My regular readers have certainly read about an idyllic lakefront home that is for sale – I’m going to be having an Open House this Saturday morning (read details here.) This Tuesday Tip was inspired by some research I’ve been doing on this property and the Lake Wynooska community.
I’ve come across several buyers who would like to purchase a lake house not only as a vacation home, but as an investment…with plans of renting their home to others when they are not using it.
Lakefront Dreams?
This is a wonderful way to put real estate to work for you. Weekly vacation rental fees can:
- help with mortgage payments
- help pay property taxes
- fund maintenance costs
HOWEVER, before buying a lakefront or lake house with this plan in mind, please be sure to verify that you will be able to do this.
Some communities, such as Lake Wynooska, have specific deed restrictions against renting your property to others for this purpose. The Lake Wynooska website is very clear on this – and it appears that some property owners either have no idea that this is a violation, or they don’t care.
Some communities will require you to pay extra fees, obtain permission, apply for permits, etc. in order to rent your property out.
Do your homework – and disclose your intentions to your real estate agent before buying something that you can’t use the way you wanted. Ask to make sure that what you want to do is allowed.
Hey, this applies to other instances besides renting your property out – one homeowner I spoke with discovered that after purchasing her home, the township had an ordinance against putting up fences. She had planned on setting off her yard with a pretty white picket fence – only to discover, no…not in this community.
Due diligence – everyone needs to do theirs.
Filed under: Home Buyers, Home Sellers, Tuesday Tips | Tagged: lakefront investment real estate, renting lakefront property
Dear Karen,
Thank you for being a totally honest and upfront realtor. You definitely did your homework and by looking carefully at the seller’s deed, you’ve protected the integrity of your clients, yourself, and all other property owners…
As a land owner at Lake Wynooska, and a friend of other owners, I can attest to the “hornets nest” that has arisen from this unscrupulous vacation rental scenario… You cant believe the disruptions of the peaceful lives that has been created by a vacation rental situation which violates deed restrictions and was advertised without consederations to the protocol of the community.. Trespassing, water use violations, and thefts of belongings and services are a simple few of the miseries befalling the peaceful community.
I hope everyone in the realty market can be as open and honest as you demonstrate to be.
Thank you for you article and the specific example you cited.
Gordon Olsommer
Gordon,
Thank you for your comment. I did not, however, specifically research the deed restrictions – I merely quoted what I found on the website and put the link there. I strongly encourage anyone purchasing property to have a real estate attorney look into deed restrictions if there are any questions or concerns before making a purchase.
The last thing I want is to have a customer purchase something with the intent of doing something with their property, and then find out that they can’t do it due to deed restrictions.
It is very important that the consumer disclose specific intentions ahead of time so we can do our “due diligence” and discover if it is possible.
Thank you again for your comment.