A Time-Consuming Addiction

The first step of solving a problem is admitting you have one.  I have recently admitted to being addicted to looking at, making offers on, but not actually buying lakeshore real estate.  I took a drive both Saturday and Sunday afternoon out to nearby lakes to see what property was available on a couple of my favorite lakes (and to give Katie a chance to nap).  I was spending my Sunday night analyzing properties only to find an email from my friend Brad Monday morning saying there’s an auction for some real estate on a nearby lake.  So I spent a good hour at work the last couple of days reading everything there is to know about Sewell lake and the various properties on it.  It’s amazing how much you can learn from the tax records published online at the county site. 

 

Predictably, tonight I loaded up the family in the car for a trip down to the three lake lots available in the auction.  Lot 2, 3 and 4 of the "Water’s Edge" addition are available on the west side of the lake.  Lot 2 has a little bit of elevation – maybe 15-20 ft from the lake, but it has pretty good lakeshore.  There are several trees on the bluff down to the lake and maybe dead trees that just need to be cleaned up. Along the shore, there are several trees sticking out into the water that could be removed.  The shore on Lot 2 is pretty solid – it’s a little weedy, but there’s a good sand and rock foundation there.  The weeds could be rolled up with a weed roller and one could pick the rocks.  There’s plenty of room to build on the flat surface above the bluff and a pretty good view of the length of the lake.  Lot 3 is similar to Lot 2 with just a little worse lakeshore – about 2/3 of the shoreline is pretty muddy, and the view isn’t quite as good.  Lot 4 is the biggest lot, but the lakeshore there is quite bad.  It’s all a muddy bog type bottom and there are reeds all over the place.  It has the most gradual descent into the lake with no trees to clear near the shore, but you just couldn’t swim there. 

 

We’ll have to see what happens at the auction – my friend Brad and I need to get our game plan down as well so we don’t both bid on Lot 2.  The auction is coming up this Sunday so we could have our first taste of lakeshore if we can get a good deal.  I doubt this will actually cure my addiction, but I’ll finally have something to show for all this time and effort.