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Old July 3rd, 2007, 04:57 PM
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erykah1310 erykah1310 is offline
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Weighing pros and cons, help please.

K, heres a bit of the situation...
Currently rent 160 acres, with a 3 bedroom, 2 washroom, 2 story house ( I think its too damn big for just me and the dogs mon-friday), close enough to town ( 5 minute drive tops)
-Lots of traffic,
-Lots of theft here... yup even with 4 dogs.
Looking to buy it, for a really good price, BUT. the foundation is cracked, there is no insulation, and the bottom 3 inches of the walls on the foundation is rotten. ( Big bucks to fix up, origionally had planned to build beside then tear down) and only buying 5 acres with the house.

Then... this came to our attention yesterday...
Cute little one story house ( no idea on how many bedrooms, 1 bath, walk out basement, screened in outdoor porch facing ... the lake! Yup lake front. Decent beach, no neighbours until late spring other than really good friends of the family 3 lots down, then my uncle 2 lots down from that.
On the other side, no one, the bay of the lake is right beside this house.
Now...
- only 1 acre of property
-at the dead end of our camp road making our drive way 1/2 mile long in winter ( thats lots of plowing) but no traffic either way
- Come winter we have a 6 mile long lake to use as a yard
- Uncle who lives 5 lots down, owns the 400+ acres across the road from us, all the way into the bay and down. Perhaps at a later time could purchase some property off him, atleast it stays in the family right.

I dont know what i like better... imagine waking up on the weekend and heading out for an orange juice ( or coffee if I have relapsed) by the beach? EVERY DAY even...
But, only 1 acre.
Oh and its a bit pricey,not fully out of our range, but a bit steep.
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Old July 3rd, 2007, 06:47 PM
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If it was me, I would go for the cute little one story.
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Old July 3rd, 2007, 07:31 PM
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The cute little one story sounds so great!!! The lake
I love staying at my parent's house and sitting on their deck listening to the water, (there house is right on the ocean), so I know how nice it really is. The novelty of that never did wear off for me!!!
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Old July 3rd, 2007, 08:05 PM
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Ooh, my parents rebuilt our cottage on a lake just outside Sudbury, and I LOVED visiting them.

I'd go with the one that you're not sinking a boatload of cash into before you take possession, because you don't know what else will go wrong.
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Old July 3rd, 2007, 08:16 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by erykah1310 View Post

But, only 1 acre.
So what ? You get a beach !!!! And the other house , foundation craked, no isulation, don't buy that house !!! One acre is less maintenance, more than enough for the doggies who will get to swim , you can have camp fires and so on ...
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Old July 3rd, 2007, 08:28 PM
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Honestly by the sounds of your description I think you already made your decision. Really the only "negatives" to the cottage is that it might stretch your finances a bit and the driveway during the snow, but isn't that what "creative financing" and a snow blower is for? If they are the only downfalls, then I think you have it made.

It definitely sounds like a great investment and you truly can't go wrong with waterfront. Waterfront only increases the value to any property. I don't think you should let this opportunity pass you by.
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Old July 3rd, 2007, 09:53 PM
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I agree Erykah! The lake! How far is it from town/work, though? If it's close enough, I'd say go for it!
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Old July 4th, 2007, 08:45 AM
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Lake Lake Lake Lake! I think I know which lake too, so I can honestly say that it's the most beautiful place to live.
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Old July 4th, 2007, 09:25 AM
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Personally, I'd take the tiniest spit of land on the water over a sprawling estate.

Sooo.. I'm gonna say: LAKE!
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Old July 4th, 2007, 10:00 AM
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Just one question on the lake property....just how busy does it get in the summer, how much of a damper is that going to put on your dogs and your peace and quiet, will you have to fence part of it to keep them in and other dogs out during the summer?

We had 4 acres on a lake, and quite often had people pull their boats up on shore and try to set up camp down on our property, because it looked like such a nice spot. The cottage was up a little distance from the water, but certainly plainly visible from the shoreline. Cottager traffic can really put a damper on your commute back and forth from work too. Dont get me wrong, I love the sound of the little one story, but you gotta think of all the pro's and cons.

Cindy
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Old July 4th, 2007, 01:52 PM
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I too like the idea of the cute little house near the lake but I can never be far from water! And yeah, I would check to see how busy it is in summer but it the road is a dead end, it may not be too bad. So what if it is only one acre, you can always buy more land from your uncle if that is what you need or want for some reason.
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Old July 4th, 2007, 03:56 PM
x.l.r.8 x.l.r.8 is offline
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If you have use of the 400 acres opposite what difference does it make, jsut ask if you can put a fence up as a dog run over the road. You con't go wrong UNLESS, make sure it's not likely to drop into the lake making your next door neighbours the next lakeshore property. Also 1/2 mile is a lot of snow clearing but with a cab on tractor and a 6ft blower you will be done in less than 30 minutes, it takes me 15 to clear 1/4 mile drive and it's not everyday, we used to park near the road and snowmobile to the temp garage untill the snowmobile became unreliable. Will you have enough room for the chickens and the moo cow?. The place your at the moment seems like a loss to start, the stress with jsut moving is huge, add that to a rebuild? do you really need that. You MAY end up with a house worth much more in an area not as desirable and have a lot of land, but it's unlikely they will develop IN the lake so your pretty assured no further building will be going on around you. I don't think it is so clear cut, have a look around just to make sure your bargin is what you think it is. We looked at 6 different places, the original house we drove past that was for sale that made us think we should think about buying never managed to get on the short list for a visit, infact after looking around it didn't even come close. So maybe if you look at some another places and your still set then make your decission. Personally after spending 10 years perfecting our first house and then restarting on a rented property, I wanted to move into a place where I wouldn't have to smell paint for at least a year. You'll be smalling more than paint with a rebuild, there will be dust, water, stale smells and stress and dissruption for a LONG time. I'm to old for all that already.
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Old July 6th, 2007, 08:03 PM
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I'm big on one story houses simply because of my dogs (okay, okay my knees ain't what they used to be either ) .

The amount of work you would have to do on your current property sounds HUGE. Provided that the lakefront property is well-insulated and it is sea-doo heaven for weekenders in the summer ~ I'd be there particular if it's a no-motor-boat lake !

I would give my eye teeth to live on the water...dawgz swimming every day ...
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Old July 6th, 2007, 09:35 PM
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trippincherri trippincherri is offline
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Lake....Lake...Lake.

Definitley sounds like a better deal. It may be steep mortgage wise, but how much money are you going to spend either building a new house on your existing property or fixing the already damaged house that is there???
I think in the long run you'll save money, and it being on the lake only means your property value go up if further developments are made in the area.

Plus the dogs will love the water, as will you. And even if you have to fence part of the yard for the dogs I still think it would be worth it, and buy a blade for a quad or something and plow your own driveway hehe.
Then you could get paid to plow your neighbours driveways too....and make money to pay for your lakefront property!!
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Old July 6th, 2007, 10:08 PM
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i would buy the other property.........sever the 160 acre property into 80 2 acre lots.....keep one for you sell the rest.....gives you the money to build....sounds like you have access to water anytime anyway.
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  #16  
Old July 7th, 2007, 08:10 PM
Rick C Rick C is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wdawson View Post
i would buy the other property.........sever the 160 acre property into 80 2 acre lots.....keep one for you sell the rest.....gives you the money to build....sounds like you have access to water anytime anyway.
Agree with the sentiment that this could be a sub-dividible property. If it is and its a reasonably attractive area you might have success levering it up into something far more substantial, perhaps doubling or more your initial purchase price (if you're willing to put up some up front costs), allowing you to fix up the place as well.

Lakefront property will probably always be attractive and have upward pricing though. Even if its a steep price right now you could likely sell it for more to a lot more down the road. No muss, no fuss.

I would agree with the sentiment expressed earlier that you might have to shoo the knobs away who think you beach is their beach . . . or just put up a "Private Property" sign (which they'll probably ignore).

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  #17  
Old July 11th, 2007, 03:48 AM
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Lakefront...definitely! That's my dream. We're up north *near* lakes, but unfortunately not ON a lake. My dogs have to make due with a pond and a river...

I do agree with those that are questioning just how busy it'll get in the summer. Parts of the north aren't *that* bad right now, but I think they will be. I think the North Bay area will be like Muskoka in another 10-20 years. Which is good for our economy up here, but not so good for those of us who like the peace and quiet. So I guess there's long-term stuff to consider too.

Good luck in whatever you decide!
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