Summer Home in the Ozarks (St. Louis, Stockton: bank owned, for sale, condo)

[IDASpaceman]

Anyone have some ideas of where to look for a summer (lake) get-a-way in the Ozarks? Looking at everything from immediate...to a long term plan, so I am interested in potentially buying the lot first. Kids are adults, it'd be just us, our dogs, an occassional friend(s)...

Thoughts and recommendations? Thanks in advance.

[Arrby]

With all the bank owned and short sale property available it would be hard to justify buying a lot and building. And if you did, you would probably need to build with cash as new construction loans require an appraisal - and currently a newly built house will not appraise at the cost of building it.

Most people like the lake on which they are located. Which is why they are located there. There are so many choices- Lake of the Ozarks, Table Rock, Bull Shoals, Beaver Lake, even Stockton and Pomme de Terre. Then there are some of the smaller lakes and communities like Cherokee Village in Ark., and Norfork Lake.

What is it you wish to do? Fish? Boating? Just watch the sun set? Do you need shopping nearby, and if so, how much? Access to medical facilities? Airports? What highways do you envision using to get there?

Also, be aware that any property except a condo is going to require some maintenance. Lawns need mowing, flower beds need weeding, gutters need cleaning, and leaves need raking. At the season end you will need to winterize the plumbing. There are communities that have services available for such things.

[IDASpaceman]

Arrby-

Excellent considerations--and absolutely along the lines we are leaning now. We are 'sun watchers'...boating and fishing will be in the line-up, but not often. We do not need facilities, airports, or medical. We will be coming via St Louis.

Understood on the maintainance...like everything else in life--there is a price to pay (in this case--literally.)

Thank you for taking time out.

[brushrunner]

Not sure what you need or want but I have this.It is secure when no one is there.

Lake Cabin (http://kansascity.craigslist.org/reo/2305450935.html - broken link)

brushrunner

[Arrby]

There is a reason so many people from St. Louis have vacation homes in the Lake of the Ozarks area - the convenience of access is hard to beat. It makes not only summer vacations possible, but even weekend getaways.

LOTO is a big area, and it is likely that whatever you want is there somewhere. Currently there are approximately a gazillion properties available for sale. This is just an estimate, of course. In addition to the multilist properties, be sure and check with local banks to see what they have in their own inventories. Some of the big national banks have websites for this, but many others do these kind of sales out of their local office.

There are areas that are much like suburban communities, others that are close to popular services, and still others that are incredibly remote. Like I said, it is a big lake.

Of course, if you plan to go there for the summer and just stay, then you can justify a longer "commute". But it is impossible for someone else to say what you might like. And you will not be buying just an "area", but one particular parcel - and every one is unique. You might not care for, oh, Cape Fair (to pick a place at random), but fall in love with one particular property there.

I know this isn't much help, but really you are going to just need to spend hours and hours on the internet, and then spend days driving and looking. There really is no other way to keep from ending up bying a major headache.

I will make one recommendation though. Buy an existing house if you can. That way you can use it starting NOW. You can become acquainted with the area, the people, the services. It is unbelievable to me how many people save and dream and plan to build their retirement home on a lot they own, only to find out after doing so that they don't actually like living there!

[BoomBoxing]

I have family that have a really nice condo on the lake near the dam. It is a taller building (4 stories I think) and everything is new and modern. They have a screened in balcony, public pool and jacuzzi right by the lake, and dock space for their boat and jetski. It's very nice and scenic. If I recall correctly they paid close to 300k for it before the housing bubble but I think you can get a better deal now.

I also have family that have their own houses by and close to the lake but I think that would be too much hassle. With a condo you don't have to worry about all that time consuming upkeep stuff and can just relax when you're there.

[IDASpaceman]

All great advise--I thank everyone!