Not Ready to Buy? Rent a Waterfront Home First!
“Man, I would love to buy a home on a lake.”
I was at a party several years ago, a gathering of neighbors, and I had shared some stories about traveling up to Christie Lake with my kids.
“Have you ever spent time on a lake before?” I asked.
“Not really, no,” was the answer. “I rode a boat on Lake Michigan. You know, one of those lake cruisers.”
I definitely wouldn’t recomment buying a waterfront home without experiencing waterfront living in some way. Rental homes and vacation homes are a great way to “dip your feet in the water.”
Here are some places online to locate waterfront homes to rent:
It’s really easy to get carried away by the “romance” of owning your own waterfront home. Test out the waters and make sure that waterfront living is for you.
Waterfront Living–What is it Like?
I was eleven when my parents bought the two little cottages on Christie Lake, Michigan. The green cottage had one bathroom, two bedrooms, a great room and a kitchen. Two sun porches were perched on the front and back end of the house.
Mike Ratkovich, our next-door neighbor, came over to greet us. This was the start of a nice friendship and fun years together with his family.
Every weekend, we would hop into the car and make the two-hour trip up to Christie Lake. Mom was a frugal shopper, so she stocked up on staples during the sales. We never ran out of toilet paper or toothpaste up there. During the week, she would shop for the weekend and brought the up food that we needed in a cooler. This saved us some shopping time on the weekends. Mom would make extra batches of cookies and keep them in the freezer.
Weekends were filled with boat rides, swimming and waterskiing. We had a paddleboat and used that to paddle around the lake in the mornings and evenings. The water was often too rough during the day so we saved the paddling around for the calmer moments of the day. The grill was fired up each day and we dined on roasted veggies, barbequed pork and summer salads.
The advantage to having a place on the waterfront is that you often see people in a totally different light during their time spent on or near the water. Living on the waterfront means that you meet people during activities that are fun and relaxing. Think about it, what are some of the activities associated with the waterfront:
Whenever we bring up friends for the first time, we can see how easily stress melts away as they join in the activities on the waterfront.
We’d like to hear from the rest of you–share your experience of waterfront living here!
-
Buying & Renting
-
Boats, Jet Skis & More