Investment
Waterfront Property

Last year at about this time my husband and I were considering purchasing a "cabin" or another home that we could use at our leisure and potentially rent out for investment purposes. We started looking in Brainerd and realized our dollars there would basically get us a tiny lot on a lake a little bigger than a pond. Our price range was up to $350,000, which you would think could get you a decent place up north. Think again!

After we realized that the Brainerd area was more than out of our reach I expanded the search to the Wisconsin area because my friend Jodi has a nice cabin in Wisconsin and I knew the prices were a lot better.

I was cruising around on eBay one day under the real estate section and I came across this super cool cabin in Somerset, Wisconsin.

It looked really crazy cool with pink countertops and a red booth in the kitchen.

I called the number in the eBay ad and the seller said he already had another offer from someone in Vegas, but it wasn't officially sold yet because he had not accepted the offer. Normally I wouldn't bother going to look if there was another offer but this house looked so unique that I had to go check it out.

As soon as I walked in I knew that I wanted it! To make a long story short, my husband and I signed the deal that night and promised to close within 3 weeks.

It has taken nearly a year to get it furnished, painted, and decorated to the point where we can start renting it out. I already have the last weekend in February booked plus the 2 weekends after that, along with 2 weeks in July!

The house was on the market for over 1 year because it was "to unique." I took this as a good sign for me to buy it. I usually go the opposite way of the crowd and this is not an exception.

If you make a place unique people will want to stay there to get away from their "normal" life. I charge $275/night with a 2 night minimum, which is the normal rate for a cabin type home that sleeps 8.

My next venture will be creating a similar style home in Duluth on Lake Superior, with a 1970s vibe instead of a 1950s vibe like this one.

If I can do it, you can do it! If I have it booked for 8 months out of the year it will pay for the rest of the year for me to use it for free. This benefit along with tax benefits and appreciation, it is a win win! If you want to know more about investment properties or need to know what forms to use if you rent your house, email me at : holli@homesbyholli.com

My website is: www.RetroOnTheRiver.com

Check it out!