ok

quote:Originally posted by HoneySuckle

You guys gave me a lot to think about, especially Conan.

Leasing does sound like a good idea to begin with.  Hubby came home tonight with a similar argument regarding where we would go on vacation, seeing "we have a cabin at the lake."

I do enjoy travelling and would hate to spend all my vacations at a lake home. What was I thinking???  It just sounded so good on paper[]

I might consider getting together with some good friends, perhaps your parents or children if they are old enough and buying one together. That way you split the obligations, end up with much more people using it, checking in on it and fixing it if it needs work. I also think owning a lake house should be a social thing, its about BBQs and sailing with friends and extended family, not reacting the Shining.

Si, a lot of people don't like that idea, but I've seen shared partnerships with a lake house, boat, or aircraft work out very well.  I have seen some bad examples.

If everyone knows what the other's intentions for use and goals are it makes it a whole lot simpler for everyone to get along and to be able to share well, and to be honest with yourself what your use tendencies will be.  

At one point, I was in a 10-way partnership on an aircraft.  Everyone told me "bad idea".  It worked out very, very well for me, and I think well for everyone else except for two people who always seemed uphappy with something in their lives- we bought those two out in the first two months.  

We used an email booking system (they didn't have those on-line quite yet).  I did most of my flying during the week on work related stuff, or I could occasionally take a few hours off and go punch a hole in the sky.  

One partner was a captain w/ Continental, he got in so he could do his daughter's flight training.  We had some other people hour building, and a couple of CFI's who wanted to stay sharp.  Most everyone else wanted to fly on weekends or evenings due to work schedules.  And most all were recreational or short cross-country flights.  I actually didn't have all that hard a time being able to get the plane on weekends if I planned enough in advance.

As long as everyone is up front about it, legal docs are in order, and there is an out clause which works both ways (either "I want out" or "we want you out") go for it.