Buying a lake community home in the winter
 

Hi,

Is it unwise to buy a home in a lake community during the winter? The home in question is currently winterized and much of the community members are seasonal residents. The ground is obviously covered in snow right now, so it's tough to see the land and surrounding properties' land. The home has a septic tank and a well. It isn't waterfront, but is 500ish feet away from the waterfront (one house in between this home and the water). If you were looking to buy a home in a lake community, would you wait until the spring to better be able to evaluate the home & community? I've done loads of online research on the community - but I know that seeing it in the winter versus the spring/summer is very different.

If it checked all the boxes, was the right price, and I had money to fix things I might miss, I'd buy whenever.

I would, however, research what to look for that could be an issue in spring.

For example, we didn't pay much attention to trees when we looked at our home in the off-season, but we noticed the previous owner planted deciduous trees in places that affects sun penetration. This means we have sun in winter, which adds a little warmth, but shade in summer, which cools things down a bit.

Good luck!

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It's a double edged sword.

Yes, it would be a really nice to see what the community looks like in the spring especially the lake frontage (i.e. rocky, sandy, boat dock (if applicable), beach (if applicable), etc.)

Problem is there isn't an inventory out there so assuming it's priced properly it will likely sell within a month.

Due diligence is never 100%. I bought a "closed" house where the home inspector turned on the furnace, and it started right up. He shut it off and said "That looks OK". After closing we turned on the heat and after a few minutes it automatically shut down because the exchanger was shot and it was pumping carbon monoxide into the air ducts. Next house was a cash deal so no inspector and I brought in my contractor and HVAC guy. We all watched the caretaker who had shut the house down dry fire the boiler. On the spot, the seller's agent dropped the sale price by the cost of a new boiler as quoted by my HVAC guy. A new boiler is a nice perk on a "used" house. Town Hall will have permit records for others in the community that have replaced septic systems. Be aware that there is pending legislation about septics and property close to waterfront. 250' feet in the bill now could change to 500' when the bill goes to the Senate. Well water: be sure to test for PFAS. It's more expensive that just a potable test. It cost me $5500 for a PFAS filtration system, reimbursed by the state of NH.
Bottom line, anything that is suspect, have your contractor give you a price and set up an escrow account to settle 60-90 days after closing.

Water clarity and bottom conditions
 

Whether water-access or waterfront, the clarity of the water and the condition of the bottom were always major considerations for us when we were looking to buy. Is the bottom rocky? Sandy? Sticks and pinecones and muck? In some areas of Moultonboro the water appears to have a "brownish" hue, even though it is very clean. Unfortunately, you can't see and make a judgement on any of this when the lake is frozen over. If you really love the house and the community, perhaps your realtor can help you get pix of the waterfront area from the sellers or their realtor so you can make a (semi) informed decision.

Good luck!

I understand you may be hesitant to name the community. I would suggest maybe you search this forum with that community name and see what you can find. There are some communities that have issues with crowded amenities or waterfront or just bad HOAs. There might be mentions here…

That’s what I was thinking. If you tell us what community you are looking at,I’m sure you will get many responses.

I would prefer to see a property when there was no snow covering everything but sometimes if it's a good deal you have to move fast. Only you can make that decision.
I know a couple homes on the water across the street from me were bought during the winter and the new owners have expressed disappointment in their waterfronts, the water is so weedy that it's really not swimmable.

Beyond the physical home this is a great point. You need to know where you are buying if you are in it for lake use. This can impact value and the amount of time it could take you to sell it down the road. As mentioned above there are areas of the lake with brown water, lots of weeds and of course the water rats (geese). Geese absolutely suck to put it mildly. Not to stir pot and some may take issue with this but if I were looking to buy right now I would wait and see where this blue green algae threat goes in the next couple years. This could be problem.

All the above makes sense... but the problem with real estate is the inventory is constantly changing so what is available today will likely not be available if one takes the time to do the recommended diligence. Real estate is personal, so if a particular property checks all the boxes, a case can be made to move fast or miss out. A conundrum...

FOMO, is what the younger generation call it. As a 70 year old, that has been through many up and down markets, that's a bad reason to buy!
We've had a tremendous run up in prices over the last five years. Personally, I don't think it will last much longer, JMO.

Disagree. Prices may be dropping a bit due to many reasons. But, don’t see a crash anytime soon. Real estate in Laconia and the surrounding towns have never been higher in demand than they are now. Waterfront property is still and will remain in demand. As someone said a long time ago “they are not making any more of it”. Lots of out of state money coming in. For us longtime owners it may not be what we want, but there’s little we can do about it. Enjoy what one has until you can’t


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some winter thoughts
 

Here are some winter items to check out.

Confirm if the current owners or the HOA have conducted recent surveys. Snow may obscure lot boundaries or important markers.

Ask neighbors about snowmelt drainage patterns. Spring thaw can reveal water pooling or soggy spots that are hidden now.

Check the elevation of the septic system relative to the lake or any nearby wetlands. Seasonal high water tables can stress older septic designs.

Good luck!

A functioning septic system should work fine through the winter.

Having said that, if you like “most” of the property-buy it! Lake house don’t sit around for long. If for some reason, it doesn’t work for you, sell it at a profit down the road…
I dont know anybody who doesn’t love their lake house.

If you're putting dye through the system for a test, it needs to have a fair amount of flow to determine viability. Yes, it should function all winter, but one flush to a system that is inactive doesn't make a valid test.

Not 100% sure of NH, septic tests I have witnessed are based on a flow rate (GPH). Not a single flush.

Exactly. That's why it is difficult to get a good test on a system that is not in routine operation.

So how does that affect this new law that every septic must be tested when a house is sold?

The buyer has to have it evaluated and it has to pass, or the sale will not go through until a new system is installed.

So as they are saying if it's difficult to get a good test in the winter, is this law not worth much?

Why would the buyer be responsible for this?
It seems to me this should be on the seller.

I don't know how they evaluate the septic system.

So, where does is say the buyer id responsible for this?

So this really only applies to properties within 250' of the lake.
This must be why I see a lot of waterfront properties marked "contingent" for quite some time, instead of "under agreement"?

Sorry-I don’t understand why this would be any more difficult in the winter?
Maybe you need to locate the pump out and shovel the snow?

Other than that, the septic tests I have observed involved a calculation of flow rate from a hose ( 5 GPM target) and then the hose was placed in the pump out for a period of time while the fluid level was observed.

Other than dealing with snow/cold I don’t understand why this would be any more difficult in winter. A properly functioning system must be capable of flow in all seasons.
Can you explain what I am missing?

Thx, Bill

'Starting September 1, 2024, buyers of waterfront property...'

Very first sentence.

Mitigate Your Risks...
 

We bought our seasonal home in February 2001, and it has worked out very well. But it was definitely a risk, and various expensive things could have gone wrong.

I agree with the comments about septic and water: do your best to understand what problems you are buying. Assume there are some problems. In the worst case, can you solve the problems with just money?

The other aspect is the neighbors... we have terrific neighbors, but it's hard to determine that when no one is around.

We looked at one home that was next to a cottage colony; in the winter it's quiet but during the summer it is very active and noisy. We passed on that home, and we are very glad now. Others like that vibe, but not us.

Our friend at the time gave us good advice: don't worry as much about problems that money can solve. In other words, things like location, physical surroundings, and neighbors are much more important.

Mitigate and understand your risks as much as possible. Good luck!

Shut down?
 

It appears we're talking about a winterized house. Without more detail, that likely means no water for that hose you so casually pull out. In some communities, the entire water system is drained for the winter. Nothing flowing through the septic, so frozen ground deeper than might occur on an operating system. If you don't have exact measurements for the pump out, driving a rod into frozen ground may not be easy or successful. If you want to take core samples from the leach field, also very difficult. At my place there is gravity feed from toilets, etc. to the tank, then to the macerator pump, then up to the leach field. Many people remove the pump for the winter.

I remember a guy telling me years ago that he bought a condo in Laconia during the winter only to find the neighborhood was overrun by Hells Angels during the summer months. He eventually sold at a loss, swearing off the Lakes region!

Thank you all for the replies, these are helpful. We waited while researching some things about the HOA & a shared well and sure enough, the home went under agreement. Lesson learned. We've mostly been looking in the Winnipesaukee area (Balmoral & Suissevale) and a bit in Locke Lake (but their lake issues scare us off a bit), but this home was in Northwood in the Lynn Grove Association (Gulf Village District). We spent too much time researching their drainage issues and missed the boat on getting an offer in before someone else did. But the lake views sure were spectacular.

On the other hand, perhaps you dodged a bullet.

You won't really know unless you find out the selling price and actual situation.

We were in a not dissimilar situation and are glad the way things worked out, even though it was annoying throughout the process.

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Yeah, there is a chance we also dodged a bullet. This particular home has changed hands frequently - about once every 4 years since 2003 - so it gave us pause and we wanted to do a lot of research before making an offer. The shared well was something new to us too and it took us a while to locate the well agreement referenced in the deed. But the views were so nice! We're hoping to find another comparable home between now and the fall.

You still have your funds, so you didn't lose anything!

Sharing a well would be a hard no. Similar to a shared driveway. Why aren’t you looking at Winnisquam?


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Jillian Blue, Good escape. sounds like this was actually a good experience builder for you. I have gone in the other direction, make the deposit and get the price agreed upon. Then you should have 30 days for due diligence, maybe some language about an extension if the home inspection can't be scheduled. If you find something you don't like, cancel the deal and get your deposit back, or renegotiate the price. Be vary cautious about timelines in the contract and use your buyer Realtor or Real Estate attorney to do your negotiating. Hope you'll post some good news here soon.

Getting your money back isn’t as easy as you think


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Yes, our (point) well is also shut down for winter. I would think a tank of water could/would be brought in. Can’t imagine how else flow rate of septic system could be determined?

Has anyone else had a septic system tested in winter while water supply is shut down?
Did you need to wait until spring?

It is an interesting scenario.

In any case, OP has bailed on this one. Everything happens for a reason…

Every 5 sales in 20 years? You definitely dodged a bullet. Forget about the comment above (which I agreed with at the time) that everybody loves their lake house.

I'm with Think on the need for lots of homework in advance of even seeing the house--chance favors the prepared mind. Prepare to spend a year or more looking/researching, then pounce with a high and fast offer when "the one" comes into view.

We bought our last house in Mass after a 20 minute walk through, with a high above asking price bid, no inspection. Almost insane, but we just barely edged out two others, and it's been a great purchase. We were able to do this because we knew the neighborhood and the economics well enough that we could bank on it.

Scot, your comment is very accurate, and in line with our experience as well. We had been in a lake-access place for many years, (it was initially my parents' home dating back to the 70's and then my wife and I bought it from them in 2000). In 2012, we determined that we could afford a waterfront place and we thought that it would be a very simple process...look at a few places and buy one. It turned out to be a 14 month process where we looked at over 20 properties. Some were a nice house, but crappy water clarity/bottom and vice versa; some were in the shade all day; some had been rentals and were very tired, and so on. However, once we found "the one", we knew it within a few minutes of the showing. Unfortunately, there were 3 offers in already, (it was the first day of showings). We knew to have a chance at getting it, we'd have to offer list price, (going over list price was not "a thing" back then), and be mostly, if not all, cash, (again, not really a thing in 2012). It went against all our instincts to do that, (list price and mostly cash and no contingencies), but we got the house and it was one of the best decisions we have ever made, both financially and quality-of-life wise.

I bought in 2014 and bought 40K below original asking price, but I will admit, it was a fixer upper that had been on the market for quite some time. Also, not waterfront, it's shared with three other homes. I caught the end of the market slump, things started to climb in 2015. Even after I bought it, I thought I paid too much as I started the 10 long DIY remodel. But I feel very fortunate now.
I couldn't afford to buy either one of my homes at today's values!

I definitely felt uneasy with the well sharing. The well was on the property being sold, so I felt a little better about that. We are looking in Winnisquam and Ossipee areas now too - pretty much all over. We prefer a lake community that is 2ish hours from Boston or less. We're hoping to find something in the Spring/early summer when there are more homes listed.

We can't bring ourselves to waive inspection. We lost out on another lake home earlier this month because someone offered to waive inspection. - Our offer was for full price with an escalation clause that went up an additional $22k. We offered to only renegotiate any home inspection issues over $20k and to bring an additional $50k to the close if the home didn't appraise for full sell price. The offer that waived inspection was for full asking price. The fact that the seller was willing to forego another $22k makes us wonder if the sellers were concerned the inspection would show major issues. The home had been completely gutted and redone with the kitchen & bathroom moved to another floor. That one hurt; the house was gorgeous with a beautiful view.

Also, hi from Mass! We're south of Boston.

Just a guess: If you move the kitchen and bathroom to another floor, it's a split entry and an inspection will show settling, cracks in the foundation and signs of water which later turns to mold. Fire (smoke) damage and mold are two excellent reasons for gutting. You don't do it because the wall paper is ugly. It's nice now that with Google Earth and an iPhone you can see a lot of properties from home. Last year I was looking at property in FL (Amelia Island) and Myrtle Beach. In both cases my Buyer's Realtor toured the property while I watched from NH and could say, move closer, look at that again, etc. Neither deal worked out due to engineering studies and IRS deadlines. I did a home inspection on one and there were no significant problems but the engineer had problems with the whole complex. I got my deposit back in FL. Never made an offer in SC.

Or it’s as simple as no permits were pulled and signed off when it was remodeled. Happens quite frequently here in the lakes region


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I had a house in a lake community on Winnisquam many years ago, great lake. Very good boating lake North of the bridge, South of the bridge, not so much.
We were like you, tried to stay within 2 hours of our home in Mass. I was willing to go further but my wife was adamant about keeping it under 2 hours and I'm happy we did.
That shared well would have been a non-starter for me.
I would be patient, we could see a slow down this year. I don't think prices will collapse but I do think the price wars of the past will reside, JMO.
I'm 70 and have had many properties in Ma and NH, the only one I ever regret buying was a hasty decision, getting caught up in FOMO.

Hard to say.
A lot of ''flipping'' is being done on the lake.

Buyers purchased what was available at the time, many did renovations...
But when a better location comes up, they purchase the new using equity of the old and try to sell the old quickly.

Thank you for this. Two more homes that have recently come on the market have had a series of sales in the past few years too. When I pull the RedFin data I can see the previous listing pics - it does look like the homes were bought when they were dated, lots of improvements were done, and then they were listed at a much higher price. I know prices have seen a huge jump from 2020 to 2025 too - so maybe people are cashing out their equity.

Looking up the current owner/seller on the tax card and then looking up that person (if it's a person) on line will tell you a lot.

Looks like OP is suffering from paralysis by analysis. Sooner or later you need to jump in, if this is something you really want. You know the old expression: it’s waterfront and they Aren’t making any more of it.

Good luck, Bill

We bought our Lakefront house in November, never having been to the Lake before. This was 22 years ago and we have never regretted it. Our key to success was our realtor. She was brutally honest about the pros and cons of this location, the quality of the builder (or lack thereof) and all we needed to know to make an informed decision.

Her name is Susan Bradley and she’s still in business.

Times are little different right now. I would be hesitant to buy right now, JMO!

Hesitant. Why? What’s your reasoning behind it.


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I think we are headed for recession, just my take on the current situation.

Lotta signs agreeing with you...

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I hope I'm wrong, but the current situation has made me put a hold on big ticket purchases for the foreseeable future, necessities only.
I haven't felt this uneasy about the economy in over 16 years!

I am also uneasy about the economy--too much uncertainty right now

I thought we were talking about purchasing lake front property. Not the economy in general. I disagree, the economy is as stable as it has been over the past five years. Those buyers of lake front property are immune to inflation and other economic pressures


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Yes and no--true that buyers today are not scraping together for a mortgage. But they are likely pulling cash from the stock market to buy their lake homes. If the S&P falls, waterfront homes are likely to do the same.

This kind of thing is always speculation, so I will not be putting money where my mouth is :)

Is a price reduction from $2.5 million to $2.3 million actually a reduction? Monopoly money to this writer


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GDP might see a dip for a quarter or two.

But I think the lake will always attract, so really don't expect prices to move downward.

As more people choose to spend recreational dollars on boating over other formats, the limitation of public launching may make shorefront homes surge.

She didn’t ask if the time was right to buy a home expecting a return on her investment. She asked about not being able to see certain things in the winter time under the snow.

My daughter was married in 2005, just when the economy was starting to crash, and bought a rowhouse in Baltimore that summer. The house went down in value year after year, but they had payments that they could afford and ended up living there for 18 years before they moved out to the county. They sold it for $25,000 more than they paid for it but they enjoyed every minute that they lived there.

The point is that, if the market slows, the OP won't be in as difficult a situation—houses wouldn't be selling out from under them, giving them more time to do their due diligence.

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There's a lot of evidence that younger generations might not want the baggage that comes with second homes or, even if they'd want to, might not be able to afford them.

For that reason, and given that luxuries go before needs, I don't think it's unreasonable to think we'll see prices drop at the lake...or at least not increase in value as aggressively in the past.

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You asked why I was hesitant and I gave you an honest answer.
You are entitled to your opinion as I am mine, only time will tell who's right.

I was responding to Thinkx, not the OP.
I've been around a long time, I'm 70. I know real estate is a great investment if you hold it long enough. But I also think of it as an investment, and when prices are topped out and people are reacting to FOMO, it's not a great time to buy.
The old saying in stocks pertains to real estate also, "be a fireman, run in when everyone else is running out".

I disagree with some of what has been said. We never purchased real estate for an investment. We purchased property because we liked it and wanted to be there. Having said that, we always purchased in attractive areas (location, location, location).
We have bought/sold many properties over the years and always did well financially. Maybe luck of the draw? More Likely making solid decisions.
Lake property should always appreciate, whether waterfront or nearby. We have also owned ocean front, historic homes, etc.
I dont think you can go wrong purchasing property that has some kind of unique feature. It may take some sweat equity and/or time, but you should build equity.

To summarize: buy it because you like it. If the property has some kind of unique feature, you will build equity.
Life is short, don’t be afraid to take chances. It ain’t all about money! Do it because you want to.

Maybe not as aggressively.
But unless a reasonable amount of properties come onto the market, it will always have that ''shortage effect".

The OP was asking about waterfront communities. There are different levels of buyers. You have to have considerable wealth to buy and support a waterfront home on the lake today and I agree "there's a limited supply".
I bought my first property on the lake in Alton Bay back in the 70's, I was in my 20's. I can't afford lake front at these prices anymore.
But waterfront communities are more abundant and don't require the same level of wealth. They also don't appreciate at the same pace as waterfront property.
I never had that kind of wealth, so I always had to be more precise in my purchases.
Everyone has a different approach to life purchases. I just follow what has worked for me and my family.
I'm a DIY buyer so I always look for a property that needs TLC.

I sort of wonder whether other influences will affect prices more than the economy. I sold my Winni house I owned for 27 years to buy on a different local (smaller) waterbody. I was driven away by overcrowding/noise, water quality degradation, and the desire to boat and fish on non-motorized craft...

Thank you for this thread. It certainly is interesting. We have been going back and forth about moving to Florida as we have been getting older. Yes waterfront properties are all unique in their own ways. We have owned our place for 25+ years and do love it. But the winter is starting to take its toll on our old bones. After talking with many folks and of course realtors everyone is all over the place as to what we could sell our place for. Our small condo association has only 6 units and just last spring one unit sold for 615K and has changed hands a few times over the last 5 or 6 years. It's definitely the least desirable unit here but you wouldn't know that unless you've lived here like we do. Realtors that want our listing seem to want to give it away (quick sale maybe) while friend realtors say it's worth much much more. Especially since there's nothing close to it on the market. To be honest we don't even know if we're making the right decision wanting to move, but we created a FSBO listing with a price that would probably make us say yes. We would love to hear what others have to think.

https://www.forsalebyowner.com/listi...4ccd177a058ad5

P.S.
Not trying to sell this here. Figured it would be a good place to hear opinions. We've gone down this road before and have changed our mind.

This is one of the ironies of the whole thing. An "expensive" property that appreciates fast is less expensive than a lower priced property that appreciates slow. We bought our place before the recent run up, thinking it was our once in a lifetime splurge. WRONG! We've made a large chunk of change. We don't expect to ever cash out, and we hope future generations will hang onto it. But there is something funny about a system where toys/luxuries are profitable for their owners

Until there not.

You've owned it for 25 years so whatever you sell it for it should make you happy if you decide to make the move.
You should make out very well on that move as much of Florida real estate is in decline right now, lots of listings.

Yes, that's fair, I should have mentioned that the past may not be repeated

Yes and no. Just thinking about moving is exhausting. Moving out of our cottage is easy. Moving our business and warehouse not so much. We want to duplicate our lifestyle as much as possible and find it will probably cost even more to do that. We won't be making any huge profit unless we give up the perks we have now. One of the newer places across the street I saw was under agreement for over 800K. Although nice, they're crowded and not even close to what this association has to offer. We've been looking at everything for years. We know nothing comes close and it's probably one of the only spots on the water where you can still build up. Hey, I have to stop talking myself out of doing this :)
As soon as I set up my deck and put the kayaks in the water it can quickly change our minds. It has before. We're older now and tired of winter though.

Florida looks good. Everyone we know that has moved there likes it. Although real estate can be a better value, to have a large boat slip, a jet ski lift, kayaks, and swimming right on the water takes big bucks. What we're looking at is not within reach so we know we will have to give up some luxuries we have here.

Snowbirds alternatives
 

Two couples I know have lake homes, one on Winnipesaukee and another in PA on Lake Wallenpaupack. They too were tired of long winters and close up their homes & lease condos in Fla from Jan 1 to April 1st. the pa couple has leased the same condo on Hutchinson Island near Ft Pierce for 14 years. The husband said leasing meant that once he went back to PA he had no worries about the condo and didn't have to deal with home owner insurance, hurricanes, etc. Would the snow bird life be a possibilty?

Lease in NH and FL. In a couple of years you can sell the NH property as an investment and roll it into a similar investment in FL and avoid capital gains taxes. That leaves options open. Talk to your CPA about 1031 Exchanges and DST passive income.

The snowbird life isn't for us. We have an online store and need to keep it going for regular income. Some type of permanent warehouse location is what we need. We were thinking a garage type condo for the business and maybe a fifth wheel or something in a mobile home park until we get our bearings in a new area. We need to worry about the business first and then we can explore a property to replace here if something exists. Wherever we end up it will be our last move at our age.

The thing I will miss most is having my morning coffee in my kayak while floating in the cove. It's been addictive to me personally. That's a tough one for me to give up.

We have it pretty good and are not desperate. But this winter has pushed our old bones and we think it's time for new warmer adventures with what time we have left. We're lucky to have our health. But all bets would be off if that changed and we wouldn't be going anywhere.

We haven't signed with any realtor because at this point if something goes down maybe us and a buyer could benefit. We've bought and sold many properties over the years ourselves with much success. This was FSBO when we bought it back in 1998.

We're trying to downsize our shop now and anyone who has seen it knows it's a monumental task. If we're here for a while longer that's fine. Obviously as a seller we want to get as much as we can, but of course we respect any buyer who wants to find the best deal. Waterfront properties are all over the place. From basic motel units for 500K to an acre of land for a few million. I guess it's just finding what you like and can afford. Although just a small cottage, we have basically any waterfront amenity you can find in the Governor's Island mansions. But what's better our taxes are pretty cheap!

Thanks for that advice. We're familiar with 1031 exchanges. Our online store does well and it's good retirement income. We're interested in basically doing the same thing minus the winters. Everyone we know has moved to Florida and are happy. We are pretty sure we will be too.

We have done everything you can on this lake for many years and enjoy it a lot. But being warm all the time and exploring something new is our goal. We do wonder if it's a mistake but we've made bold moves before. Buying this place was one. We drove by and saw a FSBO sale in the window and just bought it! We were staying on our boat at Silver Sands and was looking to trade up. We bought this place instead and it was one of the best things we ever did in life.

Florida…yuck.
And we are NOT young…

I have no idea how anyone could live in Florida from May thru October. It’s beyond hot and no one comes out of their house.

Think carefully about Florida. Your auto insurance will be double and your home owners insurance will be incredibly expensive. When I sold my 1300 sq ft manufactured home in the Orlando area in September 2023, my next insurance bill was $4000. That’s after putting a new roof on after Hurricane Ian. Since I was selling, I didn’t shop around and probably could have gotten something lower, but not by much. You also have to be careful of your carrier, but there’s not a lot of choice as carriers have fled Florida in recent years. My neighbors also needed a new roof after Ian, and got $800. I got $6000. Our roofs were the same age.

If you could find a place that’s not in an HOA/COA, that would be ideal. While there’s a limit to how much fees can increase on a yearly basis, insurance and reserves are not included in that. The property I was helping to manage went up 25% on their fees after Hurricane Ian. Plus there can be the hassle of rules to be followed.

Your morning coffee in the kayak wouldn’t be as relaxing as you keep your eye out for gators and water moccasins.

Personally, I found Florida to be boring in many respects. But the summertime thunderstorms are awesome.


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Thank you! All excellent points! You keep us thinking and we question ourselves everyday. We've been wondering about the trade off for cold winters versus hot summers. As mentioned in this thread everyone stays in their house in the summer but we're doing that here this winter. Our fireplace keeps us cozy and I suppose A/C works in the summer.

We do love our cottage and remodeled it just for us. So much so that we were even considering duplicating it in Florida. I've always said to my wife "I can't believe we live here." Maybe we should just count our blessings and leave well enough alone.

Lakefront living is good. We didn't mean to hijack this thread.

The original question was should you buy a lakefront home in the winter? My answer would be anytime and anyplace you like. We purchased here in November of 1998. When driving by it looked like a dump. We saw inside and bought it on the spot. It was only seasonal at the time and the seller winterized it then with us. In the spring we did the normal stuff for an older cottage. Windows, siding, etc. We remodeled 6 years ago and moved in full-time. So if you find the right spot just jump on it. Contractors are buying up waterfront places and just knocking them down to build multi-million dollar mansions. The way we see things going that's all there's going to be on Winnipesaukee in the not so distant future.

It isn't really contractors.
Contractors have been so busy, that purchasing or building something for later sale (Spec Home) isn't too popular.

I agree. The Contractors need not do any speculative building these days because they are making so much money just handling all the business they already have on their plates.

Sorry I probably should have said "people". But stuff is coming down and going up constantly. 2 million dollar fixer uppers are demolished and are turning into 5 million dollar mansions. Where our place has been approved to go up we figure anyone wanting it would most likely do that. I remember when the Christmas Island places were built and folks were saying no one will ever pay 450K for one of those. Now you would be lucky to get one for 1.5 mil if something ever came on the market.

Back to the thread. We would have never bought our place if we drove by in the winter. Wouldn't have even stopped. Obviously we're glad we did.

Waterfront properties don't look like much this time of year. Especially if not occupied and everything looks dirty. But in the Spring when the waterfront vegetation blooms, the wildlife is active, and everything gets cleaned up it's like an oasis. When you have clean water, a sandy beach for swimming, and you can enjoy your water toys that's the lake life! :D

Always make sure to do your due diligence. We had someone who bought a place in our small community to run an air bnb business. This was not allowed by our HOA and ended up being a huge problem for the buyer after they found out. They ended up selling again.

Check condos bylaws and if possible have a chat with other owners that can answer questions sometimes better than a realtor.

I'm not sure if anyone would want to live in a place where guests are constantly rotating and getting drunk all hours of the night.

We understand that folks like to get help paying for their investment. But personally we don't want to entertain strangers on vacation on a daily basis during the summer.

So bottom line in an HOA check the rental rules. The community does make a huge difference!

An HOA near us changed the rules after a guy bought for Airbnb. A bad situation for him. But as you say, too many abuses

Good example to note the CI condos. One just went on the market for over $2million!


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I have a different experience. The SF house in Florida I had built in 2007 was 2570 Sq Ft in an HOA with 1890 Homes. The monthly condo fee was $220 and included cable, lawn mowing, fertilizing, and irrigation maintenance. You couldn't buy those services yourself for that. The irrigation was fed by ponds in the community so irrigation water was not something that was on my water bill. It had a resort style pool and the community was gated. Insurance was about 1,800. I closed on the current SW Florida house in May, 2021. It is a little larger and the insurance is about $2,200. Recently, 11 insurance companies announced they are returning or entering the Florida market so that may help create competition and hold down price increases. I am fortunate to be able to summer in Gilford and winter in Florida. After over 50 years spending some or all of every summer on Winnipesaukee it would be a tough decision if I had to pick one place to be year round. I hope it doesn't come to that but who knows what life will throw at you.

Happy to hear you have had a positive experience. And you prove the point that if people do their homework, they can do well. Can I ask who you have for homeowners’ insurance? My sister and her husband are still in FL, and the past few years they’ve had to do a lot of hunting each year to find a reasonable rate.


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Wow that's something. We will look it up. If it sells for that price our asking price is cheap. Especially since you can build something for a lot less right on the water!

It certainly makes you think. We're not listed on the MLS but one of our realtor friends said if it was we would sell in a week. Not sure about that but it's certainly crazy watching what's happening around here.

It would be nice to be snowbirds but that's not an option for us. The idea of new adventures someplace else is what interests us the most. As much as we love the lake we've done it all. We do miss the old days when the Road Kill Cafe' and Nothin' Fancy were the "go to" places.

Found that listing. It's a nice place. But most everything on the lake is.

That sounds like a wonderful place! Can we ask where it is? We were looking at the Englewood and Punta Gorda area. From what we have seen it's more old school Florida with an average age about us and pretty laid back. We have friends that have moved there and they love it.

I had some friends that had a home in Punta Gorda, they moved because they said the residents were too old for their lifestyle, they are in their 50's.

You're closer to this than I am, so I feel awkward questioning you. But with the weather of the past few years, it's hard to look at Florida real estate as anything but an insurance time bomb waiting to go off

I wasn’t going to raise that issue. In fact, we’ve lived and worked in Florida for over 50 years. Our house was totaled in Hurricane Andrew and we never returned to it. It was a traumatic experience and we said when we could both retire we would spend hurricane season somewhere else. Hence our first visit to Winni and purchasing on the Lake.

In essence, we’re “sunbirds” rather than “snowbirds.”

Certainly, millions of people live in FL and enjoy it. But IMO ignoring that risk anywhere in Florida is not realistic and that discussion should be in anyone’s plans.

I understand your perspective. My current Florida home is about 1 mile East of route 75 in Fort Myers and about 1 mile south of Fort Myers Airport. The neighborhood, Wild Blue, is on a former stone quarry of 660 acres that is now a 660 acre lake, generally 25 to 35 feet deep. That makes me appreciate Winnipesaukee!

This far inland I have no concern about a storm surge. I do keep watching insurance costs and I think if they rise dramatically I would consider selling the house. However, if the insurance cost goes way up it will probably diminish the resale value. I closed in May 2021 and the last couple of new houses in this 670 house community are now on the market. The good news is that new and resale houses are selling for about 150% more than I paid so I have no worry about getting my money back.

I have a friend with a waterfront home with a boatlift. His insurance is $10,800 per year.

The old neighborhood (2007 to 2020) was Bella Terra in Estero. It was nice and my house was about 1 1/2 miles from the front gate. It was mostly younger working families with young children so not a great match for me.

The new neighborhood, Wild Blue, is actually across the street from the old neighborhood and is mostly older retired people. The HOA fee is about $650 per month. There is a large clubhouse, restaurant, and beach bar that is great socially. It is a little more expensive, but,............ there are no luggage racks on a hearse!