What area near Madison can I get acerage & waterfront for 250k (Milwaukee: for sale, how much)

[Dusty8940]

I am considering a move to the Madison area and would like an area where I can find a nice single family home on 1/2 acre+ and a waterfront (lake/river) location for $250000 or less. I would prefer an area where I can boat, fish, ski etc. I am open to being 15 miles or more outside of Madison. An area where boating is big in the summer with sand bars etc would also be nice. Thanks

[Chelito23]

Well, Southern Wisconsin isn't exactly lake county. There are the main lakes in Dane County, but there aren't any cheap lots/homes on them. They are prime property....Outside of those lakes, there essentially aren't any other ones in the area, the next would be ultra expensive Lake Geneva or the lake district in the far western Milwaukee suburbs. Again, not cheap. The main rivers in the area (Rock and Wisconsin) are pretty large and have wide flood plains so it may be hard to live immediately on them as they do flood anually and what adjacent properties there are, will be expensive...

Lakefront property isn't cheap in Wisconsin. Even if you go way up north, 5 hours away, I think it will be very hard to find what you are looking for in your budget.

With all that said, my parents just bought a lake house on Lake Redstone in La Valle, which is a little over an hour from Madison, near Reedsburg. They have a smaller lot than what you want and paid more than your budget, but there are "cheap" looking homes on other parts of the lake. If you are willing to compromise on certain things, you might find *something* in your price range there. But beware, even the small, modest cottages or cabins of yester year are being bought up and rebuilt. The land is expensive and those properties rarely come onto the market, you practically have to make proactive offers on them or know the owners or else you will have a lot of comptition from people with large disposable incomes from larger urban areas.

Would you consider properties with streams or creeks or ponds? Those would be much easier to come by.

[ranger17]

as noted lake property relatively close to Madison is high $$ and many lots are smaller. An option may be somewhere along the Wisconsin river, between Portage and Lodi/Sauk areas. That gives the boating and fishing options, numourous sandbars, but flip side is you are in the 30-45 mins away from Madison. Depending where on the river you'd end up, my guess is water clarity is a bit better then area lakes as it's flowing... the Madison chain of lakes can get quite nasty with algae bloom in the summer (you know, the few months one can boat up there lol).

Is work a concern, where your commute is part of the equation for what you are looking at?

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Dusty8940

I am considering a move to the Madison area and would like an area where I can find a nice single family home on 1/2 acre+ and a waterfront (lake/river) location for $250000 or less. I would prefer an area where I can boat, fish, ski etc. I am open to being 15 miles or more outside of Madison. An area where boating is big in the summer with sand bars etc would also be nice. Thanks

You'll be hard-pressed to find anywhere close to that much acreage on a navigable body of water in your price range anywhere in the state, much less that kind of acreage with a habitable structure on it. You'll need to massively adjust your acreage expectations downward, your budget upward, and/or your radius from Madison outward; probably all three.

[JoshB]

Originally Posted by ranger17

as noted lake property relatively close to Madison is high $$ and many lots are smaller. An option may be somewhere along the Wisconsin river, between Portage and Lodi/Sauk areas. That gives the boating and fishing options, numourous sandbars, but flip side is you are in the 30-45 mins away from Madison. Depending where on the river you'd end up, my guess is water clarity is a bit better then area lakes as it's flowing... the Madison chain of lakes can get quite nasty with algae bloom in the summer (you know, the few months one can boat up there lol).

Is work a concern, where your commute is part of the equation for what you are looking at?

As Ranger said Madison waterfront prices are more than your budget. I too would recommend looking at Columbia County near Lodi, Poynette, Portage, Pardeeville. All these areas have lakes and are about 30-40 minutes to Madison. I think if you looked hard enough you may be able to find some property within your range. Try sites like wisconsinhomes dot com or firstweber, they have mapping options which is nice.

[Drover]

lakehouse dot com is another good resource for waterfront property listings.

OP, what you might want to look for is a property that is not directly on the water but still has deeded access to the waterfront. It will still be a stretch to find something that's half an acre, but you'll have a much easier time finding something worthwhile in your price range if you're willing to give up shoreline property and settle for deeded access. The taxes will suck a lot less too.

[ranger17]

Originally Posted by Drover

lakehouse dot com is another good resource for waterfront property listings.

OP, what you might want to look for is a property that is not directly on the water but still has deeded access to the waterfront. It will still be a stretch to find something that's half an acre, but you'll have a much easier time finding something worthwhile in your price range if you're willing to give up shoreline property and settle for deeded access. The taxes will suck a lot less too.

this is a really good idea. We had a family friend who was able to find a decent home across the road from the WI River in the Lodi area (rural), had a view, a nice lot, and had access as well. Far more affordable then actually on the water.


tell ya all, this is one big difference from SC and WI... the lakes can be larger and more actual neighborhoods on the water here, and one can go from 150k to over a million but all can be on the water, or in a hood with private access, etc... i'll just say what we have now we could never have had on Mendota... well, that and the water doesnt ice over lol...

[Ragnar]

You may also wish to keep an eye on McFarland and Town of Dunn properties around Lake Kegonsa. Occcasionally small fixer properties pop up on the lakefront, but even then you're probably still looking at $300K or more.

[Megan1967]

Don't feel bad. Most people seriously underestimate how much land/housing costs in this area. They think because it is in the heart of the midwest, it should be dirt cheap, but for many people, this is the only area in the midwest they'd be willing to live in. This creates demand and thus the prices are higher.

[nonexpat]

Lake Mills is a twenty minute drive to the East side of Madison. This cute town is located on Rock Lake--a place I spent many hours in my youth. Here is a nice water front property for sale there--the price has been dropped 25k. It is still 100k above your 250k budget:

MLS # 1239488 - 8128 W Elm Point Rd, Lake Mills WI, 53551 | Homes.com